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FACSIMILE    OF    A    LETTER    TO    THE    PUBLISHER 


FROM 


HIS  GRACE  THE  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  SATOLLI, 

Apostolic  Delegate  to  the  CJmrch  in  the   l/jiited  States. 


-»'  ♦  ' »  ■♦- 


I 


A    LETTER    TO    THE    PUBLISHER 

FROM 

His  Grace  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Satolli 

Apostolic  Delegate  to  the  Church  ifi  the  United  States. 

(See  Fac-simile.) 


-♦• — ♦  '  »   ■♦- 


Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  26,  1894. 

Monsignor  Satolli  has  received  the  interesting  work,  "  The 
Pefenders  of  Our  Faith,"  and  he  wishes  me  to  thank  you,  and  to 
exi)ress  his  satisfaction  with  it.  If  there  is  a  book  to  which  the 
words  of  the  poet,  "  miscuit  -utile  dulcet  can  be  properly  applied 
»n  a  true  sense,  this  is  the  one.  Every  class  of  people,  and  of 
any  age,  will  find  profit  and  pleasure  in  it.  Young  and  old,  men 
and  women,  laymen  and  clergymen,  wdll  read  it  with  a  particular 
interest,  and  retain  the  most  useful  and  grateful  remembrances  of 
the  same.  Therefore,  the  Most  Rev.  Apostolic  Delegate  heartily 
congratulates  the  writers  oi  this  work  and  yourself,  and  he  be- 
lieves that  if  a  copy  of  it  were  presented  to  the  Holy  Father,  it 
could  not  fail  to  prove  very  satisfactory  to  His  Holiness,  as  a 
proof  both  of  the  ability  and  devotedness  of  the  writers,  and  of 
the  attachment  of  Americans  to  our  Holy  Faith.  As  to  his  por- 
trait, he  says  that  the  photograph  from  which  you  have  taken 
his  picture  is  the  best  of  all. 

With  my  best  regards, 

Yours  truly, 

HECTOR   PAPI, 

Secretahy. 


•>  Kkancis  Archbishop  bAiOLLi, 
Apostolic  Delegate. 


Published  under  the  special  sanction  of  the  Most  Rev.  Apostolic  Delegate  Monsignor  Satolli. 

OUR 

Faith  i  Its  Defenders, 

COMPRISING    THE    TRIALS    AND    TRIUMPHS    OF 

THE  DEFENDERS  OF  OUR  FAITH  IN  AMERICA ; 

BY  JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA,  LL.D. 


TOGETHER  WITH  CHAPTERS  DEVOTED  TO 


CATHOLIC  QUESTIONS  OF  OUR  OWN  DAY 


PERTAINING  TO 


America  and  Americans. 

EMBRACING   PAPERS    FROM    THE   PENS   OF   ABLE   WRITERS,  INCLUDING 

HIS    HOLINESS    POPE    LEO    XIII., 

THE   MOST   REV.    ARCHBISHOP   IRELAND, 

and  REV.   DOCTOR  O'GORMAN. 


TO   WHICH    IS   ADDED 

GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE. 

A  DEFENSE  AND  EXPOSITION  OF  CATHOLIC  FAITH  AND  DOCTRINE. 
A  FULL  EXPLANATION  OF  THE  HOLY  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS. 
PICTORIAL  LESSONS   FROM  THE  FOLLOWING  OF  CHRIST. 

THE  FRUITS  OF  THE  FAITH  AS  SEEN  IN  THE  LIVES  OF  HOLY  WOMEN. 

THE  CONFRATERNITIES  AND  SODALITIES  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


WITH   AN  INTRODUCTIO.V  CONTAINING   A   REVIEW  OF  CATHOLICITY   IN  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

By   RICHARD   H.   CLARKE,   LL.D., 

AUTHOR   OF   "the  LIVES  OF  THE   DECEASED  BISHOPS  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES,"   ETC.,  ETC. 


Two  Volumes  in  One. 


OFFICE   OF  CATHOLIC   PUBLICATIONS, 

NEW  YORK,  BOSTON,  CHICAGO,  CINCINNATI,  ST.  LOUIS,  BALTIMORE,  WASHINGTON, 
BUFFALO,  ALBANY,  and  NEW  HAVEN. 


ARMS  OF  LEO  Xlll 
Copyrighted  by  Charles  Gay,  1894. 

PUBLISHERS'    NOTICE. 


'T^HE  publishers  will  not  offer  this  book  for  sale  in  Book-Stores.      It  is  pub- 

lished  exclusively  for  subscribers,  and  can  only  be  obtained  by  subscribing 

for  It  to  a  duly  appointed  representative  who  has  secured  rights  in  the  territory 

canvassed,  and  by  paying,  without  deviation,  the  publishers'  regular  printed  price 

of  publication. 

It  cannot  be  legally  obtained  by  any  other  means  or  through  any  other  source^ 
and  if  so  obtained,  by  collusion  or  otherwise,  both  the  seller  and  purchaser  become 
liable  under  recent  decisions  of  the  Federal  Courts,  as  the  work  is  protected  by, 
\the  United  States  Copyright  Laws. 


'^Ixje  Im^jrxmatur 


of  His  Grace  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of  New  Yorr, 
approving  of  the  publication  of  Dr.  Shea's  great  T^ork  printeil 
herein ;  together  with  the  endorsements  of  many  eminent 
prelates. 


Tn^prin^atlir. 


-*^ 


►J^  Michael  A.  Corrigan, 


$hc  glxivtX  glewavH  Clvoxtucil 

ON  THE   EDUCATION   OF   CATHOLIC   CHILDREN. 

[Extracts  prom  Pastoral  Letter.] 

**  ^^^ZXtXtWXhtXf  Christian  parents,  that  the   development  of  the  youthful  character 

^ — ^      is  intimately  connected  with  the  development  of  the  taste  for  reading.      Ti'ain 

your  children  to  a  love  of  history  and  biography.      Inspire  them  with  the  ambition  to 

become  so  well  acquainted  with  the  history  and  doctrines  of  the  Church  as  to  be  able  to 

give  an  intelligent  answer  to  any  honest  inquiry Teach  your  children  to  take  a 

special  interest  in  the  history  of  om*  own  country.  We  consider  the  establishment  of 
our  country's  independence,  the  shaping  of  its  liberties  and  laws  as  a  work  of  special 
Providence,  its  framers  '  building  wiser  than  they  knew,'  tlie  Almighty's  hand  guiding 
them.  And  if  ever  the  glorious  fabric  is  subverted  or  impaired  it  will  be  by  men  for- 
getful of  the  sacrifices  of  the  heroes  that  reared  it,  the  wtiies  that  cemented  it,  and  the 
principles  on  which  it  rests,  or  ready  to  sacrifice  princ'ple  and  virtue,  to  the  interests  of 
self  or  party.  As  we  desire,  therefore,  that  the  history  o.'  the  United  States  should  be 
carefully  taught  in  all  oiir  Catholic  schools,  and  have  directed  that  it  be  specially  dwelt 
upon  in  the  education  of  the  young  ecclesiastical  students  in  our  preparatory  seminaries, 
so  also  we  desire  that  it  form  a  favorite  part  of  the  home  library  and  home  reading. 
We  must  keep  firm  and  solid  the  liberties  of  our  country  by  keeping  fresh  the  noble 
memories  of  the  past,  and  thus  sending  forth  from  our  Catholic  homes  into  the  arena 
of  public  life  not  partisans  but  patriots." 


A  FEW  OF  THE  MANY  OPINIONS  AND  ENDORSEMENTS  OF 

THE  HIGHEST  DIGNITARIES  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


HIS   EMINENCE    CARDINAL   ARCHBISHOP   OF    BALTIMORE. 

Cardinal's  House,  io6  N.  Charles  St. 
Dear  Sirs  : — *  *  *   His  Eminence  the  Cardinal  is   satisfied  that  Dr.  Shea's  extensive 
and  correct  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church    and  Churchmen   in    the 
United  States  has  left  indeed  little  room  for  criticism  or  improvement. 

Very  truly  yours, 

M.  F.  FOLEY,  Secretary, 


The  MOST    REV.    ARCHBISHOP   OF   PHILADELPHIA. 

Dear  Sirs  : —  *  *  *  Any  such  work  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Shea  must  command  universal 
•ispect  for  its  thoroughness  and  accuracy.  *  *  * 

Your  obedient  servant, 

•^  P.  J.  RYAN,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 


The  MOST   REV.   ARCHBISHOP   OF   BOSTON. 

Archbishopric  of  Boston, 
Union  Chancery  Office,   Union  Park  St.,  Boston, 
Dear  Sirs  : — His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.   A.rchbishop,  directs   me  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  your  new  book,  ♦  ♦  ♦  and  to  convey  to  you  his  thanks  therefor. 

Very  truly, 

R.  NEAGLE,  Chance,  and  Sec, 


The  MOST    REV.    ARCHBISHOP   OF    CINCINNATI 

I  have  examined  "The  Hierarchy."  Dr.  Gilmary  Shea  is  well  known  as  a  diligent 
student  of  Church  history,  and  he  himself  is  a  good  authority,  so  that  any  work  written  by 
him  is  worthy  of  confidence. 

4.  WM.  HENRY  ELDER,  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 


The  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  OF  OREGON. 

Dear  Sirs  :— Your  book  *  *  *  is  duly  to  hand.  *  *  *  It  is  certainly  well  got  up,  and 
a  Tolume  that  will  prove  very  bteresting  to  Catholic  peoi^le.  *  *  * 

*i*  WM.   H.  GROSS,  Archbishop  of  Oregon. 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP    OF    NATCHES. 

Diocese  of  Notches. 
Dear  Sirs  :-—  *  *  *  The  author  is  the  historian  of  the  CathoHc  Church  in  the  U.  S.,  and 
the  work  he  undertakes  is  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  deserves 
to  be  largely  patronized.  *  *  * 

Very  truly, 
^  FRANCIS  JANSSENS,  Bishop  of  Natches. 


The   RIGHT   REV.    BISHOP   OF    PORTLAND   (ME.) 

Dear  Sirs : — It  is  a  truly  valuable  book. 

4-  JAMES  A.  HEALY,  Bishop  of  Portland,  Me, 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP   OF    HARTFORD. 

Dear  Sirs  : —  *  *  *  j  have  not  had  time  to  read  it  carefully,  but  have  no  doubt  from 
what  I  have  seen  of  it,  that  it  will  prove  a  valuable  and  useful  work. 
Episcopal  Residence.  Sincerely  yours, 

^  LAWRENCE  S.  McMAHON,  Bishop  of  Hartford, 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP   OF    MOBILE. 

Dear  Sirs  : —  *  *  The  name  of  the  author,  Dr.  Shea,  LL.D.,  is  a  sufficient  guarantee 
that  the  work  is  correct  and  reliable. 

Yours, 

■fi  J.  O.  SULLIVAN,  Bishop  of  Mobile. 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP   OF    ERIE. 

Dear  Sirs  : —  *  *  *  *  *  *  A  work  which  must  prove  very  interesting 

to  Catholics  generally,  and  is  highly  creditable  to  the  distinguished  author,  and  the  enter- 
prising publishers. 

Yours  gratefully, 

•f.  T.  MULLEN,  Bishop  of  Erie. 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP   OF    CHARLESTON. 
Dear  Sirs : — A  timely  work. 

•J.  H.  P.  NORTHROP,  Bishop  of  Charleston, 


The  RIGHT   REV.    BISHOP   OF    LA    CROSSE. 

Bishop  s  House,  La  Crosse,  I  Vis. 
Dear  Sirs  : — Bishop  Flash  requests  nie  to  acknowledge,  with  many  thanks,  the  receipf 
of  the  goodly  volume,         *****         which  you  had  the  kindness  to 
send  him. 

Truly  yours, 

E.  J.  FITZ PATRICK,  Priest. 


The  RIGHT    REV.    BISHOP   OF    BUFFALO. 

Dear  Sirs : — I  have  too  long  deferrea  acknowledging  your  valuable  work,  '*  Th» 
Hierarchy  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  U.  S.,"  from  the  pen  of  our  gifted  historian,  Dr. 
Shea,  LL.D.  *  *  1  am  sure  our  Catholic  jieople  will  show  their  appreciation  of  the  talents 
of  the  author  by  giving  it  a  wide  circulation. 

Yours  respectfully, 

*J-  STEPHEN  V,  RYAN,  Bisho^,  of  Buffalo. 


The  RIGHT   REV.    BISHOP   OF    CLEVELAND. 

Gentlemen  : — 1   have  to  acknowledge    with   many  thanks  the  receipt  of  the  copy  of 
Dr.    Shea's   latest    contribution    to    American    Church    history   and    published    by   you. 
********  Although  the  work  is  compendious 

in  its  form,  it  is  full  of  interest,  as  anything  from  the  pen  of  the  learned  and  painstaking 
author  always  is.  I  sincerely  hope  your  enterprise,  and  Dr.  Shea's  very  laudable  efforts 
in  thus  adding  to  his  already  large  contribution  to  American  Church  history,  may  meet  with 
a  financial  support  deserved  for  undertaking  and  publishing  the  work,  the  first  of  its  kind 
in  the  Catholic  world  so  far  as  1  know.  Hope  you  may  realize  your  highest  expectations 
in  this  regard. 
Epi'icopal  Residerue.  Yours  very  truly  in  Christ, 

►J-  R.  GILMOUR,  Bishop  of  Cleveland, 


The  RIGHT   REV.    BISHOP   OF   SPRINGFIELD   (MASS.) 

Dear  Sirs  : — I  am  glad  that  you  are  about  getting  out  an  edition  of  the  "  Hierarchy  ot 
he  Catholic  Church,"  which  is  a  sign  that  your  first  edition  was  a  success.  I  think  the 
pictures  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishops,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  better  and  truer  than  usually 
jiven  in  a  book  of  that  kind. 

Yours  respectfnllv, 

►J-  P.  T.  O'^^YAIAJV,  Bishop  of  Springfield. 


The  RIGHT   REV.    BISHOP   OF    KANSAS   CITY. 

Dear  Sirs  ;_***!   hope  your  book,  which  is  a  very  creditable  compilation  requiring 
much  lime  and  labor,  will  prove  to  be  a  suci  ess.   *  *  * 

►J-  JOHN  J.   HOG  AN,  Bishop  of  Kansas  City. 

The  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  OGDENSBURG  (N.  Y.) 
Dear  Sirs  : — 
Your  book  is  received,  and  is  in  a  double  sense  an  agreeable  surprise  to  me.  First, 
because  I  had  never  heard  of  your  intention  to  publish  a  book  that  reflects  such  great 
credit  upon  your  enterprising  house  for  the  manner  in  which  you  have  printed  it,  and  the 
accuracy  of  your  information  as  far  as  1  am  concerned.  *  *  *"  Believe  me  with  be'st  wishes 
for  your  worthy  Catholic  publications, 

Bishop's  House.  Very  trulv, 

4-  EDGAR  I'.'WADHAMS,  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg, 


WORDS    FROM    EMINENT   PRELATES. 


The  following  are  extracts  and  autographs  from  original  letters  now 
in  possession  of  the  publishers,  addressed  to  them  by  the  following  digni- 
taries of  the  Church  upon  the  publication  of  the  Enlarged  Edition  : 

From  the  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  OF  NEW  YORK. 

452  Madison  Avenue,  New  York,  June  5,  1894. 

cMMZrvl^  /K-fcv^^M, "  a^J(^^\     ow>^_  / — /t*^ — ^  /^    ^-v 

1 

From  the  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  OF  DUBUQUE,  IOWA. 

That  it  is  a  most  valuable  and  comprehensive  work,  is  evident  at  a  glance.     *     *     * 
I  heartily  congratulate  you  on  the  valuable  and  well-merited  commendation  given  to  it 
by  his  Excellency,  the  Most  Rev.  Apostolic  Delegate. 
May  28,  1894. 

From  the  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  OF  BOSTON. 

The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  wishes  me  to  acknowledge,  with  thanks,  the  receipt  of  the 
book  which  you  kindly  sent  him. 

Archbishopric  of  Boston,  Cha?icery  Office,  Boston,  May  31,  1894. 


From  the  MOST  REV.  ARCHBISHOP  OF  MILWAUKEE. 

We  consider  "  The  Defenders  of  Our  Faith,"  published  by  the  Office  of  Catholic  Publica- 
tions, it  compilation  of  useful  and  instructive  treatises,  and  a  work  that  can  be  recommended 
to  Catholic  readers. 


June  15,  i8t;4. 


'^y^ej  ■/■  /^a>^ 


7'^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  KANSAS  CITY,  MO. 

I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  the  beautiful  and  acceptable  book,  ''  Our  Faith  and  Its 
Defender?."     ♦     *     * 

As  it  is  an  instructive  and  edifying  book,  I  hope  it  will  be  read  by  many  in  this  diocese. 

I  am,  dear  sirs,  very  truly, 


June  19,  1894. 

From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  MATZ,  OF  DENVER,  COL. 

*  *  *  I  cheerfully  endorse  all  that  is  said  by  Monsignor  SatoUi  and  many  other  emi- 
nent lights  in  the  Church  of  America  on  your  valuable  book.  I  sincerely  hope  that  it  may 
be  found  in  every  Catholic  household,  and  that  your  success  on  this  score  may  equal  your 
most  sanguine  expectations. 


May  29,  1894. 


^ '-'^^^^^i.<t/<>'^~~ 


^-<^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  TOBIAS  MULLEN,  BISHOP  OF  ERIE,  N.  Y. 

I  thank  you  very  much,  not  only  for  the  book,  but  for  the  services  you  have  done  by  it 
to  American  Catholic  History. 

May  28,  1894.  ,        ^      A 


From  the  RIGHT   REV.   BISHOP   KEANE,  RECTOR   OF  THE 
CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY  OF  AMERICA. 

I   acknowledge,  with  many  thanks,  the  receipt  of  the  volume  entitled   "  Our  Faith  and 
Its  Defenders,"  which  you  have  so  kindly  sent  me. 


Washingto?!,  D.  C,  June  2,  1894. 


Ver^^   truly  yours. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  OGDENSBURG,  N.  Y. 

I  have  examined  with  interest  your  new  pubUcation,  "  Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders," 
with  its  several  additions,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  is  a  true  cyclopedia  of 
Catholic  information — historical  and  devotional — which  will  prove  a  real  treasure  for  the 
faithful  who  cannot  afford  to  purchase  many  books. 

You  have  my  best  wishes  for  an  extensive  sale  of  the  work. 

Bishop' s  House,  May  30,  1894. 


^€-2^        .A^f 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  HARTFORD,  CONN. 

*     *     *     Glad  to  know  it  comes  so  highly  recommended  by  the  Delegate  Apostolic. 
St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  June  8,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


*     *     *     Every  part  of  it  is  interesting  or  very  instructive, 
extensive  circulation.     It  cannot  fail  to  do  good. 
S/.  Paurs  Cathedral,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  Sept.' 12,  1894. 


I  hope  it  will  have  an 


\o^:fiypSs^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  DULUTH,  MINN. 

"Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders"  came  promptly, and  I  feel  great  pleasure  in  recommend- 
ing so  useful  a  book. 

The  book,  treating  of  so  many  subjects  of  importance,  cannot  but  be  a  great  aid  in  edu- 
cating our  people,  and  I  hope  that  it  will  be  widely  spread  through  our  Catholic  families. 
In  these  times  we  need  all  that  the  printing  press  can  do  for  us,  both  to  teach  what  is  good 
and  to  correct  what  is  evil. 


May  29,  1894. 


<£y  ^^n/ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

*     *     *     It  ought  to  find  a  welcome  in  every  Catholic  family. 
Episcopal  Residence,  May  30,  1894. 


^^-^./^/%^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  BOISE,  IDAHO. 

I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  copy  of  the  "Defenders  of  Our  Faith"    *    *    * 
I  exammecl  it  and  found  it  an  mteresting,  valuable,  and  useful  book. 
Hopmg  It  will  have  a  large  sale,  I  remain, 

June  4,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  NATCHEZ,  MISS. 
It  seems  interesting  and  instructive  on  many  points  of  doctrine  and  morals,  and  I  wish  it 


success. 


June  22,  1894. 


.c^^'^^ii 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  LOS  ANGELES,  CAL. 

My  Dear  Sirs : — His  Lordship,  the  Bishop,  desires  me  to  extend  you  his  sincere  thanks 
for  your  beautiful  gift,  "Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders,"  assuring  you  at  the  same  time  that 
he  thoroughly  appreciates  the  scope  of  the  work,  and  desires  for  it  an  abundant  measure  of 
the  popularity  which  it  so  well  merits. 


June  22,  1894. 


<7y- 


^(■'^'X. 


\zf^^^<^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  SIOUX  FALLS,  S.  D 


Having  reached  home,  I   found  your  book,  "  Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders," 
and  hope  it  will  find  many  readers  among  all  classes  of  our  population. 


Bishop' s  House,  June  20,  1894. 


■^ 


t/1     c^^ 


i-*;5C;>- 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  COADJUTOR-BISHOP  OF  BURLINGTON, 

VERMONT. 

*     *     *     I  consider  it  a  valuable  book  for  the  public. 


From  the  REV.  THOMAS  O'GORMAN,  D.D.,  PROFESSOR  AT  THE 
CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY  OF  AMERICA. 

*     *     *     You  have  gathered  in  the  book  a  great  deal  of  valuable  information. 

JVashington,  D.  C-,  May  30,  1894. 


1/e^l.U   '^<^^0^   C-^i-'z.^^         c^^'n^  iry 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  NATCHITOCHES,  LA. 

That  welcome  book,  "  Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders,"  must  and  shall  occupy  a  conspicu- 
ous place  in  my  library ;  and  I  wish  it  would  find  its  way  into  every  Catholic  house  in  my 
diocese.  Gladly  do  I  ever  welcome  books  like  this,  showing  the  glories  of  the  human  ele- 
ment in  the  Church,  so  as  to  make  Catholics  feel  proud  not  only  of  the  Divine,  but  also  of 
the  human,  in  the  Spouse  of  the  Man-God,  which  is  to  be  like  unto  Him  on  Tabor  as  on 
Calvary. 


June  7,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  MANCHESTER,  N.  H. 

The  volume,  "The  Defenders  of  Our  Faith,"  kindly  forwarded  by  you,  was  received.     I 
am  grateful  therefor. 


Diocese  of  Manchester^  May  28,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  SAULT  DE  STE.  MARIE  AND 

MARQUETTE,  MICH. 

*     *     *     "Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders,"  which  we  find  very  instructive,  therefore  ap- 
proving of  it  ;  we  recommend  it  both  to  clergy  and  laity. 

Episcopal  Residence,  July  4,  1894. 


0 


d^-z-o--^ 


^/  ^c    S/L    /y;^v>^^  e.. 


^     ^  (^^y^^  ^^//^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 

*  *  *  I  thank  you  very  much  for  a  late  illustrated  copy  of  "  Our  Faith  and  Its 
Defenders."  *  *  *  j  ^yjn  jj-y  a,nd  induce  some  priests  and  laymen  to  send  for  some 
copies. 

Diocese  of  San  Antoiiio  Ju?ie  2,  1894. 


^4^yM,C/U 


ifi^    ^<fd^  a'r2^^^^n<^/^ 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.   BISHOP  OF  BELLEVILLE,  ILL. 

The   Right  Rev.  Bishop  being  absent  on   a  trip  to  Rome,  I  beg  leave  in  his  name  to 
acknowledge  receipt  of  "Our  Faith  and  Its  Defenders." 

Thanking  you  for  your  courtesy,  I  remain, 


Diocese  of  Belleville,  Chancery  Office,  June  7,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  GREEN  BAY,  WIS. 

Gentlemen  : — With  sincere  thanks  I  beg  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  new  edition  of 
"  Defenders  of  Our  Faith." 

Diocese  of  Green  Bay,  May  31,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  DAVENPORT,  IOWA. 

*     *     *     A  volume  which,  I  am  sure,  will  prove  both  instructive  and  interesting  to  every 
class  of  people. 

With  best  wishes,  I  remain. 


(//^<Ly  ^^^y^ 


Bishop's  House,  June  9,  1894. 


From  the  RIGHT  REV.  BISHOP  OF  OMAHA,  NEB. 

*     *     *    The  book,  when  received,  shall  be  put  in  the  Diocesan  Library. 

With  thanks,  I  am, 


\  \rA^<LJUL.^JrJ^^ 


Chancellor  s  Office,  May  30,  1894, 


CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 


PASS 


Introdiietion,  with  a  brief  survey  of  the  Growth  and  Progress  of  the  Church 
in  the  United  States,  aud  the  work  of  some  of  its  most  eminent  Prel- 
ates, by  Richard  H.  Clarke,  LL.D 1 

His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XTTT.  A  sketch  of  his  Life  and  Acts,  comprising 
his  attitude  toward  Popular  Government,  Education,  and  Christian 
Philosophy,  and  the  influence  he  has  exercised  in  the  cause  of  ReHgion, 
Civilization,  and  Christian  Progress 51 

The  First  Apostolic  Delegate  in  the  United  States,  with  a  sketch  of  the 
Mission  of  Mgr.  Satolli,  Archbishop  of  Lepanto,  and  the  Brief  of  the 
Holy  Father  defining  the  powers  of  the  Apostolic  Delegation,  by  Rev. 
Thomas  O'Gorman,  D.D.,  of  the  CathoHc  University  of  America 71 

Propositions  for  the  settling  of  the  School  Question,  and  the  giving  of 
ReHgious  Education,  deUvered  by  Mgr.  SatoUi,  the  Papal  Delegate  in 
the  United  States,  to  the  Archbishops  assembled  in  New  York,  on 
November  19,  1892 Yg 

EncycHcal  Letter  of  Pope  Leo  XTEI.  on  the  School  Question,  as  it  relates 
to  the  Education  of  CathoHc  Children  in  the  United  States,  issued  on 
May  31,  1893 gg 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

The  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda  Fide.  A  History  of  its 
Organization  and  Methods ;  its  power  and  jurisdiction  in  supervising 
the  Church  thi'oughout  the  World,  by  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Jacobini, 
late  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda  Fide 91 

Encyclical  of  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII.  on  Christopher  Columbus. 
The  Catholic  Character  of  the  Great  Discoverer,  and  the  advantages 
to  Civilization  that  flowed  from  the  achievements  of  Columbus. 
How  Columbus'  Discovery  of  the  New  World  was  designed  to  com- 
pensate the  Church  for  Her  loss  in  the  Old 97 

The  Cathohc  University  of  America.  History  of  its  Foundation,  and 
description  of  the  Institution.  Its  futui-e  influence  on  the  develop- 
ment and  progress  of  higher  Catholic  Education  in  the  United  States.  105 

The  Catholic  Summer  School.  One  of  the  greatest  Educational  Institu- 
tions ever  established  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  in  the  United 
States.  Its  Origin,  Progress,  and  permanent  Foundation  at  Platts- 
burg,  N.  Y 112 

His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIH.  and  the  World's  Fair,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Columbus  Celebration.  The  extraordinary  interest  of  His  Holiness 
in  the  success  of  the  great  entei*prise,  and  his  warm  sympathy  for 
America.     By  the  Most  Rev.  John  Ireland,  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul . . .   117 

The  Vatican  and  the  Catholic  Exhibit  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion. The  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit,  showing  the  great  work 
accomplished  by  the  various  teaching  Orders  in  the  United  States 124 

Defenders  of  Our  Faith  in  the  Parliament  of  Religions  held  in  Chicago, 

and  the  Great  Columbian  Catholic  Congress. 129 

His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIH.  on  the  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 137 


co:ntee'ts. 

PART    II. 


Note. — The  Table  of  Contents  is  arranged  by  dioceses  in  alphabetical  order,  Arch- 
bishoprics coming  first.    See  "  Supplementary,"  page  xii.  Table  of  Contents. 


The  Plenary  Councils  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  43 

The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States 49 

Vicars-Apostolic  of  England  and  the  London  District 59 

Diocese  of  Baltimore  : 

Most  Rev.  John  Carroll 61 

Leonard  Neale 65 

Ambrose  Marechal  ....  - 67 

James  Whitfield 69 

Samuel  Eccleston 72 

Francis  P.  Kenrick 74 

Martin  John  Spalding ^7 

James  Roosevelt  Bayley 81 

His  Eminence  James  Cardinal  Gibbons 82 

Diocese  of  Boston: 

Right  Rev.  John  Cheverus 85 

Benedict  J.  Fenwick 87 

John  B.  Fitzpatrick 89 

Most  Rev.  John  J.  Williams 91 

Diocese  of  Chicago  : 

Right  Rev.  William  Quarter  95 

James  Oliver  Van  de  Velde 96 

Anthony  O'Regan 97 

James  Duggan 9^ 

Thomas  Foley 99 

Most  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Feehan 100 

Diocese  of  Cincinnati  : 

Right  Rev.  Edward  Fenwick 103 

Most  Rev.  John  Baptist  Purcell 105 

William  Henry  Elder 109 

Diocese  of  Milwaukee: 

Most  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni 1 1 1 

Michael  Heiss 114 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


Diocese  of  New  Orleans 

Most.  Rev.  Louis  Ignatius  Penalver  y  Cardenas 1 18 

William  Louis  Dubourg 120 

Right  Rev.  Leo  Raymond  de  Neckere 122 

Most  Rev.  Anthony  Blanc 123 

John  Mary  Odin 125 

Napoleon  J.  Perche 1 27 

Francis  X.  Leray 129 

Francis  Janssens • 3^3 

Diocese  of  New  York  : 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Luke  Concanen,  O.S.D 132 

John  Connolly,  O.S.D , 133 

John  Du  Bois I34 

Most  Rev.  John  Hughes 136 

His  Eminence  John  Cardinal  McCloskey 142 

Most  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan 148 

Diocese  of  Oregon  : 

Most  Rev.  Francis  N.  Blanchet 1 50 

Charles  John  Seghers 152 

William  H.  Gross 153 

Diocese  of  Philadelphia: 

Right  Rev.  Michael  Egan 155 

Henry  Conwell 156 

Francis  Patrick  Kenrick  74 

John  N.  Neumann 157 

Most  Rev.  James  Frederic  Wood 158 

Patrick  John  Ryan 160 

Diocese  of  St.  Louis  : 

Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati 162 

Most  Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick 164 

Right  Rev.  James  Duggan 98 

Patrick  John  Ryan 160 

Diocese  of  San  Francisco: 

Right  Rev.  Francis  Garcia  Diego  y  Moreno 169 

Most  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany , 170 

Patrick  W.  Riordan 172 

Diocese  of  St.  Paul: 

Right  Rev.  Joseph  Cretin 377 

Thomas  L.  Grace,  O.S.D 378 

Most  Rev.  John  Ireland, , 379 


CONTEin'8.  VU 

Diocese  of  Santa  F^. 

Most  Rev.  John  B.  Lamy 174 

John  B.  Salpointe 178 

Diocese  of  Albany  . 

Right  Rev.  John  McCloskey 142 

John  Joseph  Conroy 179 

Francis  S.  McNeirny , .   180 

Diocese  of  Alton  : 

Right  Rev.  Henry  Damian  Juncker 184 

Peter  Joseph  Bakes 185 

James  Ryan Supplement,    vi 

Diocese  of  Brooklyn  : 

Right  Rev.  John  Loughlin 187 

Diocese  of  Buffalo: 

Right  Rev.  John  Timon,  CM 189 

Stephen  Vincent  Ryan,  CM 193 

Diocese  of  Burlington  : 

Right  Rev.  Louis  de  Goesbriand 195 

Diocese  of  Charleston  : 

Right  Rev.  John  England 197 

William  Clancy,  Coadjutor 200 

Ignatius  Aloysius  Reynolds 201 

Patrick  Niesen  Lynch 202 

Henry  P.   Northrop 204 

Diocese  of  Cheyenne: 

Right  Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke 41 1 

Diocese  of  Cleveland  : 

Right  Rev.  Amadeus  Rappe 205 

Richard  Gilmour 206 

Diocese  of  Columbus  : 

Right  Rev.  Sylvester  H.  Rosecrans 209 

John  Ambrose  Watterson 213 

Diocese  of  Concordia: 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Scannell , 414 

Diocese  of  Covington  : 

Right  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Carrell 214 

Augustus  M.  Toebbe 215 

Camillus  Paul  Maes ai6 

Diocese  of  Davenport: 

Right  Rev.  John  McMullen  218 

Henry  Cosgrove 219 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

Diocese  of  Denver: 

Right  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Macheboeuf 394 

Nicholas  C.  Matz 410 

Diocese  of  Detroit  : 

Right  Rev.  Frederick  R6s6 221 

Peter  Paul  Lefevre,  Administrator 222 

Casper  H.  Borgess 224 

John  S.  Foley ^ 225 

Diocese  of  Dubuque: 

Right  Rev.  Matthias  Loras 227 

Clement  Smyth 229 

John  Hennessy 230 

Diocese  of  Erie  : 

Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor 336 

Josue  M.  Young 232 

Tobias  Mullen 233 

Diocese  of  Fort  Wayne  : 

Right  Rev.  John  Henry  Luers 235 

Joseph  Dwenger 236 

Diocese  of  Galveston: 

Right  Rev.  John  Mary  Odin 125 

Claude  Mary  Dubuis 238 

Nicholas  A.  Gallagher 239 

Diocese  of  Grand  Rapids: 

Right  Rev.  Henry  Joseph  Richter 243 

Diocese  of  Grass  Valley  : 

Right  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell   245 

Patrick  Manogue 246 

Diocese  of  Green  Bay: 

Right  Rev.  Joseph  Melcher 248 

Francis  X.  Krautbauer 249 

Frederic  X.  Katzer Supplement,  i 

Diocese  of  Harrisburg  : 

Right  Rev.  Jeremiah  F.  Shanahan ; 251 

Thomas  McGovern Supplement,  x 

Diocese  of  Hartford  : 

Right  Rev.  William  Tyler 253 

Bernard  O'Reilly 254 

Francis  Patrick  McFarland 255 

Thomas  Galberry,  O.S.A  .- 256 

Lawrence  S.  McMahon 258 


CONTENTS.  ix 

Diocese  of  Helena: 

Right  Rev.  John  B.  Brondel 361 

Dioceses  of  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph  : 

Right  Rev.  John  Joseph  Hogan 263 

Diocese  of  La  Crosse: 

Right  Rev,  Michael  Heiss    1 14 

Kilian  Flasch 266 

Diocese  of  Leavenworth  : 

Right  Rev.  John  B.  Miege,  S.J.,  Vicar- Apostolic 268 

Louis  Maria  Fink,  O.S.B 270 

Diocese  of  Lincoln  : 

Right  Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum , ^i^ 

Diocese  of  Little  Rock  : 

Right  Rev.  Andrew  Byrne 274 

Edward  Fitzgerald 275 

Diocese  of  Louisville: 

Right  Rev,  Benedict  Joseph  Flaget 277 

Martin  John  Spalding 77 

John  Baptist  David 280 

Guy  Ignatius  Chabrat,  Coadjutor 282 

Peter  Joseph  Lavialle 283 

William  G.  McCloskey 285 

Diocese  of  Manchester  : 

Right  Rev.  Denis  M.  Bradley 286 

Diocese  of  Marquette  : 

Right  Rev.  Frederic  Baraga 288 

Ignatius  Mrak 291 

John  Vertin 292 

Diocese  of  Mobile: 

Right  Rev.  Michael  Portier 293 

John  Quinlan 296 

Dominic  Manucy 298 

Jeremiah  O'Sullivan 300 

Diocese  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles: 

Right  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany 170 


Thaddeus  A  mat 


301 


Francis  Mora 303 

Diocese  of  Nashville: 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Pius  Miles,  O.S.D 305 

James  Whelan,  O.  S.D 307 

Patrick  A.  Feehan 100 

Joseph  Rademacher 308 


X  CONTENTS. 

Diocese  of  Natchez: 

Right  Rev.  John  Joseph  Chanche 3" 

James  Oliver  Van  De  Velde 96 

William  Henry  Elder 109 

Francis  Janssens 3^3 

Diocese  of  Natchitoches: 

Right  Rev.  Augustus  M.  Martin 318 

Francis  Xavier  Leray 1 29 

Anthony  Durier 319 

Diocese  of  Nesqually  : 

Right  Rev.  Augustine  M.  Blanchet 320 

^gidius  Junger 322 

Diocese  of  Newark  : 

Right  Rev.  James  Roosevelt  Bayley 81 

Michael  A.  Corrigan 148 

Winand  M.  Wigger 324 

Diocese  of  Ogdensburg: 

Right  Rev.  Edgar  P.  Wadhams 326 

Diocese  of  Omaha  : 

Right  Rev.  James  O'Gorman 331 

James  O'Connor 332 

Diocese  of  Peoria: 

Right  Rev.  John  L.  Spalding 334 

Diocese  of  Pittsburgh: 

Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor 336 

Michael  Domenec 338 

John  Tuigg 339 

Richard  Phelan,  Coadjutor 343 

Diocese  of  Portland  : 

Right  Rev.  David  W.  Bacon 344 

James  Augustine  Healy 345 

Diocese  of  Providence: 

Right  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Hendricken 347 

Matthew  Harkins Supplement,      v 

Diocese  of  Richmond: 

Right  Rev.  Patrick  Kelly 349 

Richard  V.  Whelan 350 

John  McGill 352 

James  Gibbons 82 

John  J.  Keane 353 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Diocese  of  Rochester: 

Right  Rev.  Bernard  J.  McQuaid , 357 

Diocese  of  Sacramento  : 

Right  Rev.  Patrick  Manogue 246 

Diocese  of  San  Antonio  : 

Right  Rev.  Anthony  D.  Pellicer * , 359 

J.  C.  Neraz 360 

Diocese  of  Savannah  : 

Right  Rev.  Francis  X.  Gartland 362 

John  Barry 363 

Augustine  Verot 364 

Ignatius  Persico 366 

^                          William  H.  Gross 153 

Thomas  A.  Becker  392 

Diocese  of  Scranton  : 

Right  Rev.  William  O'Hara 369 

Diocese  of  Springfield  : 

Right  Rev.  P.  T.  O'Reilly 371 

Diocf.se  of  St.  Augustine  : 

Right  Rev.  Augustine  Verot 364 

John  Moore 375 

Diocese  of  Syracuse: 

Right  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Ludden 406 

Diocese  of  Trenton: 

Right  Rev.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell 381 

Diocese  of  Vincennes  : 

Right  Rev.  Simon  Gabriel  Brut6 383 

Celestine  R.  L.  G.  de  la  Hailandi^re  385 

John  Stephen  Bazin 386 

James  M.  M.  de  St.  Palais 387 

Francis  Silas  Chatard 388 

Diocese  of  Wheeling  : 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Vincent  Whelan 350 

John  J.  Kain  , 39^ 

Diocese  of  Wilmington  : 

Right  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Becker 392 

Alfred  A.  Curtis Supplement,  ii 

Diocese  of  Wichita: 

Right  Rev.  James  O'Reilley • 4o8 

J.  J.  Hennessy 4^ 


Xii  CONTENTS. 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Arizona 

Right  Rev.  J.  B.  Salpointe 178 

P.  Bourgade 402 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Dakota  : 

Right  Rev.  Martin  Marty,  O.S.B 39^ 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Idaho  : 

Right  Rev.  Louis  Lootens 390 

A.  J.  Glorieux 400 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  North  Carolina: 

Right  Rev.  James  Gibbons 82 

John  J.  Keane 353 

H,  P.  Northrop 204 

Leo  Haid,  O.S.B 403 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Northern  Minnesota: 

Right  Rev.  Rupert  Seidenbush,  O.S  B 401 

Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Utah: 

Right  Rev.  Laurence  Scanlan 404 


SUPPLEMENTAKY. 

PAGE 

Right  Rev.  John  Janssen,  Diocese  of  Belleville 416 

James  Schwebach,  Diocese  of  La  Crosse, xii 

Sebastian  G.  Messmer,  Diocese  of  Green  Bay, xiii 

Thomas  Francis  Brennan,  Diocese  of  Dallas, xiv 

Thomas  D.  Beaveu,  Diocese  of  Springfield xv 

John  N.  Lemmens,  Diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island  and  Alaska,      .        .  xvi 

Otto  Zardetti,  Diocese  of  St.  Cloud, xvii 

A.  Van  De  Vyver,  Diocese  of  Richmond xix 

Theophile  Meerschaert,  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Indian  Territory,    .        .  xxi 

Peter  Vcrdaguer,  Vicariate-Apostolic  of  Brownsville,      ....  xxii 

Henry  Gabriels,  Diocese  of  Ogdensburg, xxiii 

Ignatius  F.  Horstniann,  Diocese  of  Cleveland, xxv 

James  McGoUlrick,  Diocese  of  Duluth, xxvii 

John  Shauley,  Diocese  of  Jamestown, 418 

Joseph  B.  Cotter,  Diocese  of  Winona xxxviii 

Thomas  Heslin,  Diocese  of  Natchez, xxx 

P.  L.  Chapel  le.  Archbishopric  of  Santa  Fe, xxxii 

Stephen  Michaud,  Diocese  of  Burlington, xxxiv 

Charles  E.  McDonnell,  Diocese  of  Brooklyn,    .        .        .        ,        ^        .  xxxvi 


CONTENTS. 


PART   III. 

GEEAT  DEFENDERS  OP  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE. 


FAGB 


Saint  Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  and  First  Defender  of  the  Faith i 

Saint  Paul,  The  Apostle 1 

Saint  Ambrose,  Doctor  of  the  Church 10 

Saint  John  Chrysostom,  Archbishop  of  Constantinople,  and  Doctor  of  the 

Church 19 

Saint  Jerome,  Doctor  of  the  Church 27 

Saint  Augustine,  Bishop  and  Doctor  of  the  Church , 32 

Saint  Gregory,  the  Great 43 

Saint  Dominic,  Founder  of  the  Friars  Preachers 49 

Saint  Thomas  of  Aquino,  Doctor  of  the  Church 57 

Saint  Bonaventure,  Cardinal,  Bishop,  and  Doctor  of  the  Church 63 

Saint  Francis  of  Assisium,  Founder  of  the  Friars  Minors 69 

Saint  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  Founder  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 74 

Saint  Alphonsus  Liguori,  Doctor  of  the  Church 84 

Saint  Bruno,  Confessor 89 

Saint  Francis  Xavier,  Confessor  and  Apostle  of  the  Indies 92 

Saint  Charles  Borromeo,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Milan 100 

Saint  Francis  of  Sales,  Bishop  and  Confessor Ill 

Saint  Patrick,  Bishop  and  Apostle  of  Ireland 120 

A  DEFENSE  OF  CATHOLIC  FAITH  AND  DOCTRINE. 

The  Fundamentals  of  the  Catholic  Faith 1 

Of  Christ's  True  Church  upon  Earth 3 

The  Church  of  Christ  must  always  be  Holy  in  Her  Doctrine  and  Practice, 

and  cannot  err 6 

ziii 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 

FAes 

Tlie  Church  of  Christ  must  be  Catholic  or  Universal 7 

The  Church  of  Christ  must  also  be  Apostolical  and  derive  Her  Mission 

from  the  Apostles 8 

The  Catholic  Chm'ch  alone  is  the  True  Church  of  Christ 9 

» 

Scrii)tui-e  and  Tradition 10 

ApostoUcal  and  Ecclesiastical  Traditions 11 

The  Ordinances  and  Constitutions  of  the  Chm'ch 12 

The  Sacraments  of  the  Chiirch 13 

The  Real  Presence  in  The  Most  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist 18 

Communion  under  one  kind 20 

The  Mass 22 

Purgatory 24 

The  Veneration  of  Saints 27 

The  Veneration  of  the  Angels  and  Saints 28 

The  Saints  and  Angels  Pra}--  to  God  for  us 29 

The  Invocation  of  Saints , 31 

Concerning  EeHcs , , 34 

Concerning  Images 35 

Concerning  Indidgences 37 

The  Supremacy  and  InfaUibiHty  of  the  Pope 38 

Why  Cathohcs  object  to  the  Protestant  Religion 40 


CON"TEN"TS. 


PART  lY. 

THE  HOLY  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS  ;  ITS  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL 
EXPLAINED  BY  A  PARISH  PRIEST  TO  A  DEVOUT  CONVERT. 

PAGH 

From  the  beginning  of  Mass  to  the  Creed. — The  Use  of  Ceremonies — 
Preparation  for  Mass — The  beginning  of  Mass — The  Introit,  Kyrie  Eleison, 
and  Gloria  in  Excelsis — The  Dominus  Vobiscum — The  CoUect,  Epistle,  and 
Gradual 1 

From  the  Offertory  to  the  Communion. — The  OfPertory  and  Oblation — 
The  Canon  of  the  Mass — The  Memento  of  the  Living — The  Communicantes 
— The  Consecration — The  Prayer  after  the  Elevatior — The  remaining 
Prayers  of  Oblation — The  Memento  of  the  Dead — The  Canon  continued — 
Our  Lord's  Prayer— The  sequel  of  Our  Lord's  Prayer— The  "  Agnus  Dei" 
and  Prayers  before  Communion — The  Communion  of  the  Priest — The  Com- 
munion of  the  Faithful 20 

From  the  Communion  to  the  end  of  Mass. — The  Ablutions — The  "Com- 
munio  "  and  Post-Communion — The  End  of  Mass — Mass  of  the  Dead 60 

High  or  Solemn  Mass. — Tlie  Asperges — The  Incensing  of  the  Altar — The 
Kyrie  and  Gloria  in  Excelsis — The  Collects,  Epistle,  and  Gospel— The 
Creed— The  Solemn  OflFertory — The  Incensing  of  the  Offertory— The  Pref- 
ace in  Solemn  Mass — The  Canon  and  Consecration  in  Solemn  Mass — From 
the  Consecration  to  the  "Pater  Noster"— From  the  "Pater  Noster"  to  the 
Communion — From  the  Communion  to  the  end  of  High  Mass — High 
Mass  of  the  Dead 71 

OFFICES  OF  THE  CHURCH  SIMPLIFIED  AND  EXPLAINED. 

Solemn  Vespers 92 

The  Office  and  Ceremonies  of  Compline  — 97 

The  Benediction  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament.— The   charaxster   and 

meaning  of  this  Sacred  Rite  explained 99 

Hymn  of  St.  Thomas  for  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Christi 101 


THE  FRUITS   OF  THE  FAITH 

AS  SEEN  IN  THE  LIVES  OF  HOLY  WOMEN. 


PASB 


Saint  Mary  Magdalen 91 

Saint  Cecily,  Virgin  Martyr 98 

Saint  Mai-garet,  Queen  of  Scotland 99 

Saint  Catharine  of  Sienna 102 

Saint  Teresa,  Foundi'ess  of  the  Eeformation  of  the  Barefooted  Carmelites.  106 

Saint  Rose  of  Lima 113 

Saint  Agnes,  Virgin  Martyr 116 

Saint  Elizabeth  of  Hungaiy,  Widow 118 

Saint  Bridget,  Virgin  Abbess  and  Patroness  of  Ireland 123 

CONFRATERNITIES  and  SODALITIES. 

Confraternity  of  the  Holy  Rosary  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 71 

Indvilgences  Granted  to  Members  of  the  Holy  Rosary 76 

The  Third  Order  of  Saint  Francis 78 

Archconfraternity  of  the  Holy  Cord  of  Saint  Francis 82 

Confraternity  of  the  Scapular  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel 83 

Order  of  The  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel 84 

The  Scapular  of  the  Seven  Dolors 86 

The  Scapular  of  the  Immaculate  Conception 87 

The  Scapular  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity 87 

The  Red  Scapular  of  the  Passion,  and  of  The  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  and 

Mary 88 

Confraternity  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus . , 89 

Archconfraternity  of  the  Most  Holy  and  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  for 

the  Conversion  of  Sinners 91 

Conf rateniity  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament 92 

Indulgences  Granted  to  Members 93 

The  Archconfraternity  or  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul 94 

Archconfraternity  of  the  Guard  of  Honor  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus. . .  96 

Sodality  of  the  Child  Jesus 98 

Sodality  of  the  Holy  Angels 99 

Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 99 

xvU 


INTRODUCTION, 


BRIEF  SURVEY  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 


BY   RICHARD   H.  CLARKE,  IvIv.D., 

AuTHoa  OP  "  The  Lives  of  the  Deceased  Bishops  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States, 
"  The  Illustrated  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,"  etc.,  etc. 


"  The  Defenders  of  our  Faith  "  is  pre-eminently  a  volume  for 
the  American  Catholic.  It  treats  of  Catholicity  in  the  United 
States  from  the  time  of  that  patriarch  of  the  Church  in  America 
— Archbishop  Carroll — to  the  present  day.  It  delineates  the 
heroic  deeds,  noble  lives,  grand  achievements,  and  great  sacrifices 
of  all  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  the  Church  .in  America, 
including  those  venerable  prelates  who  have  passed  to  their 
reward,  as  also  those  who  remain  to  administer  the  great  interests 
of  the  Church  in  our  own  day,  and  who  now  bear  the  brunt  of 
the  battle  in  defending  the  faith  against  the  skepticism  and  infi- 
delity of  the  age. 

The  foundations  of  the  present  volume  were  laid  by  that  emi- 
nent historian  and  gifted  author,  the  late  Dr.  John  Grilmary  Shea, 
in  his  work  prepared  for  the  present  publishers,  entitled  "  The 
Hierarchy  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States."  The 
esteem  in  which  this  work  is  held  by  the  American  Prelates  may 
be  seen  by  glancinsj  at  their  many  endorsements  of  it  printed 
in  this  volume.  This  author's  able  j^eu  was  no  less  skilled  in 
dealing  with  the  historical  records  of  the  Church  in  this  country 
than  in  recording  the  achievements  of  great  missionaries  and  ex- 
plorers in  this  his  native  land.  Dr.  Shea's  services,  as  the  histo- 
rian of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America,  will  ever  prove  a  rich 
legacy  to  generations  of  American  Catholics  yet  unborn. 

The  present  volume,  besides  embodying   Dr.   Shea's  original 


ii  INTKODUCTION. 

work  brought  down  to  date,  also  contains  much  that  will  prove 
of  interest  to  the  American  Catholic,  and  that  fittingly  finds  a 
place  in  its  pages.  Dr.  Shea's  work  embraces  a  brief  History  of 
the  Church  in  the  United  States;  a  History  of  the  Plenary 
Councils  and  of  the  Dioceses,  as  included  in  the  lives  of  the  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops,  who,  in  the  great  purposes  of  Divine 
Providence,  presided  over  them.  To  this  has  been  added  many 
subjects  of  a  timely  and  valuable  character,  including  the  History 
and  Constitution  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda 
Fide;  the  mission  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Francis  Satolli, 
Apostolic  Delegate ;  the  Encyclical  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  on  Colum- 
bus ;  a  History  of  the  Foundation  of  the  Catholic  University  of 
America  at  Washington ;  the  Founding  and  Opening  of  the 
Catholic  Summer  School,  and  a  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  the  Author, 
John  Gilmary  Shea,  LL.D.  The  present  volume  also  contains 
many  other  important  features  which  will  be  found  to  greatly 
enhance  its  value  and  make  it  a  most  desirable  acquisition  for  all 
who  seek  a  closer  knowledge  of  the  teachings  of  the  Church  of 
God  and  the  noble  works  of  her  Defenders.  The  whole  forming 
an  invaluable  library  of  rich  and  varied  contents  which  cannot 
but  interest  all  Catholics,  and  particularly  American  Catholics. 

The  golden  treasures  of  Catholic  lore  to  be  found  in  that  por- 
tion of  the  work"  devoted  to  the  Church  in  our  own  country  will 
be  appreciated  by  taking  a  brief  survey  of  the  marvelous 

GKOWTH  AND  PROGRESS  OF  CATHOLICITY  IN  AMERICA. 

Compare,  or,  rather,  contrast  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States  in  the  epoch  of  Bishop  Carroll,  the  first  of  American 
Catholic  Bishops,  with  the  same  Church  in  the  times  of  His 
Eminence  Cardinal  Gibbons  and  of  Monsignore  Satolli.  The 
contrast  presents  facts  of  almost  incredible  proportions,  numbers, 
and  significance.  Then,  on  August  15,  1790,  when  Archbishop 
Carroll  went  to  England,  and  was  consecrated  in  the  chapel  of 
Lulworth  Castle  by  the  Vicar-Apostolic  of  London,  the  Right 
Rev.  Charles  Walrasley,  for  want  of  a  Catholic  Bishop  in  the 
United  States,  there  was  but  one  Bishop  in  the  whole  United 
States,  the  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  and  his  jurisdiction  spiritual 
embraced  the  whole  country  in  all  its  length  and  breadth ;   and 


INTEODUCTIOlN.  ID 

he  had  to  travel  from  one  extreme  of  it  to  the  other,  and  through 
every  one  of  the  States,  to  administer  the  Sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation or  to  confer  Holy  Orders;  while  the  statistics  in  1893 
give  us  thirteen  Archbishops  presiding  over  thirteen  ecclesias- 
tical provinces,  and  sixty-eight  Bishops  suffragans  to  these  Arch- 
bishops, and  five  Vicariates-Apostolic  presided  over  by  Bishops,, 
and  seven  mitred  Abbots  presiding  over  and  administering,  as 
their  Superiors,  seven  Benedictine  abbeys,  in  the  United  States. 
Besides,  the  Delegate  Apostolic,  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Satolli.  So  that  in  the  United  States  the  fifteen  Archbishops, 
one  a  Cardinal  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church  and  another  the  Dele- 
gate Apostolic,  the  sixty-eight  Bishops,  and  seven  mitred  Abbots, 
made  in  all,  in  1893,  ninety  Bishops,  as  against  a  single  Bishop 
in  1790. 

Now  let  us  mark  and  contrast  the  progress  of  the  Catholic 
population  of  the  United  States,  and  compare  it  at  various 
periods,  from  the  year  of  the  Declaration  of  American  Independ- 
ence, 1776,  to  the  year  of  1893.  It  is  estimated  from  data  cer- 
tainly below  the  truth,  that  the  Catholic  population  of  the  whole 
United  States  in  1776  was  25,000,  which  was  equal  to  one  oue- 
hundred-and-twentieth  (1-120)  of  the  entii'e  population  of  the 
whole  country.  In  1790,  when  the  first  Catholic  Episcopal  See 
was  erected  and  Bishop  consecrated,  the  Catholic  population  of 
the  country  was  30,000  (more  probably  32,000),  equivalent  to 
one  one-hundred-and-seventh  (1-107)  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States.  In  1800  the  Catholics  had  100,000,  which  was 
equal  to  one  fifty-third  (1-53)  of  the  whole  population.  In  1810^ 
we  had  150,000,  which  was  equal  to  one  forty-eighth  (1-48)  of  the 
whole  population.  In  1820  we  had  300,000,  which  was  then 
equal  to  one  thirty-second  part  (1-32)  of  the  whole.  In  1830  we 
had  600,000  Catholics  in  the  United  States,  which  was  equal  to 
one  twenty-first  part  (1-21)  of  the  whole.  In  1840  we  had  1,500,. 
000  Catholics,  which  was  equal  to  one-eleventh  (1-11)  of  the 
whole.  In  1850  we  had  3,500,000,  equivalent  to  one-seventh 
(1-7)  of  the  whole.  In  1860  we  had  4,500,000,  which  was  equal 
to  one-seventh  (1-7)  of  the  whole.  In  1878  there  were  7,000,000 
Catholics  in  the  United  States,  which  was  equal  to  one-sixth  (1-6) 
of  the  whole.     In  1890  the  official  ceusus  showed  the  entire  pop- 


iV  INTRODUCTION. 

ulatlon  of  the  United  States  to  be  62,885,548,  while  the  Catholic 
population  was  estimated  at  12,000,000,  or  one-fifth-and-a-half 
(l-5i).  One  of  our  Bishops  estimated  the  Catholic  population 
then  at  14,000,000. 

It  will  thus  ])e  ol>served  that  while  time  progressed  and  our 
population  increased,  the  ratio  or  speed  of  increase  itself  was 
wonderfully  increased.  Also  the  increase  of  the  Catholic  popu- 
lation was  very  much  greater  than  the  marvelous  increase  in  the 
general  population  of  the  United  States.  In  1789,  the  year 
before  Bishop  Carroll  was  consecrated,  the  entire  number  of 
priests  in  the  United  States  only  reached  thirty;  but  in  1893  the 
number  was  about  9,000,  and  there  were  about  1,760  young 
Levites  preparing  for  the  American  Catholic  priesthood  and  for 
the  missions  of  the  United  States.  Contrasts  like  these  cannot 
be  witnessed  in  our  century  in  the  religious  and  ecclesiastical 
history  of  any  other  country  in  Christendom  ! 

But  the  Catholic  Church  and  her  children  feel  that  the  right 
of  discover}'  and  of  conquest  has  made  the  spiritual  kingdom  of 
the  Lord  in  America  a  part  of  her  inheritance,  the  birthright  of 
the  Catholic  nations  of  the  Old  World  and  of  Christendom,  in  a 
spiritual  sense  ;  because  it  was  they  who  first  planted  the  Chris- 
tian vineyard  in  this  New  World,  after  having  discovered  it,  and 
brought  it  up  to  the  light  of  the  universe  and  before  the  eyes  of 
the  civilized  world.  Columbus,  the  brave  and  gallant  Admiral, 
^vho  discovered  America,  was  a  devoted  son  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  In  fact,  on  the  13th  day  of  October,  1492,  when  Colum- 
bus and  his  officers  and  crews  first  saw  land  in  the  Western 
JItjiuisphere,  and  landed  upon  it,  chanting  Catholic  Litanies  and 
planting  the  Christian  Cross  which  their  Catholic  ancestors  had 
found  and  erected  above  the  Crescent  and  all  other  false  or  human 
standards,  the  Christian  Church  was  united  and  at  peace — there 
was  but  one  fold  then,  and  there  were  no  Christian  sects  to  share 
with  the  Catholics  the  honor  and  the  glory  of  discovering  America. 
Columbus  was  a  Catholic  of  the  mediaeval  standard ;  his  faith 
was  sublime,  his  piety  tender,  his  zeal  unbounded,  his  obedience 
to  Mother  Church  was  childlike,  his  loyalty  was  heroic.  He  was 
a  Catholic  of  the  chivalrous  mould — for  he  was  a  true  and  veri 
table  Crusader.     He  planned  a  new  (haisade  for  the  recovery  of 


IXTEODUCTIOX.  V 

Jerusalem,  tlie  Holy  Sepulchre,  from  the  hands  of  the  Moham- 
medans, in  life  enjoining  his  son  that  fifty  thousand  infantry  and 
six  thousand  cavalry  be  sent  on  the  Columbian  Crusade,  at  his  ex- 
pense, equipped  and  maintained  out  of  revenues  he  should  re- 
ceive from  his  vice-regal  estates  and  income  from  the  New 
World  he  had  discovered,  and  he  provided  for  it  in  his  will.* 
He  was  a  daily  attendant  at  mass  while  on  land,  and  at  sea 
he  chanted  matins,  lauds  and  vespers  on  the  deck  of  his  ship. 
He  observed  all  the  festivals  and  fasts  of  the  Church.  He  be- 
lieved in  and  practiced  penances,  pilgrimages,  vows,  votive  offer- 
ings, and  monastic  and  mediaeval  devotions.  He  was  a  loyal 
follower  and  vassal  of  the  Holy  See.  When  he  had  discovered 
a  New  World,  be  submitted  the  partition  of  it  between  Spain 
and  Portugal  to  Pope  Alexander  VL,  and  assisted  with  his 
counsels  the  drawing,  from  pole  to  pole,  of  that  famous  Papal 
Line  of  Demarkatiou  which  separated  the  East  from  the  West, 
and  partitioned  the  earth  in  two. 

It  was  Christopher  Columbus  who  brought  the  first  Christian 
missionaries,  twelve  apostolic  men.  Religious  monks,  from  Spain, 
on  his  second  voyage,  to  evangelize  the  Indians  of  the  new  world. 
He  erected  the  first  Christian  shrine  for  the  celebration  of  the 
Christian  mysteries  in  the  new  world.  He  built  the  first  Christian 
church  in  the  city  of  San  Domingo,  the  first  erected  and  conse- 
crated in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  In  his  will  he  provided  for 
the  erection  of  a  memorial  chapel  in  the  Royal  Vega  of  His- 
paniola,  where  he  intended  that  perpetual  masses  should  be  of- 
fered for  the  souls  of  himself  and  his  descendants.  In  his  private 
quarters,  and  publicly  in  the  streets  of  Seville  and  other  Spanish 
cities,  after  he  was  the  discoverer  of  the  new  world,  he  wore  the 
coarse  brown  habit  and  girdle  of  the  Franciscan  monks.  He  died 
in  the  arms,  and  amidst  the  mortuary  prayers  and  litanies,  of  the 
Franciscans,  who  alone  of  ecclesiastics  attended  his  last  moments, 
-and  he  was  buried  in  the  vaults  of  their  convent  at  Valladolid. 

Such  was  the  religious  character,  such  the  Catholic  faith  and 
devotion,  of  the  man  who  broke  the  boundaries  of  the  known 
earth,  and  revealed  a  new  world  to  mankind,  a  new  Christendom 
for  the  Church.    His  Catholic  mantle  fell  upon  the  Catholic  shoul- 

*  Will  of  Columbus,  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  Vol.  III.,  p.  450 


VI  IXTRODUCTIOX. 

ders  of  a  success'iou  of  Catholic  discoverers  and  conquerors,  and 
the  whole  continent  was  Catholic.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to  do 
more  in  illustration  of  the  Catholic  origin  of  America  as  a  Chris- 
tian and  civilized  laud,  discovered,  explored,  and  evangelized  by 
Catholic  discoverers,  explorers,  and  missionaries,  than  to  merely 
mention  Ponce  de  Leon,  accompanied  by  Catholic  priests  and 
monks,  in  Florida,  in  1521,  only  fifteen  years  after  the  death  of 
Columbus;  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  accompanied  by  Dominican  friars, 
in  ]\Iarylaud  and  Virginia,  in  1526  ;  Narvaez  and  De  Soto,  in  Flor- 
ida, the  former  in  152(3-1536,  the  latter  in  1539-1542;  Father 
Mark,  the  Fi-anciscan  missionary,  in  New  Mexico,  in  1595  ;  Bal- 
boa, discovering  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  1513 ;  Garay,  discovering 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  1524 ;  De  Vaca,  crossing  and  traversing  the 
continent  in  1532;  Cartier,  discovering  Canada  in  1534;  Cortes 
in  ^lexico  in  1519.  And  so  the  long  list  could  be  followed  up 
with  the  Cabots  discovering  our  New  England  in  1498,  and  carry- 
ing with  them  priests  from  Bristol,  England,  who  said  mass  on 
those  shores;  of  Champlain,  in  the  North,  discovering  Penobscot 
Bay  in  1604,  Lake  Champlain  in  1609,  and  Lake  Ontario  in  1615 ; 
of  De  La  Salle  at  the  Delta  of  the  Mississippi  and  in  Texas ;  of 
Marquette  and  Jolliet  on  the  Great  River,  the  Father  of  Waters ; 
the  Jesuits  in  Northern  New  York,  when,  in  the  Mohawk  Valley, 
they  sealed  their  heroism  with  their  blood,  inspiring  in  the  pres- 
ent generation  of  Catholics  the  zeal  to  erect  near  the  very  spot 
where  Father  Isaac  Jogues  was  martyred,  a  memorial  shrine  in 
his  honor ;  Catholic  missionaries,  too,  in  Maine,  among  the  Illinois, 
the  Iroquois,  and  among  the  fierce  Indian  tribes  of  Mississippi, 
Missouri,  Alabama,  and  Louisiana.  Thus  truly  may  it  be  said 
that  the  work  of  Christopher  Columbus  was  followed  with  cour- 
age, self-sacrifice,  heroism,  ability,  and  success,  until  now  we  have 
a  continent  teeming  with  industrious  and  free  populations,  an  em- 
pire of  Republics  crowned  with  Christian  civilization,  the  arts  and 
sciences,  enlightened  civil  government,  religious  liberty,  and  with 
all  the  progressive  improvements  of  peace  and  of  war. 

Not  only  have  Catholics,  through  their  early  discoverers,  ex- 
plorers, conquerors,  statesmen,  legislators,  and  heroes,  founded 
thus  the  Christian  empires  and  nations  of  the  new  world,  but 
they  have  also  done  a  conspicuous  part,  and  contributed  a  sub- 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  Vll 


stautial  share  towards  the  establishment  of  American  Liberty, 
the  founding  of  the  American  States  and  the  Republic  of  the 
Union,  the  creation  of  our  incomparable  Constitution,  the  estab- 
lishment of  our  colleges  and  institutions  of  learning,  the  develop- 
ment of  agricultural  and  mechanicnl  industries,  tlie  leadership  of 
our  legislative  halls  and  councils,  and  the  protection  and  defense 
of  American  institutions,  the  Union  and  the  Republican  form  of 
Government.  In  our  Revolutionary  War  there  were  no  purer 
and  more  enthusiastic  patriots  than  our  first  Catholic  Bishop,  the 
Most  Rev.  John  Carroll,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore;  than  Charles 
Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Daniel  Carroll,  General  Stephen  Moylan, 
James  Fitzsimmons,  Commodore  Barry,  the  founder  of  the 
American  iSTavy.  What,  too,  shall  be  said  of  the  invaluable  ser- 
vices rendered  to  the  cause  of  American  Independence  by  the 
patriot  priest  of  the  American  Revolution,  in  the  West,  the  Rev. 
Peter  Gibault,  who  blessed  the  regiments  as  they  marched  to  join 
the  Revolutionary  Army  of  the  Northwest,  and  who  won  the 
Western  Indians  to  our  cause ;  and  without  whose  patriotic  efforts, 
it  has  been  said,  the  great  Northwest  would  have  been  lost  to  the 
American  Union  ? 

So,  too,  in  tlie  War  of  1812,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  American 
Army  were  filled  with  Catholic  officers  and  soldiers,  as  was  also 
the  case  with  the  war  for  the  Union,  in  which  such  names  as 
Sheridan,  Shields,  Meagher,  Rosecranz,  and  hosts  of  others  illus- 
trate their  bravery,  their  skill,  and  their  victories.  Nor  can  we 
omit  to  allude  to  that  patriot  Catholic  Archbishop,  the  Most  Rev. 
John  Hughes,  of  New  York,  who,  in  the  gloomiest  period  of  the 
war  for  the  Union,  was  called  upon  by  the  national  adminis- 
tration to  accept  a  mission  of  peace  to  Europe,  and  who,  by  his 
personal  character  and  influence,  and  by  his  skilful  and  able  di- 
plomacy, kept  France  and  Sj)ain  neutral  in  the  struggle,  and  thus 
shortened  the  bloody  strife  of  civil  war. 

It  is  such  pregnant  causes,  such  historic  records,  and  such 
home-aro;uments  that  have  made  American  Catholic  citizens  feel 
at  home  in  this  great  Republic.  But  there  is  one  other  service 
which  the  Catholics  of  America  have  in  past  and  colonial  times 
rendered  to  the  universal  cause  of  human  liberty,  and  especially 
to  the  constitutional  freedom  of  American  institutions,  which  has 


VUl  INTRODUCTION. 

made  them  feel  that  they  have  a  pre-eminent  right  to  share  the 
glories  and  the  benefits  of  American  liberty  and  free  government. 
The  early  colonial  settlements  in  America  were  strongly  and 
strangely  influenced,  to  a  considerable  extent,  by  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  considerations  and  motives;  of  which  four  signal 
instances  are  to  be  found  and  studied  in  the  cases  of  the  Puri- 
tans of  New  England,  the  Episcopalians  in  Virginia,  the  Quakers 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Catholics  in  Maryland.  But  it  was  the 
Catholics  in  Maryland,  landing  and  planting  the  cross  at  St. 
Mary's  in  1634,  who  were  the  first,  and  at  that  time  the  only  colony 
in  America  that  proclaimed  religious  liberty  to  all  Christian 
sects  within  its  territories.  Thus,  while  churchmen  and  Catholics 
were  persecuted  in  New  England,  and  Puritans  and  Catholics 
were  driven  out  of  Virginia,  the  Ej)iscopalian,  the  Puritan,  the 
Quaker,  and  all  Christians  w^ere  welcomed  to  Maryland  and  to 
the  enjoyment  of  perfect  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Yet,  after- 
wards, when  the  Prince  of  Orange  triumphed  over  the  Second 
James  in  England,  and  the  Protestant  Revolution  overturned  the 
Catholic  ascendency  in  Maryland,  Catholics  became  persecuted  in 
the  very  land  which  they  made  "  The  Land  of  the  Safictuary  "  for 
all,  and  some,  even,  left  the  home  of  their  ancestors  to  find  a 
sanctuary,  where  they  could  enjoy  religious  liberty,  among  the 
Quakers  of  Pennsylvania,  under  the  mild  and  just  sway  of 
William  Penn.  But  the  Toleration  Act,  wdiich  the  Maryland 
Catholics  enacted  into  a  solemn  law  in  1649,  bore  its  fruits  in 
1776  and  1789  and  1790;  and  it  is  bearing  fruit  to-day  and  for- 
ever, for  it  was  su])stantially  incorporated  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  Well  then  may  American  Catholics  feel 
that  they  form  an  integral  part  of  the  American  people  and  na- 
tion, of  the  current  national  life  of  the  American  people,  and  of 
its  future  hopes,  duties,  aspirations,  and  triumphs.  For  their 
proud  history  in  the  past  and  their  patriotism  and  loyalty  in  the 
present  entitle  them  to  it. 

lu  the  histor}^  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States  we  find  an 
imposing  array  of  learned,  dignified,  and  able  prelates,  consti- 
tuting tlie  Hierarchy  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States. 
These  eminent  Archbishops  and  Bishops  have  in  truth  been  from 
the  beginning  to  the  present  day  the  Defenders  of  the  Catholic 


INTRODUCTION.  IX 

faith  in  America ;  and  hence  no  truer  or  more  appropriate  title 
for  the  book  could  have  been  chosen  than  The  Defenders  of  Our 
Faith.  All  of  these  illustrious  Prelates  have  been  in  their  re- 
spective dioceses  and  in  their  times,  and  to  a  greater  or  le8^^er 
degree^  defenders  of  the  faith ;  but  yet  many  of  them  have  been, 
either  from  time,  opportunity,  eminent  ability,  the  special  oc- 
casions presented,  or  from  the  attacks  made  upon  the  Catholic 
faith  in  their  dioceses  or  upon  themselves  as  representatives  of 
the  Church,  pre-eminent  Defenders  of  Our  Faith,  and  some  of 
these  I  will  briefly  notice. 

For  scarcely  had  the  first  of  American  Catholic  Bishops,  the 
Most  Kev.  John  Carroll,  j^rs^  Bishop  and  after  wards  ^r6-^  ^^'<?A- 
hishop  of  Baltimore  and  of  the  United  States,  been  consecrated, 
when  an  anonymous  writer  in  Baltimore  published  a  letter  se- 
verel}^  calling  him  to  task  for  using  the  ordinary  signature  of 
Catholic  bishops,  for  he  had  just  issued  his  first  pastoral  letter 
to  his  flock,  to  which  he  signed  his  name  "  John,  Bishop  of  Bal- 
timore." Bishop  Carroll  immediately  replied  through  the  press 
defending  his  right  to  do  so  and  the  custom  in  such  cases,  besides 
the  arguments  based  on  reason,  law,  and  the  custom  of  all  nations; 
he  showed  from  ecclesiastical  history  that  such  was  the  custom 
of  the  Bishops  of  the  early  Church,  even  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  in  ancient  Asia  and  Africa,  and  that  he  was  only  following 
the  venerable  example  of  such  illustrious  Bishops  in  the  ancient 
Chuch  as  Clement,  Bishop  of  Borne ;  Ignatius,  Bishop  of  An- 
tioch  ;  Alexander,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  others  of  equal  fame 
and  glory  in  the  Christian  Church.  Besides,  Archbishop  Carroll 
was  the  first  to  wear  and  officiate  in  the  vesture  and  insignia  of 
the  episcopacy,  dnd  he  wore  them  with  dignity,  humility,  and  self- 
respect.  And  being  the  first  Bishop,  he  was  the  first  herald  and 
defender,  and  was  called  by  his  own  flock  and  by  posterity  the 
Patriarch  of  Catholicity  in  America. 

Next  in  the  Hierarchy  follow  a  long  line  of  Bishops,  such  as 
Bishops  Neale  of  Baltimore,  Flaget  of  Kentucky,  Connolly  of  New 
York,  Marechal  and  Whitfield  of  Baltimore,  David  of  Kentucky, 
Fenwick  of  Cincinnati  and  Fenwick  of  Boston,  Portier  of 
Mobile,  Brute  of  Indiana,  Blanc  of  New  Orleans,  Loras  of  Iowa, 
Miles  of  Tennessee,  Chanche  of  Mississippi,  Lefevre  of  Michigan, 


X  iJSTKODUCTiON. 

Odin  of  Louisiana,  Quarter  of  Illinois,  Byrne  of  Arkansas,  Rey- 
nolds of  South  Carolina,  Fitzpatrick  of  Boston,  Timon  of  Buf- 
falo, Bazin  of  Indiana,  Van  de  Velde  of  Mississippi,  O'Eeilly  of 
Connecticnt,  England  of  South  Carolina,  Cretin  of  Minnesota, 
(Jarrell  of  Kentucky,  Young  of  Pennsylvania,  Smyth  of  Iowa, 
Barry  of  South  Carolina,  Luers  of  Indiana,  Lavialle  of  Kentucky, 
Verot  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  Whelan  of  West  Virginia,  Mc- 
Fnrland  and  Galberry  of  Connecticut,  Bacon  of  Maine,  Hendricken 
of  Rhode  Island,  Foley  and  Baltes  of  Illinois,  Rappe  and  Rose- 
cransof  Ohio,  Toebbe  of  Pennsylvania,  Hailandiere  and  St.  Palais 
of  Indiana,  Leray  of  Louisiana,  Quinlan  and  Manucy  of  Alabama, 
Martin  of  Louisiana,  Pellicer  of  Texas,  Shanahan  and  Domenec 
of  Pennsylvania,  Mullen  of  Iowa,  O'Gorman  of  Nebraska,  and 
Amat  and  Alemany  of  California,  who  were  examples  of  religion, 
piety,  humility,  faithful  services  and  undeviating  perseverance  in 
the  struggle  of  a  Christian  life.  They  made  the  best  defense  of 
Catholic  Faith  by  showing  what  fruits  it  bears,  the  fruits  of  good 
example.  Some  of  them,  like  Brute,  were  also  men  of  great 
learning ;  others,  like  Odin,  were  great  missionaries,  and  others 
were  pioneers,  first  Bishops  on  our  northern,  southern,  and  west- 
ern frontiers. 

Bishop  Cheverus,  of  Boston,  w^ho  was  afterwards  called  to 
France  and  created  a  Cardinal,  was  also  a  man  of  superior  attain- 
ments, social  culture  united  with  Zealand  humility,  and  a  courtly 
apostle  to  tone  down  the  robust  character  of  the  Puritan. 
Bishop  Egan,  of  Philadelphia,  vras  brave,  though  yielding  and 
humljle,  and  it  was  he  that  fought  a  courageous  fight  with  the 
schismatical  spirit  of  lay  trusteeism  in  the  Church.  Bishop  Du- 
l)Ourg,  of  New  Orleans,  was  an  accomplished,  leaiHed,  and  zealous 
prelate  ;  he  accepted  an  ungrateful  and  difficult  task — the  refor- 
mations needed  in  the  old  French  element  of  his  flock ;  and  he 
was  a  patriot,  for  while  General  Jackson  was  fighting  the  battle 
of  New  Orleans,  the  Prelate  and  the  non-combatant  part  of  his 
flock  were  praying  for  his  success  in  the  churches;  and  when  the 
liero  of  New  Orleans  returned  from  the  field  of  triumph,  after  a 
hard-fought  battle.  Dr.  Dubourg  delivered  to  him  an  address  of 
thanks  and  placed  a  laurel  crown  on  the  brow  of  the  victor. 
Bishop  England,  of    Charleston,  was   an  eloquent  and  learned 


INTRODUCTIOIS'.  XI 

champion  of  tlie  faith,  a  great  pulpit  orator,  and  an  ornament  to 
the  American,  as  he  was  to  the  Universal,  Church.  Bishop 
Rosati,  of  St.  Louis,  was  called  the  model  Bishop.  Bishop  Dubois, 
of  New  York,  was  one  of  the  French  emigre  clergy  from  France, 
driven  to  our  shores  by  the  French  Revolution;  he  made  many 
eminent  coaverts,  was  the  founder  of  Mt.  St.  Mary's  College, 
Maryland,  and  in  the  struggle  with  lay  trusteeism  in  New  York 
he  won  the  title  of  tlie  Little  Napoleon.  Archbishop  Francis 
Patrick  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore,  was  a  prelate  of  vast  ecclesiastical 
learning,  and  bequeathed  to  the  Church  a  rich  inheritance  in  his 
numerous  religious  and  theological  works.  Bishops  De  Nickere 
of  New  Orleans,  and  Neumann  of  Philadelphia,  were  prelates  of 
eminent  sanctity ;  and  the  latter  is  now,  through  his  brethren  of 
the  Kedemptorist  Order,  a  candidate  for  canonization  as  a  saint. 
Archbishops  Eccleston  and  Bayley,  of  Baltimore,  were  converts  to 
the  Catholic  Church  from  Episcopalianism,  adorned  the  ranks  of 
the  Hierarchy,  and  rose  to  its  highest  honors.  Bishop  Tyler,  of 
Connecticut,  was  a  convert,  and  died  early  in  his  episcopal  career. 
Archbishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  was  truly  one  of  The  De- 
fenders of  our  Faith.  Eloquent,  learned,  brave  as  a  Crusader, 
ambitious,  just  and  equal  to  all,  the  leader  of  his  people  and 
champion  of  the  faith,  there  is  no  member  of  the  American  Cath- 
olic Hierarchy,  living  or  dead,  who  stands  higher  in  the  temple 
of  ecclesiastical  fame  and  glory.  The  whole  life  of  Archbishop 
Hughes  vindicated  his  pre-eminent  rank  among  the  Defenders  of 
our  Faith,  for  his  inclination  in  that  direction  commenced  to 
show  itself  even  during  his  academic  studies,  when  he  replied  to 
certain  aggressive  remarks  in  a  4th  of  July  speech  at  Chambers- 
burg.  His  first  controversy  as  a  priest  was  with  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Bishop  Delaney  in  1829,  on  Catholic  Emancipation  in 
Ireland.  His  next  public  controversy  was  with  "Fergus  Mc- 
Alpin,"  the  New  York  Truth  Teller,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Levins,  in 
which  Dr.  Hughes  gave  a  foretaste  to  his  opponents  of  his 
controversial  qualities.  In  1832  occurred  the  celebrated  contro- 
versy with  Rev.  John  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  on  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Church,  which  was  one  of  the  most  triumphant 
vindications  of  Catholic  truth*  of  which  we  can  justly  boast.  In 
its  published  form  it    is  a  valuable  repertory  of   controversial 


Xii  INTRODUCTION. 

learnino-.  About  1843  Archbishop  Hughes  had  another  noted 
controversy  with  David  Hale,  editor  of  the  New  York  Journal 
of  Commerce,  which  grew  out  of  the  assaults  made  on  the  then 
recently  etiacted  statutes  of  the  New  York  diocese,  but  chiefly 
related  to  the  subject  of  lay  trusteeism  in  the  Church.  His  con- 
troversy with  "Kirwan,"  who,  as  unmasked  by  Dr.  Hughes, 
tui-ned  out  to  be  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Murray,  was  dogmatic  and 
doctrinal ;  it  grew  out  of  letters  of  Dr.  Hughes  in  the  Free- 
man's Journal^  "  on  the  Importance  of  being  in  Communion  with 
Christ's  one,  holy.  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church,"  and  took  place 
in  1847.  On  his  return  from  Cuba  in  1854,  he  replied  to  Gen- 
eral Cass'  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  this  led  to  a 
spirited  controversy  on  Know-nothingism.  One  of  Archbishop 
Hughes'  bitterest  tilts  was  with  Hon.  Mr.  Brooks,  of  the  New 
York  Times,  which  chiefly  consisted  in  refutation  of  charges 
made  in  the  Times  as  to  the  alleged  enormity  of  the  Church  prop- 
erties held  in  New  York.  All  these  combats  of  the  illustrious 
Prelate  were  fierce  and  bitter,  but  it  must  be  said  that  he  was 
uniformly  on  the  defensive ;  but  he  was  an  expert  champion  in 
carrying  on  a  defensive  warfare  upon  an  aggressive  basis.  His 
triumphant  efforts  made  the  Catholic  body  respected  and  even 
appreciated  by  their  opponents  and  by  the  community.  The 
Archbishop  conquered  peace. 

Bishop  Baraga,  of  Marquette,  was  a  great  Indian  missionary 
and  a  distinguished  Indian  linguist ;  he  left  to  us  the  Indian 
book  which  he  composed  for  the  instruction  of  the  red  men,  a 
valuable  contriljution  to  our  American  linguistics.  Archbishop 
Spaulding,  of  Baltimore,  was  a  distinguished  theologian,  orator  and 
author,  and  his  writings  form  a  valuable  legacy  to  the  American 
Church ;  he  was  distinguished  in  the  Councils  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America,  and  in  the  Vatican  Council  he  gained  great 
eminence  as  an  advocate  of  the  Dogma  of  Papal  Infallibility. 
Bishop  Lynch,  of  Charleston,  was  a  man  of  great  ecclesiastical 
and  scientific  learning,  and  was  a  distinguished  pulpit  orator. 
The  Right  Rev.  John  McGill,  Bishop  of  Richmond,  was  a  power- 
ful and  celebrated  controversial  preacher ;  he  had  been  a  lawyer 
in  his  early  life,  and  his  law  studies  always  gave  a  certain  close 
and  logical  trend  to  his  arguments  ;    he  was  truly  a  defender  of 


i.NTKODucTiojf.  xiii 

the  faitb.  Archbishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  was  a  man  of  mark, 
energy,  and  labor ;  he  truly  built  up  the  Church  in  Ohio,  and 
founded  many  churches  and  institutions ;  his  last  years  were 
sadly  unfortunate  in  the  financial  misfortunes  which  overtook 
him  and  his  diocese,  and  led  to  his  voluntary  retii'ement.  Arch- 
bishop Henni,  of  Milwaukee,  was  a  pioneer  Western  prelate,  and 
did  much  to  organize  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  great  North- 
west. Archbishop  Perch e,  of  New  Orleans,  was  a  great  pulpit 
orator  in  his  native  French  tongue,  and  a  brilliant  and  earnest 
worker. 

The  first  American  Cardinal  was  His  Eminence  John  Mc- 
Closkey,  Archbishop  of  New  York.  This  good,  zealous,  amiable, 
and  eloquent  prelate  was  remarkable  for  his  modesty,  his  charity, 
his  prudence,  and  his  truly  sacerdotal  character.  He  rendered 
great  services  to  the  Church  in  the  American  Councils. 

In  Oregon  there  were  two  prelates  most  distinguished  as  pio- 
neer and  missionary  Bishoj^s.  They  were  brothers,  and  natives 
of  Canada ;  these  were  the  Most  Kev.  Francis  Norbert  Blanchet, 
first  Archbishop  of  Oregon,  and  the  Right  Rev.  Augustin 
Magloire  Blanchet,  first  Bishop  of  Nesqually.  But  Oregon  had 
another  illustrious  Archbishoj),  the  Most  Rev.  John  Charles 
Seghers,  a  truly  apostolic  man,  an  Indian  missionary  in  Oreo-on 
and  Alaska,  a  man  of  exceptional  zeal,  labor,  and  self-denial.  He 
had  been  Rishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  the  poorest  then  of  dio- 
ceses ;  and  after  he  was  made  Archbishop  of  Portland,  Oregon, 
he  went  to  Rome,  where  he  was  received  with  veneration,  and  he 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  when  he  asked  to  re- 
sign the  higher  and  easier  position  as  Archbishop  of  Oreo-on  in 
order  to  become  a  simple  Bishdp  again  and  return  to  his  poor 
flock  at  Vancouver's  Island.  When  consecrated  he  was  the 
youngest  of  our  American  Bishops,  but  he  was  the  most  heroic. 
He  fell  a  martyr  to  his  zeal  and  his  faith  while  on  an  arduous 
expedition  on  the  far  and  desolate  shores  of  the  Youkon  River,  in 
Alaska. 

Archbishop  Wood,  of  Philadelphia,  was  a  convert  to  the  foith  ; 
he  became  one  of  its  defenders.  Reared  at  the  banking  business, 
his  attainments  as  a  man  of  business  were  of  great  service  to  the 
Church  during  his  useful  episcopal  administration.     He  was  ap- 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

pointed  to  assist  the  saintly  Bishop  Neumann,  and  worthily  suc- 
ceeded him.  He  did  much  to  organize  and  consolidate  the 
ecclesiastical  Province  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  died  at  his  post  of 
duty.  The  Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor,  Bishop  of  Pittsburg,: 
was  a  man  of  solid  learning,  eloquence,  and  zeal ;  his  intellect  was 
powerful,  and  he  was  a  persuasive  man  in  the  pulj^it  and  in  the 
Councils  of  the  Church.  In  consequence  of  broken  health  he 
resigned  the  purple,  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life  and  died  an 
humble  Jesuit  priest  at  Woodstock.  Bishop  Miege,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  a  Jesuit  who  became  a  Bishop,  and  he  was  a  great 
missionary  among  the  Indians  of  the  Indian  Territory  and  of  the 
great  Northwest.  His  life  would,  be  extremely  interesting  if  it 
could  be  written  at  length.  He  founded  the  Church  of  Kansas 
and  the  Episcopal  See  of  Leavenworth.  He  spent  himself  in  the 
most  distant  and  most  arduous  service  of  the  Church,  and  by  the 
loss  of  his  health  was  compelled  to  resign  his  See,  and  spend  the 
remnant  of  his  useful  life  as  a  simple  priest  amongst  his  brethren 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

The  progress  of  higher  Catholic  education  is  plainly  attested  by 
the  establishment  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America  at  Wash- 
ington, and  of  university  extension  education  through  the  Catholic 
Summer  School  of  the  United  States,  now  so  pleasantly  and  wisely 
located  on  its  own  estate  on  the  majestic  Lake  of  Champlain. 
While  the  former  of  these  two  great  educational  institutions 
has  received  from  the  United  States  Congress  an  ample  charter, 
fully  and  amply  expansive  to  cover  the  great  work  of  the  future 
in  the  higher  education  of  the  American  Catholic  Priesthood,  the 
latter,  located  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Empire  State  of  New 
York,  has  received  its  charter  from  the  Regents  of  the  University 
of  New  York,  and  it  seems  to  rise  from  its  birth  into  instan- 
taneous maturity  and  strength,  and,  like  Minerva  springing  from 
the  brain  of  Jove,  a  fully  developed  educational  foundation  from 
the  beginning.  At  the  present  time  its  scope  is  principally  that 
line  of  studies  and  methods  which  are  similar  to  university  exten- 
sion, having  immediate  contact  with  and  spreading  knowledge 
and  trained  studies  among  the  people.  But,  from  my  own  obser- 
vation and  experience  of  the  Catholic  Summer  School  at  New 
London,  in  its  first  summer's  session  of  1892,  I  saw  clearly  that, 


INTRODUCTIOiSr.  XV 

in  addition  to  the  above  advantages  and  features,  it  now,  in  fact, 
developed  and  added  the  distinct  proportions  and  training  of  a 
Normal  College,  for  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  students,  whom 
I  there  met  in  daily  attendance  on  the  lectures,  were  teachers 
either  in  the  Catholic  Parochial  Schools  or  in  the  Public  Schools 
of  the  adjacent  States.  I  was  the  more  impressed  with  this  fact 
from  the  circumstance,  immediately  after  my  lecture  on  Columbus, 
that  some  of  these  teachers  who  were  engaged  in  the  Public  Schools 
called  upon  me  for  further  and  detailed  information  and  the 
sources  wherein  the  subject  could  be  followed  up,  in  reference  to 
a  very  important  historical  error  seriously  affecting  Catholics, 
which  appears  in  the  text-books  of  public  schools,  and  which  in 
my  lecture  I  endeavored  to  refute. 

The  mission  of  Monsignore  Francesco  Satolli,  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  of  Lepanto,  the  Apostolic  Delegate  from  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff,  our  Holy  Father  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  1892,  is  a 
unique  and  significant  step  on  the  part  of  Leo  XIII.,  and  one  of 
the  strongest  evidences  he  could  possibly  give  of  his  affection 
and  veneration  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  for 
the  eminent,  learned,  and  zealous  Hierarchy  of  the  country,  and 
for  the  American  nation.  It  lifts  the  Catholic  Church  in  the 
United  States  up  a  grade  higher  in  the  ranks  of  organized 
Churches  and  Hierarchies,  and  gives  it  a  higher,  more  dignified, 
and  more  exalted  plane  and  rank  of  action  and  authority  above 
the  missionary  state  of  ecclesiastical  organization  in  which  the 
American  Catholic  Church  has  moved,  expanded,  and  propagated 
the  faith,  from  the  primitive  times  of  Archbishop  Carroll  to  the 
present. 

Pope  Leo  XIII.  has  always  expressed  in  words  and  manifested 
by  his  acts  a  great  admiration  and  affection  for  the  American 
people  and  their  government.  It  was  he  who,  like  his  illustrious 
predecessor.  Pope  Pius  IX.,  said  that  he  was  more  Pope  in  Amer- 
ica than  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  globe,  because  here  at  least 
his  spiritual  authority  was  not  only  fully  and  cordially  recog- 
nized by  millions  of  Catholics  and  they  were  free  to  recognize  his 
apostolic  office  and  jurisdiction  in  the  spiritual  order,  but  also 
here  the  Catholic  religion  and  the  Catholic  Church  were  free  and 
untrammelled.     For  he  could  appoint,  I  might  add,  as  many  Car- 


Xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

dinals,  Archbishops,  and  Bishojjs  as  he  might  think  proper,  and 
appoint  whom  he  pleased,  and  that  too  without  asking  the  con- 
sent or  permission  of  the  civil  authorities,  as  was  so  generally 
the  case  in  the  most  Catholic  countries  of  Europe  and  in  the  most 
Catholic  ages,  under  the  system  of  concordats  which  prevailed. 
Here  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  can  send  personal  and  jurisdictional 
officials  and  prelates  to  represent  him  personally,  and  here  he  can 
create  and  abolish  at  pleasure  Apostolic  Delegations  and  Vicari- 
ates with  any  and  every  defined  limits  of  ecclesiastical  or  spiritual 
jurisdiction.  Tlie  Peter-Pence  from  America,  that  loyal  tribute 
of  the  faithful  throughout  the  world,  pours  a  more  ample  stream 
of  generous  offerings  into  the  Papal  treasury,  to  supply  the  place 
of  the  plundered  revenues  of  the  Church  and  provide  the  means 
so  necessary  for  the  defraying  of  the  expenses  of  the  vast  and 
oecumenical  administration  of  the  Church  Universal,  than  any 
otlier  nation  in  Christendom.  But  there  is  another  grand  and 
significant  feature  in  the  pontifical  administration  of  Our  Holy 
Father  Pope  Leo  XHI.  which  greatly  endears  him  to  all  Ameri- 
cans and  to  our  National  as  well  as  to  our  State  Governments ; 
this  is  his  strong  and  undisguised  sympathy  Avith  democratic  prin- 
ci2:)les  of  government  and  for  the  Kepublican  form  of  govern- 
ment. This  generous  and  magnanimous  accord  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  and  of  the  Papal  Court  with  Republican  institutions  has 
sent  a  thrill  of  enthusiasm  and  joy  throughout  our  own  and 
other  Republics ;  and  poj^ular  rights  have  received  a  powerful 
suj^port  and  encouragement  from  the  most  learned,  the  most  far- 
seeing,  and  the  most  godlike  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  world. 
Should  the  disasters  of  socialism  and  of  social  revolution  ever 
drive  the  Pope  from  Rome,  his  rightful  capital,  there  is  no  quar- 
ter of  the  globe  where  he  would  be  so  welcome  and  so  revered  as 
in  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  American  Bishops  referred  to  above  in  our  Introduc- 
tion are  only  a  few  shining  examples ;  there  are  many  more 
of  equal  lustre,  if  time  and  space  permitted  special  notice  of 
them.  I  have  given  only  the  salient  points  in  the  careers  of  some 
of  the  great  Prelates  of  the  past,  and  the  reader  will  find  more 
ample  details  in  the  pages  of  The  Defenders  of  Our  Faith.  There 
ii  a  peculiar  benefit  in  writing  the  lives  of  good  men,  for  their  ex- 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

amples  teach  more  forcibly  than  precept.  I  realized  this  when  I 
wrote  and  published  The  Lives  of  the  Deceased  Bishops  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  when  I  was  told  by  an  emi- 
nent divine  that  that  work  had  greatly  and  manifestly  nourished 
aud  increased  the  veneration  of  the  Catholic  people  of  America 
for  their  venerable  Prelates  and  Pastors.  Such  too  will  be  the 
fruits  of  the  present  publication,  The  Defenders  of  Our  Faith. 
Whatever  the  able,  devout,  and  learned  pen  of  Dr.  Shea  has  con- 
tributed can  but  prove  instructive,  edifying,  and  ennobling. 

I  cannot  but  hope  that  a  careful  study  of  the  topics  herein 
treated  will,  in  a  measure,  enable  every  intelligent  Catholic 
reader  to  become,  though  it  be  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  and 
within  his  own  sphere,  a  zealous  "  Defender  of  the  Faith  "  he 
holds,  and  thus  aid  in  the  spread  of  Catholicity  throughout  our 
beloved  land,  until  the  Church  gathers  within  her  fold  the  wan- 
dering and  disunited  followers  of  every  sect. 

KiCHAED  H.  Clarke. 


PART    I. 


Catholic  Questions  of  the  Day 


PERTAINING    TO 


America  and  Americans. 


^n^ericai^    Jpatriotisn^ 


AND  THE 


MODERH  AHTI-CATHOLIC  MOYEMEHT. 


-»■  ♦ « »  •<- 


flrcliDisIiop  Ireland  on  the  Duty  and  Value  of  Patriotisni. 

A  Histoiy  of  the  Modern  Anti-Catholic  Movement  given  from 
the  standpoints  of  both  cleric  and  lay  writers  in  the  following 
pao-es,  may  very  appropriately  be  introduced  by  an  extensive 
quotation  from  the  celebrated  address  on  "  The  Duty  and  Value  of 
Patriotism,"  delivered  by  the  Most  Rev.  John  Ireland,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  St.  Paul,  before  the  New  York  Commandery  of 
the  Loyal  Legion,  New  York,  April  4,  1894. 

No  one  has  earned  a  better  right  to  speak  for  American 
Patriotism  or  Liberty,  than  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul.  He 
served  his  country  in  her  hour  of  peril  and  speaks  as  one  of  her 
defenders. 

The  calumnies  uttered  by  the  A.  P.  A.  against  the  Church,  and 
the  Americanism  of  Catholic  citizens,  should  need  no  other  refu- 
tation than  will  be  found  in  the  lofty  patriotism  breathed  in  this 
eloquent  address  to  his  comrades  in  arms,  but  so  insidious  have 
become  the  methods  of  attack  of  this  secret  oath-bound  society, 
that  a  thorough  expose  will  be  found  in  the  papers  that  follow, 
one  from  a  well-known  clergyman,  and  the  other  from  an  able 
journalist. 

The  following  are  pertinent  selections  from  the  Archbishop's 
address : 

I  shall  define  patriotism  as  you  understand  and  feel  it.  Patriot- 
ism is  love  of  country,  and  loyalty  to  its  life  and  weal — love 
tender  and  strong:  tender  as  the  love  of  son  for  mother,  strong  as 
the  pillars  of  death ;  loyalty  generous  and  disinterested,  shrink- 

(37) 


28  THE  DUTY  AND  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM. 

ing  from  no  sacrifice,  seeking  no  reward  save  country's  honor  and 
country's  triumph. 

More  than  a  century  ago  a  trans- Atlantic  poet  and  philosopher, 
reading  well  the  signs,  wrote: 

"  Westward  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way. 
The  first  f  oiu'  acts  abeady  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day  : 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last." 

Berkeley's  prophetic  eye  had  descried  America.  What  shall  I 
Bay  in  a  brief  discourse  of  my  country's  value  and  beauty,  of  her 
claims  to  my  love  and  loyalty  ?  I  will  pass  by  in  silence  her 
fields  and  forests,  her  rivers  and  seas,  the  boundless  riches  hidden 
beneath  her  soil  and  amid  the  rocks  of  her  mountains,  her  pure 
and  health-giving  air,  her  transcendent  wealth  of  nature's  fairest 
and  most  precious  gifts.  I  will  not  speak  of  the  floble  qualities 
and  robust  deeds  of  her  sons,  skilled  in  commerce  and  industry, 
valorous  in  war,  prosperous  in  peace.  In  all  these  things 
America  is  opulent  and  great ;  but  beyond  them  and  above  them 
is  her  singular  grandeur,  to  which  her  material  splendor  is  only 
the  fitting  circumstance. 

America  born  into  the  family  of  nations  in  these  latter  times 
is  the  highest  billow  in  humanity's  evolution,  the  crowning  effort 
of  ages  in  the  aggrandizement  of  man.  Unless  we  take  her  in 
this  altitude  we  do  not  comprehend  her;  we  belittle  her  tower- 
ing stature,  and  conceal  the  singular  design  of  Providence  in  her 
creation. 

America  is  the  country  of  human  dignity  and  human  liberty. 

When  the  fathers  of  the  Republic  declared:  "That  all  men  are 
created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  cer- 
tain inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness,"  a  cardinal  principle  was  enunciated,  which 
in  its  truth  was  as  old  as  the  race,  but  in  practical  realization 
almost  unknown. 

Slowly,  amid  sufferings  and  revolutions,  humanity  had  been 
reaching  out  toward  a  reign  of  the  rights  of  man.  Ante-Chris- 
tian paganism  had  utterly  denied  such  rights.  It  allowed 
nothing  to  man  as  man ;  he  was  what  wealth,  place,  or  power 
made  him.     Even  the  wise  Aristotle  taught  that  some  men  were 


THE  DUTY  AND  VALUE  OF  PATEIOTISM.  29 

intended  by  nature  to  be  slaves  and  chattels.  The  sweet  religion 
of  Christ  proclaimed  aloud  the  doctrine  of  the  common  father- 
hood of  Grod,  and  the  universal  brotherhood  of  men.  Eighteen 
hundred  years,  however,  went  by,  and  the  civilized  world  had 
not  yet  put  its  civil  and  political  institutions  in  accord  with  its 
spiritual  faith.  The  Christian  Church  was  all  this  time  leaven- 
ing human  society,  and  patiently  awaiting  the  promised  fermenta- 
tion. This  came  at  last,  and  it  came  in  America.  It  came  in  a 
first  manifestation  through  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  it 
came  in  a  second  and  final  manifestation  through  President 
Lincoln's  proclamation  of  emancipation. 

In  America  all  men  are  civilly  and  politically  equal ;  all  have 
the  same  rights;  all  wield  the  same  arm  of  defence  and  of  con- 
quest, the  suffrage;  and  the  sole  condition  of  rights  and  of 
power  is  simple  manhood. 

Humanity,  under  the  spell  of  heavenly  memories,  never  ceased 
to  dream  of  liberty,  and  to  aspire  to  its  possession.  Now  and 
then,  here  and  there,  its  refreshing  breezes  caressed  humanity's 
brow.  But  not  until  the  Eepublic  of  the  West  was  born,  not 
until  the  star-spangled  banner  rose  toward  the  skies,  was  liberty 
caught  up  in  humanity's  embrace,  and  embodied  in  a  great  and 
abiding  nation. 

In  America  the  government  takes  from  the  liberty  of  the  citi- 
zen only  so  much  as  is  necessary  for  the  weal  of  the  nation, 
which  the  citizen  by  his  own  act  freely  concedes.  In  America 
there  are  no  masters,  who  govern  in  their  own  right,  for  their 
own  interest,  or  at  their  own  will.  We  have  over  us  no  Louis 
XIV.  saying :  "  L'etat  c'est  moi  " ;  no  Hohenzollern,  announcing 
that  in  his  acts  as  sovereign  he  is  responsible  only  to  his  con- 
science and  to  God.  Ours  is  the  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  and  for  the  people.  The  government  is  our  own 
organized  will. 

THERE  IS  NO  STATE   ABOVE  OR  APART  FROM  THE  PEOPLE. 

Rights  begin  with,  and  go  upward  from  the  people.  In  other 
countries,  even  those  apparently  the  most  free,  rights  begin  with 
and  come  downward  from  the  state.  The  rights  of  citizens,  the 
rights  of  the  people,  are  concessions  which  have  been  painfully 


30  THE  DUXr  AND  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM. 

wrenched  from  the  governing  powers.  With  Americans,  when- 
ever the  organized  government  does  not  prove  its  grant,  the 
libertv  of  the  individual  citizen  is  sacred  and  inviolable.  Else- 
where there  are  governments  called  republics :  universal  suffrage 
constitutes  the  state ;  but  once  constituted  the  state  is  tyrannous 
and  arbitrary,  and  invades  at  will  private  rights,  and  curtails  at 
will  individual  liberty.  One  Kepublic  is  liberty's  native  home — 
America. 

The  God-given  mission  of  the  Eepublic  of  America  is  not  only 
to  its  own  people :  it  is  to  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth,  before 
whose  eyes  it  is  the  symbol  of  human  rights  and  human  liberty, 
toward  whom  its  flag  flutters  hopes  of  future  happiness  for 
themselves. 

Is  there  not  for  Americans  a  meaning  to  the  word.  Country  ? 
Is  there  not  for  Americans  reason  to  live  for  country,  and,  if  need 
there  be,  to  die  for  country  ?  Whatever  the  country,  patriotism 
is  a  duty :  in  America  the  duty  is  thrice  sacred. 

Duty  to  country  is  a  duty  of  conscience,  a  duty  to  God.  For 
country  exists  by  natural  divine  right.  It  receives  from  God  the 
authority  needful  for  its  life  and  work  :  its  authority  to  command 
is  divine.  The  apostle  of  Christ  to  the  Gentiles  writes :  "There 
is  no  power  but  from  God,  and  those  that  are,  are  ordained  of 
God.  Therefore,  he  that  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordi- 
nance of  God."  The  religion  of  patriotism  is  not  sufficiently 
considered :  and  yet,  it  is  this  religion  which  gives  to  country  its 
majesty,  and  to  patriotism  its  sacredness  and  force. 

PATRIOTISM   IlSr    TIME    OF    PEACE. 

The  days  of  peace  have  come  upon  our  fair  land :  the  days 
when  patriotism  was  a  duty  have  not  departed.  What  was 
saved  by  war  must  be  preserved. 

A  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people, 
as  proposed  by  the  founders  of  the  Kepublic,  was,  in  the  light  of 
the  facts  of  history,  a  stupendous  experiment.  The  experiment 
has  so  far  succeeded.  A  French  publicist,  De  Maistre,  once  dis- 
missed with  contempt  the  argument  drawn  from  the  United 
States  in  favor  of  free  institutions  in  Europe,  remarking:  "The 
Republic  of  the  United  States  is  in  its  swathiug-clothes ;  let  it 


THE  DUTY  AJfD  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM.  31 

grow :  wait  a  century  and  you  will  see."  The  Republic  has  lived 
out  a  century,  it  has  lived  out  a  mighty  civil  war,  with  no  dim- 
inution, assuredly,  of  vigor  and  promise.  Can  we  say,  however, 
-that  it  is  beyond  all  the  stages  of  an  experiment?  The  world  at 
f  large  is  not  willing  to  grant  this  conclusion  ;  it  tells  us,  even,  that 
the  Republic  is  but  now  entering  upon  its  crucial  crisis.  New 
conditions,  indeed,  confront  us :  new  perils  menace  us,  in  a  popu- 
lation bordering  on  the  hundredth  million  and  prepared  quickly 
to  leap  beyond  this  figure,  in  plethoric  and  unwieldy  urban  con- 
glomerations, in  that  unbridled  luxury  of  living  consequent  on 
vast  material  prosperit}^,  which  in  all  times  is  a  dreaded  foe  to 
liberty.  It  were  reckless  folly  on  our  part  to  deny  all  force  to 
the  objections  which  are  put  to  us. 

Meanwhile,  the  destinies  of  numerous  peoples  are  in  the 
balance.  They  move  toward  liberty,  as  liberty  is  seen  to  reign 
undisturbed  in  America;  they  recede  toward  absolutism  and 
hereditary  regimes^  as  clouds  are  seen  darkening  our  sky.  Civil, 
political,  social  happenings  of  America  are  watched,  the  world 
over,  with  intense  anxiety,  because  of  their  supposed  bearings 
upon  the  question  of  the  practicability  of  popular  government. 
A  hundred  times  the  thought  pressed  itself  upon  me,  as  I  dis- 
cussed in  foreign  countries  the  modern  democracy,  that,  could 
Americans  understand  how  much  is  made  to  depend  upon  the 
outcome  of  republican  and  democratic  institutions  in  their  coun- 
try, a  new  fire  of  patriotism,  a  new  zeal  in  the  welfare  of  the 
Republic,  would  kindle  within  their  hearts. 

For  my  part,  I  have  unwavering  faith  in  the  Republic  of 
America.  I  have  faith  in  the  providence  of  God  and  the  progress 
of  humanity  :  I  will  not  believe  that  liberty  is  not  a  permanent 
gift,  and  it  were  not  if  America  fail.  I  have  faith  in  the  power- 
ful and  loyal  national  heart  of  America,  which  clings  fast  to 
liberty,  and  sooner  or  later  rights  wrongs  and  uproots  evils.  I 
have  no  fears.  Clouds  cross  the  heavens :  soon  a  burst  of  sun- 
light dispels  them.  Different  interests  in  society  are  out  of  joint 
with  one  another,  and  the  social  organism  is  feverish  :  it  is  simply 
the  effort  toward  new  adjustments;  in  a  little  while  there  will  be 
order  and  peace.  Threatening  social  and  political  evils  are  near, 
and  are  seemingly  gaining  ground :  the  American  people  are  con- 


32  THE  DUTY  AND   VALUE   OF  PATRIOTISM. 

servatively  patient :  but  ere  long  the  national  heart  is  roused  and 
the  evils,  however  formidable  be  their  aspect,  go  down  before  the 
tread  of  an  indignant  people. 

DANGERS    TO    A    GOVERNMENT  BY   THE   PEOPLE. 

The  safety  of  the  Republic  lies  in  tbe  vigilant  and  active 
patriotism  of  the  American  people. 

There  is  a  danger  in  the  ignorance  of  voters.  As  a  rule,  the 
man  who  does  not  read  and  write  intelligently,  cannot  vote 
intelligently.  Americans  understand  the  necessity  of  popular 
instruction,  and  spare  no  expense  in  spreading  it.  They  cannot 
be  too  zealous  in  the  matter.  They  need  to  have  laws  in  every 
State  which  will  punish,  as  guilty  of  crime  against  the  country, 
the  parent  who  neglects  to  send  his  children  to  school. 

There  is  a  danger—  and  a  most  serious  one — in  corrupt  morals. 
A  people  without  good  morals  is  incapable  of  self-government. 
At  the  basis  of  the  proper  exercise  of  the  suffrage  lie  unselfish- 
ness and  the  spirit  of  sacrifice.  A  corrupt  man  is  selfish ;  an 
appeal  to  duty  finds  no  response  in  his  conscience ;  he  is  incapa- 
ble of  the  high-mindedness  and  generous  acts  which  are  the 
elements  of  patriotism ;  he  is  ready  to  sell  the  country  for  pelf  or 
pleasure.  Patriotism  takes  alarm  at  the  spread  of  intemperance, 
lasciviousness,  dishonesty,  perjury ;  for  country's  sake  it  should 
arm  against  those  dire  evils  all  the  country's  forces,  its  legisla- 
tures, its  courts,  and,  above  all  else,  public  opinion.  Materialism 
and  the  denial  of  a  living,  supreme  God  annihilate  conscience, 
and  break  down  the  barriers  to  sensuality ;  they  sow  broadcast 
the  seeds  of  moral  death :  they  are  fatal  to  liberty  and  social 
order.  A  people  without  a  belief  in  God  and  a  future  life  of  the 
soul  will  not  remain  a  free  people.  The  age  of  the  democracy 
must,  for  its  own  protection,  be  an  age  of  religion. 

AMERICAN   CITIZENSHIP THE   SOLE    STANDARD. 

Storms  are  passing  over  the  land,  arising  from  sectarian  hatred, 
and  nativist  or  foreign  prejudices.  These  are  scarcely  to  be 
heeded :  they  cannot  last.  Day  by  day  the  spirit  of  Americanism 
waxes  strong ;  narrowness  of  thought  and  unreasoning  strife  can- 
not resist  its  influences. 

This  country  is  America :  only  they  who  are  loyal  to  her  can  be 


THE  DUTY  AXD  VALUE  OF  PATRIOTISM.  33 

allowed  to  live  under  her  -flag ;  and  they  who  are  loyal  to  her  may 
enjoy  all  her  liberties  and  rights.  Freedom  of  religion  is 
accorded  by  the  Constitution ;  religion  is  put  outside  state  action, 
and  most  wisely  so;  therefore,  the  religion  of  a  citizen  must  not 
be  considered  by  voter  or  executive  officer.  The  oath  of  allegi- 
ance to  the  country  makes  the  man  a  citizen :  if  that  allegiance 
is  not  plenary  and  supreme,  he  is  false  to  his  profession ;  if  it  is, 
he  is  an  American.  Discriminations  and  seo^res^ations,  in  civil  or 
political  matters,  on  lines  of  religion,  of  birth-place,  or  of  race,  or 
of  language — and,  I  add,  or  of  color — is  un-American,  and  wrong. 
Compel  all  to  be  Americans,  in  soul  as  well  as  in  name  :  and  then, 
let  the  standard  of  their  value  be  their  American  citizenship. 

A]irEEICAX    PATRIOTISM    NEEDED. 

American  patriotism  is  needed — patriotism  intense,  which 
speaks  out  in  noble  pride,  with  beating  heart :  Civis  Americanus 
— I  am  an  American  citizen ;  patriotism  active,  which  shows 
itself  in  deed  and  in  sacrifice ;  patriotism  public-spirited,  which 
cares  for  the  public  weal  as  for  the  apple  of  the  eye.  Private 
personal  civic  virtue  is  not  uncommon  among  us ;  more  uncommon 
is  public  civic  virtue,  which  watches  the  ballot  and  all  approaches 
to  it,  which  demands  that  public  officials  do  their  duty,  which 
purifies  public  opinion  on  all  matters  where  country  is  concerned. 
This  patriotism  will  save  the  Republic. 

From  whom  primarily  does  the  Republic  expect  this  patriot- 
ism ?     From  her  veteran  soldiers. 

This  patriotism,  America,  thou  shalt  have.  I  speak  for 
veterans.     I  speak  for  their  brother-citizens. 

Noblest  ship  of  state,  sail  thou  on  over  billows,  and  through 
storms,  undaunted,  imperishable !  Of  thee  I  do  not  say : 
"Caesarem  vehis — thou  carriest  Caesar."  But  of  thee  I  say; 
"Libertatem  vehis — thou  carriest  Liberty."  Within  thy  bul- 
warks the  fair  goddess  is  enthroned,  holding  in  her  hands  the 
dreams  and  hoj^es  of  humanity.  Oh !  for  her  sake,  guard  well 
thyself.  Sail  thou  on,  peerless  ship ;  safe  from  shoals  and  malign 
winds,  ever  strong  in  keel,  ever  beauteous  in  prow  and  canvas, 
ever  guided  by  heaven's  polar  star !  Sail  thou  on,  I  pray  thee, 
undaunted  and  imperishable ! 


The    Ani^i-Gaf  holic    n]ovemenlc ; 


OB, 


THE  A.  P.  A.  CONSPIRATORS. 

By  Kev.  Thomas  Jefferson  Jenkins. 
^ 

The  intellect  of  Pope  Leo,  with  the  keenness  characteristic  of 
the  highest  minds,  pointed  out  the  sure  lines  of  defence  against 
politico-religious  secret  societies  when  he  gave  the  cue  to  Leo 
Taxil  and  his  brother-workers,  authors  of  L^Ennemi  Social — to 
tear  the  mask  from  the  faces  of  the  plotters,  penetrate  and 
divulge  the  secret  of  the  lodges,  and  batter  down  their  ramparts 
by  publishing  their  official  documents. 

Now,  we  acknowledge  that  the  danger  from  "  American  "  con- 
spirators is  not  alarming,  especially  as  the  overwhelming  majority 
of  the  editors  of  our  great  papers  have  declared  against  them. 
Still,  considering  the  persistency  of  their  art  of  lying  and  the 
foul  nature  of  their  dark  complots,  on  the  one  hand ;  and  on  the 
other,  the  gullibility  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  uninformed  and 
unformed  individuals  in  our  mixed  populations,  it  becomes  a 
moral  necessity  to  lay  bare  the  malicious  designs  of  these  knaves. 
This  we  shall  attempt  to  do  principally  by  the  hands  of  non- 
Catholic  sympathizers  with  the  church,  and,  we  may  add,  fellow 
8uiferers. 

PROBABLE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   NEW  KNOW-NOTHINGS. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Hon.  John  Jay,  of  New  York ; 
Edwin  Mead,  of  the  Neio  England  Heview  j  the  notorious  Joseph 
Cooke,  and  the  equally  maladorous  Justin  Fulton,  together  with 
the  British  American  Citizen^  started  the  ball  in  Boston  by 
instigating  and  setting  on  foot  the  trial  in  which  was  attempted 
the  practical  closing  of  the  parochial  schools.  There  were  made 
grave  charges  against  Catholic  authorities  regarding  the  uses  of 
the  Cathedral  basement  and  vaults,  and  bigotry  had  its  vacuous 
fling  at  Catholic  abuses — the  tyranny  of  the  clergy,  abominatiojis 

^34) 


THE  A.    P.   A.   CONSPIRATORS.  35 

of  church  practices,  and  un -Americanism  of  her  system  of  schools. 
The  world  knows  how  Catholics  came  out  of  the  ordeal.  The 
ringing  success  of  the  celebration,  in  1889,  of  our  hierarchical 
centenary  at  Baltimoi'e  made  the  j)apers  of  the  country  comment 
too  favorably  upon  it  to  suit  the  stomachs  of  the  rabid  bigots  of 
certain  cities,  and  incited  their  zeal  to  form  the  A.  P.  A. 

Where  and  how  it  was  hatched  it  is  impossible  to  determine. 
But  it  is  clearly  proven  that  at  first  the  famous  initials  stood  for 
American  Protestant  Association,  which  were  interpreted  in  the 
past  year  or  eighteen  months  to  mean  American  Protective  Asso- 
ciation ;  no  doubt  for  the  very  obvious  reason  that  self-respecting 
Protestant  churches  would  not  father  the  bantling,  whose  spurs 
were  found  later  on  to  be  sharpening  for  a  thrust  at  every 
professor  of  Christ's  doctrines.  For,  it  may  as  well  right  here  be 
broached  to  the  Christian  reader,  that  these  underground  sectaries 
are  aiming  a  deadly  blow,  over  the  shoulders  of  Catholicity,  at 
all  the  Christian  denominations,  as  will  be  seen  later  on. 

The  Junior  Order  of  Mechanics  have  identified  themselves  with 
the  plotters.  It  grieves  one  to  be  convinced  that  the  title  of 
Orangemen,  which  many  Catholics,  not  all  Irishmen,  with  the 
sanction  of  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria,  are  attempting  to  fasten 
on  these  Apaists,  though  not  strictly  demonstrated,  is  very  near 
the  truth.    The  New  York  Sun  correspondent  writes : 

"  An  Episcopal  clergyman  of  Omaha  describes  the  Nebraska 
branch  as  being  composed  chiefly  of  Englishmen,  Canadians, 
Orangemen,  Scandinavians,  and  Germans.  Scandinavians  and 
Orangemen  are  said  to  form  the  bulk  of  the  society  in  other 
States." 

How  far  the  skirts  of  the  Freemasons  are  clean,  it  remains  for 
them  to  prove. 

Congressman  Hon.  J.  C.  Tarsney,  in  his  speech  at  Saginaw, 
Mich.,  March  23,  judges  that  the  first  class  of  people  responsible 
for  the  movement  are  "  men  who,  having  no  religion  of  their  own, 
scoff  at  the  religion  of  everybody  else,  whether  that  somebody 
else  be  Catholic  or  Protestant,  and  utilize  the  prejudice  and 
the  possible  ignorance  of  many  of  our  citizens  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  divisions,  and  at  last  to  bring  to  themselves  personal 
profit.     These  are  the  class  of  men  spoken  of  who  shout  '  America 


36  THE    ANTI-CATHOLIC    MOVEMENT; 

for  Americans ' ;  many  of  whom  with  the  cry  upon  their  lips, 
shoutino"  'America  for  Americans,'  still  hold  allegiance  to  the 
government  of  Great  Britain." 

Puttiuo-  this  and  that  together,  we  may  conclude  that  the  A. 
P.  A.'s  are  a  hybrid  conglomeration  of  British  and  other  foreign 
subjects,  disgruntled  party-whips,  apostates  from  all  denomina- 
tions :  Ino"ersolites,  Chiniquites,  Fultonists,  Cookeites,  anarchists 
amono"  the  orders  of  labor,  officered  by  secret  society  leaders 
under  the  probable  headship  of  Albert  J.  Pike,  late  of  Kansas, 
and  declared  foe  of  mankind. 

SOME   OF   THE   EEPTILE   OEGANS. 

That  flaming  headlight,  America^  of  Chicago,  has  tried  to  set 
the  country  ablaze  all  these  seven  or  eight  years — principally  on 
the  score  of  the  public-school  bugbear,  and,  it  would  seem,  the 
Catholic  i:)olicemen  of  New  York  and  Chicago  !  The  Patriotic 
ximerican^  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  on  April  8,  1893,  forges  the  "  Bull 
of  Pope  Leo,"  among  other  brotherly  doings,  and  continues 
diatribes  against  the  Jesuit  son  of  William  Tecumseh  Sherman, 
Rev^  Thomas  Sherman.  The  Cleveland  Leader  need  only  be 
mentioned,  and  the  Loud  Cry^  of  which  more  anon,  is  rather  a 
campaign  sheet,  without  publisher  or  editor,  than  a  newspaper. 
The  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press  admitted  the  forged  bull  among  its 
"ads,"  but  got  a  deserved  scoring  from  the  North-western  Chron- 
icle. Burton  Ames  Huntington,  hailing  from  Minneapolis,  proves 
himself  unworthy  of  the  title  of  "Rev."  by  his  three-hundred- 
page  book,  Coming  American  Civil  War,  One  of  his  stories  in 
the  fore-part  of  the  book  about  Bishop  Spalding's  consignment  of 
rifles  he  denies  in  toto  on  page  178 ;  but  still  sticks  to  the  asser- 
tion that  the  Winchesters  were  received.  A  number  of  apostate 
priests  have  hired  themselves  to  vomit  blasphemy  with  a  few 
Protestant  ministers,  whom  they  scandalize  by  villifying  their 
former  Catholic  brethren  and  perhaps  too  patient  superiors. 

A  particular  allusion  is  due  to  the  British  American  Citizen^ 
alias  the  American  Citizen,  published  at  7  Bromfield  Street, 
Boston.  A  batch  of  their  business  letters  signed  by  R.  J.  Long, 
manager,  lie  before  the  writer.  Some  of  these  are  marked  at 
dates  so  close  together  as  February  23  and  25,  under  the  respect- 


OR,   THE   A.    P.   A.   CONSPIRATORS.  37 

ive  aliases — one  would  fairly  assume  to  catch  their  customers 
from  the  British  side,  you  kuow,  and  the  American  side.  They 
ride  astraddle  Niagara ! 

They  publish  their  Toryism — fit  successors  of  the  hirers  of  the 
Hessians :  they  need  not  proclaim  their  hypocrisy  in  throwing 
diist  into  the  eyes  of  wide-awake  Americans.  Orangemen  will 
find  no  Boyne  here,  and  they  shall  not  invent  one. 

SPECIMENS    OP   THE   A.    P.    A.    SPIRIT. 

That  the  sectaries  do  not  confine  themselves  to  mere  words, 
inflammatory  and  malicious  as  they  may  be,  is  proved  from  their 
too  probable  connection  with  the  Edwards  school  law  in  Illinois, 
and  the  similar  experiment  in  Wisconsin.  Their  first  attempt  at 
expelling  the  "  foreigners  ''  was  unfortunate.  The  natives  and 
adopted  citizens  turned  on  the  real  foreigners  and  made  them 
swallow  their  compulsory  and  sumptuary  law,  in  about  as  quick 
time  as  the  populists  of  Belgium  forced  the  chambers  there  to 
throw  open  the  doors  of  suffrage  to  the  nation.  At  Toledo,  Ohio, 
they  played  their  best  game,  and  elected  the  city  council  and  the 
school  board.  The  city  fathers  started  their  paternal  adminis- 
tration by  dismissing  every  Catholic  official ;  but  when  it  came 
the  turn  of  the  school  board  to  complete  the  same  arrangement 
with  the  Catholic  public-school  teachers,  the  conspirators  quar- 
reled among  themselves,  and  finally  had  to  oust  a  fellow-member, 
Dr.  Scott  by  name,  who  laid  it  down  as  on  the  programme  that 
"them  Catholic  teachers  has  to  go."  True  to  his  no-religion 
animus,  he  would  get  rid  of  a  Hebrew  teacher  too,  "  as  he  hated 
a  Jew  as  bad  as  he  did  a  Catholic."  In  the  trial  resultino;  in 
his  dismissal,  it  was  proved  that  this  Amalekite  tried  to 
induce  examiners  of  Catholic  candidates  to  falsify  their 
reports  ;  and  persuaded  principals  to  give  false  information  about 
Catholic  teachers  already  employed,  that  they  might  be  dis- 
missed. 

On  the  same  principle  the  public-spirited  and  cultured  gen- 
tleman, Bishop  McGolrick,  was  defeated  in  the  election  of  the 
committee  of  the  Public  Library.  They  do  not  dare  to  try  such 
election  ruses  at  the  Twin  Cities,  where  Archbishop  Ireland, 
official  chaplain  of  the  troops  of  the  State,  not  only  rules  over  his 


38  THE    ANTI-CATHOLIC    MOVEMENT  ; 

Catholic  brethren,  but  holds  the  highest  place  in  public  esteem 
as  an  American  of  the  Americans.  The  blundering  revolutionists 
havino-  completely  failed,  thanks  to  the  esteem  in  which  the 
bishops,  clergy,  and  peo])le  are  held  in  the  East,  thought  that 
they  would  turn  their  batteries  on  the  wild  West.  In  January 
by  a  flank,  secret  movement  they  carried  Cheyenne,  Wyoming, 
by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five.  After  but  four 
months  of  their  high-handed  rule  they  have  been  defeated  by  a 
majority  of  three  hundred  ! 

At  Davenport  and  Keokuk,  Iowa,  the  "  Americans  "  have  been 
rao-ing  in  vain ;  for  they  found  opponents  in  the  Gate  City  and 
Lemocrat  of  the  respective  localities,  who  took  up  the  cudgels  in 
defence  of  Catholics,  who  were  inclined  to  ignore  the  whole  dis- 
reputable business.  We  cannot  forbear  from  quoting  one 
authority  adduced  in  the  former  journal : 

"  Whoever  shall  examine  with  care  the  American  constitutions 
will  find  nothing  more  fully  stated  or  more  plainly  expressed 
than  the  desire  of  the  authors  to  preserve  and  perjDetuate  religi- 
ous liberty,  and  to  guard  against  the  slightest  approach  towards 
the  establishment  of  inequality  in  the  civil  or  political  rights  of 
citizens  based  upon  differences  of  religious  belief"  (Cooley's 
Constitutional  Limitations,  page  468). 

An  episode  in  the  great  demonstration  at  Saginaw,  Michigan, 
March  L'3,  1893,  is  worth  recording,  to  prove  who  are  the  lambs 
and  who  the  wolves  in  this  meeting  by  the  muddy  waters 
of  political  strife.  Congressman  Tarsney,  at  the  end  of  his 
scoring  of  the  A.  P.  A.'s,  read  this  letter: 

"  Saginaw,  W.  S.  Michigan,  March  3,  1893. 
"  Coifs  Patent  Firearms  Man.  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn..: 

"  Sirs  :  I  am  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  to  purchase  a 
large  amount  of  rifles  and  revolvers,  somewhere  between  one 
hundred  and  five  thousand.  We  do  not  wish  to  deal  with  a 
middleman,  but  direct  with  the  firm.  It  will  be  for  your  interest 
to  deal  with  us.  Please  send  me  a  catalogue  and  your  lowest 
price  for  cash  with  order  for  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  or 
more,  and  nearly  as  many  revolvers  as  rifles.  Can  you  furnish 
them  on  short  notice  ?  Hoping  to  hear  from  you  by  return  mail, 
I  remain,  "  Yours  respectfully, 

"Eev.  Iea  Case. 

"2018  N.  Fayette  Street,  Saginaw,  W.  S.  Mich." 


OE,   THE   A.   P.   A.    CONSPIKATORS.  39 

To  prove  tlie  signature  genuine  beyond  a  doubt,  it  was  com- 
pared with  the  Rev.  Case's  signing  of  a  petition  for  the  cleaning 
of  a  Catholic  neighbor's  backyard  ! 

Here  is  the  gist  of  an  interview  between  one  J.  C.  Curry,  agent 
of  the  Colt's  Company,  and  the  reverend  agent  of  the  A.  P.  A. : 

"  Mr.  Curry  asked  the  question,  '  Are  these  goods  to  be  bought 
by  the  members  of  the  order  ? ' 

'"They  were  to  be  paid  for  by  the  committee,  on  delivery, 
C.  O.  D.' 

"  '  I  suppose  things  must  be  getting  pretty  warm  around  here, 
judging  by  appearances  ? ' 

" '  Yes  ;  we  have  positive  information  that  the  Catholics  have 
between  five  and  ten  thousand  arms  stored  in  this  city,  and  liable 
to  use  them  at  any  time.' 

"  Mr.  Curry  asked,  *  Is  the  organization  growing  or  receding  ? ' 

"  A.  ^  We  are  growing  rapidly.  We  are  holding  meetings 
'every  night  of  the  week  and  initiating  new  members.  The  com- 
mittee meet  next  Monday  night,  and  we  will  write  to  you  at  the 
Kussell  House  the  result  of  their  deliberation,  and  it  may  be 
you'd  better  come  back  here  to  see  the  committee.  Any  other 
communications  had  we  will  write  to  the  firm,  and  they  may  send 
them  to  you.'" 

The  search  of  the  churches  of  Fathers  Dalton  and  Reis,  at 
Saginaw,  resulted  in  finding  no  basement  in  which  to  store  arms 
in  one,  and  in  discovering  that  the  basement  was  the  church  in 
the  other ;  and  no  firearms  brought  to  light  in  either. 

The  similar  events  in  Peoria,  111.,  and  the  series  of  sermons  by 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Sherman,  S.  J.,  directed  against  the  A.  P.  A.'s 
in  Detroit,  St.  Louis,  and  Omaha,  are  too  well  known  to  need 
either  repetition  or  comment.  It  may  be  remarked,  though 
politics  cannot  here  be  discussed,  that  Catholics  generally  depre- 
cate the  formation  of  an  unnecessary  and  irritating  Catholic  party, 
but  they  distinctly  give  fair  warning  that  no  political  party  or 
its  allies  can  afford  to  insult  two  millions  of  voters. 

OATHS   AND    RITUAL   OF   THE   A.    P.    A. 

We  have  before  us  two  accounts  of  the  government,  ritual  and 
oaths  of  the  secret  organization  which  claims  anywhere  from 
1,500,000  to  15,000,000  of  members  in  the  United  States.  One 
is  published  by  R.  L.  Quackenbush,  ex-A.-P.-A.-ist,  in  a  docu- 
ment sworn  and  subscribed  to  before  John  Herz,  N.  P.,  Scott  Co., 


40  THE    ANTI-CATHOLIC    MOVEMENT; 

Iowa.  It  substantially  agrees  witli  the  two-column  article  printed 
April  18,  1893,  in  the  Indianapolis  News.  Their  "  most  sacredly- 
guarded  and  secret  name  "  is  the  Amoreans,  whose  derivation  w^e 
have  long  sought  in  vain  in  Josephus,  Alph.  Edersheim,  and 
Holy  Writ.  If  it  mean  anything  it  must  coincide  with  the 
Ammorlieans — "  rebels  " — the  sworn  enemies  of  the  true  religion 
whose  five  kings  were  routed  by  Joshua. 

The  reader  will  scarcely  have  the  patience  to  glance  over  more 
than  the  first  scroll  and  the  last  of  the  five  oaths ;  but  in  passing 
his  eyes  over  the  entire  document  he  will  note  that  the  schemers 
durst  not  pollute  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  even 
casual  reference  to  One  they  fear. 

"A.  P.  A.  A.  P.  A. 

"  SCEOLL.  , 

'*  Declaration  of  Principles. 

"  I  hereby  declare  that  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  a  Deity.  I  am 
not  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  nor  have  I  any 
sympathy  with  Roman  Catholicism ;  that  in  my  opinion  no 
Roman  Catholic  should  be  allowed  any  part  or  parcel  in  the  con- 
trol, or  occupy  any  position  in  our  public  schools.  On  the 
contrary,  I  realize  that  the  institutions  of  our  country  are  in 
danger  from  the  machinations  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  I  believe 
that  only  by  the  removal  of  Roman  Catholics  fi^om  office  of  trust 
can  JUSTICE,  right,  and  true  American  sentiment  be  fully  sub- 
served ;  and  that  by  the  concerted  and  continued  efforts  of  the 
lovers  of  American  liberty  only  can  such  results  be  consummated 
and  continued. 

"  I  pledge  myself  to  defend  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  State  in  which  I  reside,  against  invasion,  disorder, 
treason,  or  rebellion,  either  by  ecclesiastical,  local  or  foreign  foe, 
and  against  the  usurpation  of  temporal  or  spiritual  power 
\vhereby  men  become  slaves  to  party  and  the  Roman  Church. 

"  I  am  willing  to  bind  myself  by  a  vow  sacred  and  inviolable. 

"I  am  a  Protestant  and  have  been  for years. 

"  I  belong  to  the church  and ,  a  secret  society. 

"  Age .     Residence . 

"  Occupation . 

"  Recommended  by . 

"Date ,  lis     . 

"  A.  P.  A.  A.  P.  A." 

The  final  oath,  taken  from  a  secular  paper,  is  as  follows  : 


OE,   THE   A.   P.    A.    CONSPIRATORS.  41 

"  I, ,  hereby  denouuce  Eoman  Catbolicism.    I  hereby 

denounce  the  Pope  sitting  at  Rome  or  elsewhere.  I  denounce  his 
priests  and  emissaries,  and  the  diabolical  work  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  I  pledge  myself  in  the  cause  of  Protestant- 
ism to  the  end  that  there  may  be  no  interference  with  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  I  solemnly  bind  myself  to 
protect  at  all  times  and  with  all  means  within  my  power  the  good 
name  of  the  order  and  its  members,  so  help  me  God.     Amen." 

The  profession  of  Protestantism  is  but  a  poor  mask,  torn  off 
effectually  by  a  number  of  prominent  non-Catholic  ministers,  on 
whom  in  great  measure  has  devolved  the  defence  of  our  common 
Christianity  in  this  contest. 

These  pages  cannot  be  concluded  without  an  allusion  to  the 
alleged  j)apal  bull  of  excommunication  and  extermination.  We 
will  permit  the  Courier-Journal^  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  to  comment 
on  it  editorially.  May  28,  1893,  under  the  caption 

"  A    PATENT    FORGERY. 

"  The  '  Pope's  letter,'  to  which  our  correspondent  calls  special 
attention,  professes  to  be  taken  from  the  Patriotic  American^ 
Detroit,  Mich.,  of  April  8,  1893.  As  this  so-called  'Encyclical' 
is  being  extensively  circulated  recently,  and  is  causing  much  ex- 
citement among  persons  who  accept  it  as  genuine,  we  deem  it 
worth  while  to  give  it  some  little  attention.  It  purports  to  have 
come  from  Leo  XIIL,  and  to  have  been  'given  at  St.  Peter's, 
Rome,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  December,  1891,  the  fifteenth  year 
of  our  Pontificate.'  After  reciting  that  the  '  American  Republic, 
under  Protestant  rulers,  is  with  the  worst  enemies  of  the  Church,' 
and  has  '  seized  upon  the  lands  discovered  by  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus, a  Catholic,'  ignored  the  rules  of  the  Church,  etc.,  the 
document  proclaims  a  general  excommunication  of  all  heretics, 
and  continues: 

" '  Moreover,  we  proclaim  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America  to  have  forfeited  all  right  to  rule  said  republic,  and  also 
all  dominion,  dignity,  and  privileges  appertaining  to  it.  We 
likewise  declare  that  all  subjects  of  every  rank  and  condition  in 
the  LTnited  States,  and  every  individual  who  has  taken  any  oath 
of  loyalty  to  the  United  States  in  any  way  whatever,  may  be 
absolved  from  said  oath  as  from  all  other  duty,  fidelity,  or  obedi- 
ence on  or  about  the  5th  of  September,  1893,  when  the  Catholic 
Congress  shall  convene  at  Chicago,  111.,  as  we  shall  exonerate 
them  from  all  engagements,  and  on  or  about  the  feast  of  Ignatius 
Loyola,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1893,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the 


42  THE    ANTI-CATHOLIC    MOVEMENT; 

faithful  to  exterminate  all  heretics  found  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States  of  America.' 

"  We  understand  this  to  be  one  of  the  papers  circulated  by 
the  A.  P.  A.,  an  organization  tormed  on  the  lines  of  Know- 
nothino-ism.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  '  encyclical ' 
is  a  clumsy  forgery.  It  has  been  repudiated  over  and  over  by 
members  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  when  brought  to  their  notice, 
but  this  does  not  prevent  its  being  circulated.  To  take  one 
instance  out  of  many  of  the  want  of  skill  shown  by  the  forger, 
we  may  note  that  the  date,  December  25,  1891,  is  said  to  be  in 
tlie  fifteenth  year  of  Leo  XIII.  As  he  was  elected  Pope  in 
February,  1878,  the  date  mentioned  was  in  ihQ  fourteenth  year 
of  his  pontificate.  The  whole  document  is  full  of  absurdities, 
and  bears  on  its  face,  from  beginning  to  end,  conclusive  evidence 
that  it  is  not  genuine." 

The  kind  and  acute  writer,  however,  fails  to  note  that  the 
Loud  Cry,  which  publishes  this  clumsy  calumny,  has  not  the 
grace  to  be  indited  by  any  sort  of  a  Christian.  His  diatribe  of 
blasphemy  vomits  destruction  on  all  the  churches : 

"  All  churches  to-day  are  seeking  the  friendship  of  the  world 
and  more  or  less  mixed  with  errors,  each  one  proclaiming  they 
are  the  '  entrance  to  life.'  Each  one,  as  bodies,  have  refused  to 
advance  in  the  light  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  opposed 
truth,  asserting  that  it  was  from  the  devil,  thereby  making  them- 
selves a  mouth  for  Satan — one  of  his  heads. 

"  God  has  had  and  has  a  people  in  all  churches  now  upon 
earth,  and  now  calls  upon  them  to  come  out.  All  who  obey 
and  follow  him  will  be  saved,  all  who  do  not  will  receive  '  of 
her  plagues.' " 

"Thus  we  see  the  seven-lieaded  monster  complete,  made  up  of 
professed  Christian  churches,  united  and  determined  to  change 
the  word  which  God  says  is  everlasting. 

"If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear:  He  that  killeth  with 
the  sword  must  be  killed  with  the  sword." 

"  If,  after  these  self-confessed  bids  to  abandon  Christianity  and 
murder  all  its  professors,  one  want  further  proof  of  the  combined 
Sabbatarianism  and  Diabolism  of  this  Loud  Cry  of  the  imps,  let 
him  put  these  two  extracts  together : 

"All  churches  will  unite  in  the  immediate  future,  compelling 


OR,   THE   A.   P.   A.    CONSPIRATORS.  43 

all,  under  penalty  of  death,  to  observe  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest. 
Thus  will  she  and  all  of  her  daughters  be  'drunken  uj^on  the 
blood  of  the  saints.'  " 

"If  the  churches  had  followed  the  plain  word  of  God,  this 
woman  would  have  been  swept  out  of  existence  years  ago ;  but 
instead  of  doing  this,  they  each  one  support  her  by  advocating 
some  one  of  her  false  doctrines." 

Notably,  the  Christian  Union  has  joined  with  the  Independent 
in  condemnation  of  this  fratricidal  fanaticism.     Says  the  latter : 

"  No  word  from  us  will  do  any  good  in  warning  a  set  of  bigots, 
chiefly  in  the  West,  against  their  circulation  of  forged  documents 
against  the  Koman  Catholic  Church." 

And  Governor  Stone,  of  Missouri,  will  go  down  in  history  as 
the  second  Governor  Wise  (of  Virginia),  who  got  the  credit  of 
stamping  out  old  Know-nothingism  in  the  Old  Dominion.  The 
Missourian's  words  deserve  a  tablet  of  brass : 

"Your  association  is  undemocratic  and  un-American,  and  I  am 
opposed  to  it.     I  have  not  a  drop  of  Know-nothing  blood  in  my 


As  for  his  excellency,  the  Apostolic  Delegate,  who  is  raised 
so  high  on  the  shoulders  of  the  yeomen  of  the  New  World  press 
that  the  rabble's  insults  cannot  reach  him,  let  the  True  American 
voice  their  sentiments : 

"  The  present  visit  of  Monsignore  Satolli  is  generally  credited 
to  a  desire  on  the  part  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  to  place  himself  and 
his  church  more  closely  in  touch  and  intelligent  accord  with 
American  institutions,  and  when  he  observes  how  great  has  been 
the  progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America,  he  must  be 
impressed  with  the  thought  that  that  progress  has  been  in  full 
line  with  our  institutions,  and  comes  out  of  our  peculiar  condi- 
tion in  which  the  government  refuses  to  interfere  with  sects  and 
forbids  any  interference  with  its  functions." 

Thomas  Jefferson  Jenkins. 

Bt.  Lawrence,  Ky. 


THE 

ANTI-CATHOLIC  MOVEMENT 

BY  JERE^nAH  C.  CURTIN. 


If  we  are  to  believe  the  reports  published  from  time  to  time 
in  many  quarters  an  anti-Catholic  organization  is  being  rapidly 
extended  in  certain  parts  of  the  country.  If  this  is  so,  it  be- 
comes the  duty  of  Catholics  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  counter- 
act this  un-American  organization.  Hence  a  review  of  the 
movement  will  be  of  interest. 

This  intemperate  organization  of  so-called  reformers  who 
desire  to  establish  a  nationality  test  and  a  religious  disqualifica- 
tion for  voters  in  the  United  States  has  been  active  in  spreading 
what  it  is  pleased  to  call  its  "principles"  especially  in  several  of 
the  Western  States.  The  main  object  of  this  organization,  which 
styles  itself  the  "  American  Protective  Association,"  as  declared 
by  some  of  its  oratorical  champions,  and  as  appears  from  its  for- 
mal oath  of  allegiance  which  has  been  extensively  published,  is 
to  circumvent  and  frustrate  the  alleged  machinations  of  the 
"  Pope  of  Rome  himself,  his  agents  and  confederates  "  ;  and  to 
prevent  "  the  nomination  in  a  caucus  or  convention  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  for  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  American  people." 
These  purposes  of  the  A.  P.  A.  are  labored  for,  usually,  in  a 
secret  manner  by  oaths  and  passwords  in  hidden  meetings,  and 
under  mysterious  pledges.  By  such  methods  a  large  member- 
ship has,  it  is  claimed,  been  secured  for  the  new  organization  in 
several  States  ;  and  it  is  said  to  have  gained  numerous  victories 
in  opposing  foreign-born  Catholic  candidates  in  municipal  elec- 
tions in  Illinois,    Michigan,  Iowa,    Wisconsin   and    Indiana.      A 


THE   ANTI-CATHOLIC   MOVEMENT    EXPOSED. 


45 


project  of  political  alienation,  which  thrives  only  when  secretly 
proposed,  and  cannot  withstand  public  scrutiny  and  free  discus- 
sion, is  not  one  to  commend  itself  greatly  to  the  favorable  con- 
sideration of  any  large  number  of  American  electors ;  nor  is  it 
much  to  be  feared  by  those  whom  it  would  oppress  or  injure. 

The  establishment  of  the  A.  P.  A.  is  merely  an  attempt  to 
revive  that  narrow  and  un-American  movement,  commonly 
called  Know-nothingism,  which  disturbed  the  country  for  a  few 
years  preceding  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  The  fate  of 
that  party,  of  which  Horace  Greeley  said  that  it  was  "  as  devoid 
of  the  elements  of  persistence  as  an  anti-cholera,  or  anti-potato 
rot  party  would  be,"  should  serve  as  a  salutary  warning  to  these 
malignant  latter-day  bigots  in  their  quest  of  the  dry  bones  of  a 
decayed  fanaticism.  That  movement,  while  it  lasted,  was  what 
Lord  Palmerston  once  described  Irish  Orangeism  to  be,  "  a  ter- 
ror to  everybody  but  the  enemy." 

The  leaders  of  both  parties,  such  as  Henry  A.  Wise,  in  the 
South,  and  William  H.  Seward  in  the  North,  vied  with  each 
other  in  repudiating  it,  with  all  its  works  and  pomps,  until  at 
length,  after  a  record  of  riot  and  bloodshed,  it  ignominiously 
passed  out  of  existence. 

The  present  anti-Catholic  movement  goes  even  further  than 
its  predecessor,  in  its  un-Christian  and  un-American  designs,  as 
the  following  oath  of  initiation  of  its  members  abundantly 
shows. 

THE    SECRET    OATH    OF    THE    A.     P.    A. 

"  I  do  most  solemnly  promise  and  swear  that  I  will  use  my  in- 
fluence to  promote  the  interest  of  all  Protestants,  everywhere  in 
the  world  ;  that  I  will  not  employ  a  Roman  Catholic  in  any 
capacity  if  I  can  procure  the  services  of  a  Protestant ;  that  I  will 
not  aid  in  building,  or  in  maintaining,  by  any  resources  any  Ro- 
man Cat'holic  church  or  institution  of  their  sect  or  creed  whatso- 
ever, but  will  do  all  in  my  power  to  retard  and  break  down  the 
power  of  the  Pope ;  that  I  will  not  enter  into  any  controversy 
with  a  Roman  Catholic  upon  the  subject  of  this  order,  nor  will 
I  enter  into  any  agreement  with  a  Roman  Catholic  to  strike  or 
create  a  disturbance,  whereby  the   Roman   Catholic    employees 


46 


THE   ANTI-CATHOLIC   MOVEMENT   EXPOSED. 


may  undermine  and  substitute  the  Protestants  ;  and  that  in  all 
grievances  I  will  seek  only  Protestants  and  counsel  with  them, 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  Roman  Catholics,  and  will  not  make 
known  to  them  anything  of  any  nature  matured  at  such  confer- 
ences ;  that  I  will  not  countenance  the  nomination,  in  any  cau- 
cuses or  convention,  of  a  Roman  Catholic,  for  any  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  American  people,  and  that  I  will  not  vote  for,  nor 
counsel  others  to  vote  for,  any  Roman  Catholics  ;  that  I  will  en- 
deavor at  all  times  to  place  the  political  positions  of  this  govern- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Protestants.  (Repeat.)  To  all  of  which 
I  do  most  solemnly  promise  and  swear,  so  help  me  God.   Amen." 

The  spirit  and  terms  of  this  new-fangled  organization  are,  we 
repeat,  in  direct  and  flagrant  violation  of  the  first  principle  of 
human  freedom.  For  what  sort  of  issue  do  these  misguided 
men  raise  in  making  a  party  test  of  religious  faith  ?  They  meet 
and  act  not  as  American  citizens,  but  as  anti-Catholics,  a  char- 
acter and  capacity  unknown  to  our  equal  laws.  There  is  no 
such  thing  legally  extant  in  this  Union  as  Protestant  citizenship 
or  Catholic  citizenship.  There  is  but  one  President,  one  Con- 
gress, one  Constitution,  and  one  citizenship.  All  denominations 
enjoy  equal  rights  under  this  government,  but  there  is  exclusive 
public  position  for  none.  All  loyal  and  patriotic  Americans 
must  of  necessity  be  utterly  averse  to  this  organization  or  "  or- 
der."  It  is  a  secret  society  organized  for  the  purpose  of  injur- 
ing our  Catholic  fellow-citizens  and  that  alone  in  a  Republican 
country  is  sufficient  to  brand  it  as  evil.  It  is  established  for  the 
persecution  of  a  religious  body  enjoying  rights  under  the  Amer- 
ican Constitution,  and  is  therefore  at  enmity  with  the  fundamen- 
tal law  of  the  land.  It  is  proscriptive ;  and  hence  violates  the 
principles  of  justice  and  right.  It  is  provocative  of  opposition  ; 
and  accordingly  is  fraught  with  mischief,  and  danger  to  the 
peace  of  the  Republic.  It  is  also  mean  and  stupid  ;  for  it  is 
the  proscription  of  one  set  of  citizens  by  another  set,  who  have 
no  better  claim,  in  any  sense,  to  the  rights,  and  benefits,  and 
honors  of  citizenship  than  the  proscribed: — and  it  is  the  at- 
tempted proscription  of  one  body  of  religionists  by  fanatics  who 
have  no  better  religion,  if,  indeed,  they  have  any  at  all. 

The  "principles"   of    the  "  order "   being  base,   false,   unjust 


THE   ANTI-CATHOLIC   MOVEMENT   EXPOSEL.  47 

and  subversive  of  the  very  foundations  of  the  American  Repub- 
lic, we  are  convinced  that  few  reputable  persons  will  join 
it  ;  or,  if  any  do,  it  will  be  under  a  mistake,  and  they  will  soon 
repent,  and  repudiate  it.  It  is  only  through  excessive  ignorance 
or  malignant  bigotry  that  any  American  would  connect  himself 
with  a  movement  that  shuns  the  light  of  public  opinion,  and 
skulks  in  holes  and  corners  like  an  assassin. 

Persons  here  and  there  who  know  better,  may  stealthily  sup- 
port this  organization  from  personal  or  political  motives.  But 
even  these  will  find  themselves,  when  too  late,  leaning  on  a  rot- 
ten  reed.  It  is  true  that  in  several  cities  or  places  the  A.  P.  A.s 
may  manage  to  vote  the  successful  tickets,  and  that  in  some  of 
the  elections,  holding  the  balance  of  power,  they  may  even 
influence  or  determine  the  result.  This  is  an  easy  operation. 
Even  a  small  clique  banded  together  can  certainly  give  a  pre- 
ponderance to  the  weaker  of  two  political  parties  where  they 
are  nearly  balanced  ;  and  when  the  difference  is  too  great  to  be 
counterpoised,  they  can  vote  on  the  strongest  side  and  claim  the 
victory.  In  one  city  they  can  vote  with  the  Republicans,  and 
in  another  with  the  Democrats,  although  neither  party  wants 
them.  AgaiUj,  in  one  region  they  can  be  enthusiasts  for  cold 
water,  while  in  another  they  may  stand  or  fall  with  the  rum 
power.  In  a  State  election,  according  to  circumstances,  they 
can  change  sides  and  vote  for  the  party  they  opposed  in  munic- 
ipal elections  ;  and  in  all  this,  by  the  mystery  hanging  about 
them,  they  may  claim  what  they  call  victory.  But  one  thing  we 
are  confident  they  will  not  do  :  they  will  not  put  up  a  ticket  of 
their  own,  for  they  are  too  cunning  to  reveal  their  numerical 
weakness. 

Their  game,  however,  is  one  which  others  might  play  with 
still  more  signal  success.  If  the  Catholics,  who  exceed  these 
proscriptionists  tenfold  in  numerical  force,  were  to  league  in  a 
.secret  society  and  vote  by  concert  for  men  selected  by  their 
leaders,  they  could,  probably,  in  many  States  of  the  Union, 
carry  everything  before  them.  But  this  would  be  simple  abuse 
of  their  franchise,  and  soon  they  would  find  their  level,  as  our 
mysterious  friends  of  the  A.  P.  A.  are  quite  certain  to  do. 


^8  THE   ANTI-CATHOLIC    MOVEMENT   EXPOSED. 

Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  new  anti-Catholic  move- 
ment, its  objects  do  not  commend  themselves  to  the  sense  of 
justice  and  probity  of  the  American  people.  Unfortunately 
also  for  its  promoters,  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  American 
Constitution.,  and  the  latitudinarian  views  of  its  founders  have 
debarred  them  from  that  ancient  and  noble  pastime  which  pre- 
vailed in  certain  parts  of  Christendom  a  century  or  two  ago — 
that  of  persecuting,  proscribing  and  ostracizing  men  because 
they  belong  to  the  faith  preached  m  Judea,  and  testified  to  on 
Mount  Calvary  by  the  Son  of  God  Himself. 

When  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
affixed  their  names  to  that  immortal  document,  and  pledged 
"  their  lives  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor  "  to  sustain 
its  principles,  they  somehow  neglected  to  make  provision  for 
the  existence  of  the  Order  of  Latter  Day  Bigots  !  And  who 
were  these  men  ?  There  were  Hancock,  the  Puritan;  Penn,  the 
Quaker;  Rutledge,  the  Huguenot;  Carroll  the  Catholic;  Lee, 
the  Cavalier;  and  Jefferson,  the  Free  Thinker.  These  were  the 
representatives  of  all  the  Signers  ;  and  the  Signers  were  the 
representatives  of  all  the  people  of  the  Colonies.  The  A.  P. 
A'shave  nothing  in  common  with  these  illustrious  men;  and 
instead  of  having  any  claim  to  be  counted  special,  good  and 
genuine  Americans,  they  are  precisely  the  worst  Americans  in 
the  United  States. 

When  Washington  wrote  his  answer  to  the  congratulations 
of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United  States  on  his  elevation 
to  the  Presidency,  he  made  generous  acknowledgment  of  the 
services  rendered  by  Catholics  to  the  success  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  establishment  of  our  liberties. 

"  And  I  presume,"  he  writes,  "  that  your  fellow-citizens 
will  not  forget  the  patr-iotic  part  you  took  in  the  accomplishment 
of  their  revohUion,  and  the  establishment  of  their  government;  or 
the  important  assistance  they  received  from,  a  nation  in  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  religion  is  professed"  We  recall  this  testimony 
of  the  most  illustrious  of  Americans,  because  some  of  our 
fellow-citizens  seem  to  "have  forgotten,"  the  "important  assist- 
ance "  rendered  and  "  the  patriotic  part  "   performed  by  Catho- 


THE   ANTI-CATHOLIC   MOVEMENT   EXPOSED.  49 

lies  in  the  Revolution.  Washington  alluded  to  Catholic  France 
that  gave  ten  thousand  men,  and  three  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  to  help  establish  our  freedom  ;  to  the  assistance  of  Catho- 
lic Spain,  and  to  the  leaders  of  Catholic  Ireland,  Burke, 
Sheridan,  Barre,  Flood  and  Grattan,  who  in  the  great  council 
of  the  British  Parliament  threw  in  their  power  for  the  struggling 
Colonies.  The  Father  of  his  Country  alluded  to  the  reception 
of  Franklin  in  Ireland  after  he  had  been  insulted  and  tabooed 
by  the  British  Parliament,  and  to  the  patriotic  action  of  the 
Irish  Catholic  merchants  of  Philadelphia  in  helping  by  their  con- 
tributions, the  starving  Patriot  army,  in  the  dreadful  winter  at 
Valley  Forge. 

And,  perhaps,  Washington,  at  the  moment,  recalled  also  the 
last  act  of  the  Revolution,  the  convention  at  Annapolis,  for 
defininof  the  Federal  Constitution.  For  in  that  convention 
were  the  distinguished  Catholics,  Daniel  Carroll  of  Maryland, 
and  Thomas  Fitzimmons  of  Pennsylvania.  Fitzimmons  sat  in 
the  first  Congress,  and  with  Jonathan  Goodhue  of  Massachusetts 
w^as  the  principal  author  of  the  maritime  laws  of  the  new  Con- 
federation. Daniel  Carroll  offered  his  farm  on  the  Potomac,  as 
the  site  of  the  Federal  city,  and  there,  at  this  day,  the  White 
House  and  the  Capitol  are  erected.  These  facts  partly  explain 
"the  patriotic  part"  "  in  the  establishment  of  the  government," 
which  Washington  cheerfully  concedes  to  the  Catholic  citizens 
of  his  time. 

We  do  not  recall  these  facts  in  a  spirit  of  controversy,  or 
even  in  a  spirit  of  legitimate  pride  )  but  merely  to  remind  all 
those  whom  it  may  concern  that  the  Catholic  citizens  of  this 
Republic  will  not  plead  to  an  indictment  against  their  loyalty 
and  their  patriotism.  Neither-  do  we  wish  to  adorn  ourselves 
wath  the  borrowed  lustres  of  great  reputations.  We  recall 
these  facts — and  we  could  multiply  them  indefinitely — to  stop  a 
cry  which  is  equally  ignorant  and  calumnious,  which  affects  to 
consider  the  Catholic  Church  an  ominous  novelty,  an  untried 
and  unheard  of  thing  in  the  past  history  of  the  Republic.  We 
might  show,  were  it  necessary,  that  since  the  beginning  of 
the   present   Government,   Catholics   have   been   found   to    rise 


^O  -HE   ANTI-CATHOLIC   MOVEMENT   EXPOSED. 

superior  to  social  and  political  wrongs  and  to  do  their  duty.  If 
we  wished  to  extend  the  thesis  it  would  be  easy  to  show  that 
the  first  Christians  on  this  Hemisphere— in  the  Northern  and 
Southern  Continents — were  Catholics,  were  those  still  con- 
nected with  us,  by  the  mysterious  unity  which  outlives  death, 
and  stretches  beyond  the  grave. 

What  banner  was  it  that  first  floated  in  the  air  of  this  New 
World?  The  banner  of  the  Cross  and  of  Castile — the  banner 
of  Isabella,  the  Catholic,  unrolled  by  Columbus,  whose  ambition 
was  to  be  the  leader  of  a  new  Crusade. 

Who  offered  the  first  act  of  Christian  worship  in  this 
Western  Hemisphere?  A  Spanish  Franciscan  Friar.  Who, 
first  of  white  men  stood  in  the  awful  presence  of  Niagara? 
The  brave  and  grave  and  chivalrous  LaSalle,  with  his  chaplain 
Father  Henepin.  What  names  do  the  West  longest  remember? 
Those  of  Jolliet,  Marquette  and  the  other  "Black  Robes" 
whose  trail  the  Indian  traced  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  not  by  the  spoils  scattered  on  their  path,  but 
by  those  primitive  pine  tree  Crosses  which  the  Jesuits  estab- 
lished, signals  at  once  of  civilization  and  Christianity.  Of 
whom  does  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  speak?  Of  the  gallant 
and  wise  De  Soto  whose  story  is  as  rapid  and  as  irresistible  as 
the  mighty  river  he  discovered.  These  were  the  first  Christians 
of  the  New  World,  who  valued  it  for  its  material  riches  and 
beauty,  but  who  valued  it  more  as  an  enlargement  of  the  limits 
and  resources  of  Christendom.  T/iey  are  the  antiquities  of  the 
country  ;  and  no  American  can  read  the  first  chapter  of  the  his- 
tory of  his  country  without  encountering  at  the  outer  gate 
Catholic  discoverers.  Catholic  missionaries,  and  Catholic 
heroes. 

No;  the  Catholic  Church  is  no  novelty;  is  nothing  new  or 
untried  in  America;  and  Catholics  are  no  intruders  here.  The 
anti-Catholic  mind  of  America  must,  once  for  all,  learn  to  let 
this  illusion  go.  We  Catholics  are  here  by  virtue  of  the  great 
Providential  law  of  nature  and  necessity  ;  we  are  here  by  right 
of  discovery,  and  because  this  Continent  needs  our  labor — in  a 
word,  because  we  have  a  rz^A^  here. 


His  Holiness,  Leo  XHI. 


His  Holiness,  Pope  Leo  Xiii. 

iHIS  ATTITUDE  AND  mFLUENCE  ON 

POPULAR  GOYERNMEXT  AND  QUESTIONS  OF  THE  MT. 


No  more  conclusive  proof  of  the  Divine  institution  of  the  Church 
could  be  adduced  than  the  fact  of  her  continued  existence. 
Her  work  is  perpetuated,  not  like  other  institutions,  by 
human  agencies  alone,  but  by  Divine  power  and  author- 
itj.  This  truth  is  made  conspicuously  clear  by  the  history 
of  St.  Peter  and  his  successors.  Ctesar,  in  every  age,  secures  his 
place  by  seizing  it ;  St.  Peter  and  his  successors  acquired  theirs, 
not  by  seeking  it,  but  by  virtue  of  the  Divine  commission.  St. 
Peter  and  his  twenty-three  immediate  successors  were  martyrs. 
Thus  God  chose  to  lay  the  foundations  of  His  Church  by  con- 
verting defeat  into  victory.  And  so  in  every  age  since  then  we 
find  the  successors  of  Peter  providentially  fitted  for  promoting 
the  glory  of  Christ,  and  fulfilling  the  mission  of  His  Church. 
Whether  it  be  the  first  Gregory  who  saved  Christendom  from 
chaos,  or  the  seventh  Gregory  who  left  the  impress  of  his  virtues 
and  his  power  on  all  the  succeeding  ages;  or  Leo  the  Great,  Leo 
X.,  Innocent  HL,  Sixtus  Y.,  Pius  V.,  or  the  many  others  who  do 
not  stand  out  in  so  accentuated  a  manner,  the  fact  ever  remains 
that  the  occupants  of  the  chair  of  Peter  are  providentially  fitted 
for  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  their  own  time.  It  is  a  standing 
phenomenon,  which  seems  to  be  repeating  to  the  doAvncast  of 
every  age  the  saying  of  St.  Ambrose :  "  Peter  is  not  dead,  since 
it  is  against  him,  according  to  the  Divine  promise,  that  the  gates 
of  hell  have  never  prevailed,"  And  the  phenomenon  is  to-day 
exemplified  in  the  person  of  our  Most  Holy  Father,  Leo  XIIL, 
who  is  so  zealously  and  successfully  combating  the  evils  of  our 
day — the  spirit  of  modern  Paganism  striving  to  supplant  Chris- 
tianity, the  usurpation  of  the  spiritual  functions  by  the  civil 
power — which  happily  does  not  apply  to  our  own  country — and 


fii 


52  HIS    HOLINESS, 

the  attacks  on  established  society  by  the  forces  of  anarchy  and 
disorder. 

Leo  XIII.  was  born  at  Carpineto,  in  the  Pontifical  States,  on 
March  2,  1810.  Carpineto  is  a  little  town  of  five  thousand  in- 
habitants, situated  in  a  cleft  of  the  Monti  Lepini,  high  above 
the  plain,  between  two  gigantic  rocks,  and  owiug  to  its  difficulty 
of  access  is  rarely  visited  by  travelers.  Here  a  branch  of  the 
Pecci  family,  who  are  of  noble  Siennese  origin,  has  lived  since  the 
time  of  Clement  VII.  (1523-34),  when  they  removed  thither, 
owing  to  the  troubles  that  existed  between  the  Siennese  and 
Florentines. 

The  child,  who  was  destined  to  sit  in  after  years  in  the  Chair  of 
Peter,  was  baptized  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  a  friend  of  the 
family,  who  also  became  his  godfather.  He  was  named  Joachim 
Vincent  Raphael  Louis.  His  father,  Count  Domenico  Lodovico, 
and  his  mother,  also  of  noble  birth,  were  both  noted  for  their 
Christian  virtues  and  endearing  qualities.  In  the  autumn  of 
1818,  Joachim  Vincent  Pecci,  with  his  brother  Joseph,  who  was 
two  years  his  senior,  was  sent  by  his  parents  to  the  Jesuit  Col- 
lege at  Viterbo,  where  he  remained  six  years.  He  was  devoted 
to  study,  and  soon  gave  evidence  of  more  than  ordinary  talent. 
He  was  also  distinguished  for  his  gentleness  of  character,  and 
his  tender  piety.  His  mother,  the  countess,  spent  most  of  her 
time  in  Rome,  so  as  to  be  near  her  sons.  "Her  frequent  letters 
to  them,"  says  a  biographer,  "  continued  to  foster  in  their  souls 
the  home-virtues  she  had  planted  there.  She  delighted  in  their 
progress,  and  took  comfort  from  the  frequent  accounts  received 
from  the  college  of  their  good  conduct  and  proficiency.  Thus 
did  she  endeavor  to  find  some  compensation  for  the  sacrifice  made 
in  sending  them  away  from  home  at  an  age  when  boys  most  need 
a  mother's  eye  and  hand  and  heart,  and  when  boys  can  be  to  a 
mother  a  source  of  unspeakable  joy."  This  pious  woman  and 
devoted  mother  died  before  Joachim  Vincent  had  completed  his 
fourteenth  year. 

In  the  autumn  of  1825  the  youth  was  sent  to  the  famous  Roman 
College  or  Gregorian  University  which  Leo  XII.  had  just  re- 
stored to  the  Jesuits.  From  his  twelfth  year  onward,  we  are  told, 
he  wrote  Latin  prose  and  verse  with  a  facility  and  an  elegance 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII.  t)'S 

that  were  wonderful  in  one  so  young ;  and  before  he  had  com- 
pleted his  twentieth  year  he  had  won  in  his  philosophic  studies 
the  highest  distinction  which  that  famous  institution  of  learn- 
ing could  bestow. 

In  1830  young  Pecci  was  matriculated  among  the  theological 
students  of  the  University,  and  two  years  later  he  received  his 
degree  of  Doctor  in  Theology.  He  thereupon  entered  the  col- 
lege for  noble  ecclesiastics,  or  University  of  the  Sapienza,  where 
those  who  are  intended  for  a  diplomatic  or  administrative  career 
under  the  Pontifical  Government  are  trained. 

In  January,  1837,  Grregory  XVI.  made  Joachim  Pecci  a  Domes- 
tic Prelate,  and  in  the  following  March  he  was  appointed  Refer- 
endary to  the  Court  of  Segnatura.  He  also  received  a  place 
among  the  Prelates  of  the  Congregation  (i'^  Buongoverno,  who  had 
charge  of  the  financial  administration  of  the  Pontifical  States. 
In  November  of  the  same  year  he  received  the  orders  of  sub- 
deaconship  and  deaconship,  and  on  December  31  he  was  ordained 
priest  by  Cardinal  Odescalchi,  in  the  little  chapel  where  St. 
Stanislaus  Kostka  died,  at  the  Church  of  St.  Andrew  on  the  Qui- 
rinal.  The  following  morning  he  celebrated  his  first  Mass  in  the 
same  sanctuary,  attended  by  his  elder  brother,  Father  Joseph 
Pecci,  and  in  the  presence  of  his  father  and  the  other  members 
of  his  family. 

In  February,  1838,  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  Province 
of  Benevento  by  Gregory  XVI.  The  territory  had  been  given  over 
to  brigandage  and  lawlessness  since  the  withdrawal  of  Napoleon's 
troops,  who  had  seized  and  despoiled  it.  Mgr.  Pecci  at  once  set 
to  work  to  abate  the  disorders  and  to  clear  out  the  brigands ;  and 
the  outlaws  and  those  who  profited  by  their  crimes  soon  came  to 
understand  that  the  pale,  delicate  young  priest  was  possessed  of 
an  iron  will  and  an  inflexible  firmness.  Thp  most  notorious  of 
the  brigand  chiefs  were  captured,  and  their  bands  scattered,  and 
in  a  short  time  law  and  order  took  the  place  of  rapine,  murder, 
and  terrorism. 

Roads  were  built  or  repaired,  agriculture  was  developed,  in- 
dustries were  restored,  and  taxation  reduced.  Of  his  vigilance 
and  energy  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  the  following  incident 
affords  a  good  example  :    Mgr.  Peeci  discovered  that  some  of  the 


54  HIS   HOLINESS,  POPE   LEO    XIII. 

bakers  in  Perugia  were  selling  loaves  under  weight.  Summon- 
in  o-  his  officers  the  next  morning,  he  made  a  round  of  the  baker- 
ies, confiscated  all  the  loaves  that  were  not  of  full  weight,  and 
distributed  the  bread  among  the  poor.  There  were  no  more 
complaints  on  the  subject. 

In  May,  1841,  Mgr.  Pecci  was  appointed  Delegate  of  Spoleto, 
where  he  instituted  many  reforms,  and  gave  unmixed  satisfaction 
to  the  people.  Such  was  the  effect  of  his  administration  that 
Peruo-ia,  which  had  previously  been  a  center  of  discontent  and 
disturbance,  in  a  short  time  did  not  have  a  single  criminal  in  its 
prisons.  Religion,  which  had  suffered  from  the  infidel  spirit  of 
the  times,  was  revived,  schools  were  opened,  and  prosperity  in- 
creased. 

In  tlie  month  of  January,  1843,  Mgr.  Pecci,  then  in  his  thirty- 
third  year,  was  promoted  to  the  post  of  Apostolic  Nuncio  at 
Brussels,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  he  was  nominated 
titular  Archbishop  of  Damietta.  He  was  consecrated,  February 
19,  by  Cardinal  Lambruschini,  then  Papal  Secretary  of  State,  in 
the  Church  of  San  Lorenzo  in  PanisiJerna. 

From  the  first,  Mgr.  Pecci  was  held  in  high  regard  in  the  Bel- 
gian capital.  His  varied  talents,  his  profound  learning,  his  gen- 
tle courtesy,  and  his  many  accomplishments  made  him  a  favorite 
with  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  Tbe  affability  of  Mon- 
si2:nor  Pecci,  his  exquisite  tact  and  unerring  judgment,  we  are 
told,  soon  forced  Leopold  I.,  who  was  a  discerning  connoisseur  of 
men,  to  form  a  very  high  opinion  of  him.  He  endeavored  to 
make  of  him  a  counsellor  and  a  friend,  and  induced  him  to  be  a 
frequent  visitor  at  court.  The  King  often  conversed  freely  with 
him,  and  took  pleasure  in  propounding  all  sorts  of  difficult  ques- 
tions. The  Nuncio,  however,  was  never  taken  aback,  so  that  the 
King  would  end  by  saying:  "Really,  Monsignor,  you  are  as 
clever  a  politician  as  you  are  an  excellent  churchman."  The 
Queen,  too,  who  was  a  pious  and  exemplary  Catholic,  had  a  great 
veneration  for  the  Archbishop-Nuncio,  and  never  missed  an  op- 
portunity to  obtain  his  blessing  for  herself  and  children.  To  a 
Belgian  who  visited  him  when  Cardinal-Archbishop  of  Perugia, 
Leo  said :  "  Yes,  I  knew  well  the  father  of  your  present  King,  as 
well  as  his  pious  mother.     I  was  often  admitted  to  the  cordial 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII.  5d 

intimacy  of  the  royal  family,  and  I  have  often  held  in  my  arms 
the  little  Leopold,  Duke  of  Brabant.  I  remember,  too,  that 
Queen  Louisa  Maria,  who  was  so  good  a  Christian,  used  to  ask 
me  to  bless  thia  her  eldest  child,  in  order  that  he  might  be  a 
good  king.  And  I  have  often  blessed  him  in  the  hope  that  he 
wcmld." 

"  Many  of  our  active  politicians  who  then  knew  him,"  says  a  Bel- 
gian writer, ''  describe  the  superior  intelligence,  the  delicate  grace, 
the  practical  tact  with  which  he  conducted  everything  pertaining 
to  the  business  of  his  Nunciature  in  Brussels.  In  our  highest 
society  people  still  recollect  his  noble  affability  of  manner,  his 
correctness  of  judgment,  and  the  elev^ation  of  his  ideas." 

What  a  marked  impression  the  Nuncio-diplomat  made  on  all 
who  knew  him,  while  in  the  Belgian  capital,  the  following  inci- 
dent will  illustrate  :  When  Lever,  the  L'ish  novelist,  resided  at 
Brussels,  his  house  was  near  the  British  ambassador's.  Sir  Hamilton 
Seymour.  Receptions  at  the  embassy  closed  for  the  public  at 
eight  P.M. ;  and  none  remained  later,  save  on  special  invitations 
which  constituted  them  private  guests.  Lever  always  opened 
his  house  on  the  reception  evenings  at  eight  p.m.,  when  all  who 
could  not  remain  at  the  envoy's  poured  in  on  him.  Strangest 
meetings  were  the  consequence.  Dr.  Whatel}^,  the  Protestant 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  when  his  guest,  would  have  no  one  near 
him  for  the  evening  but  the  Papal  Nuncio.  He  sat  beside  Queen 
Victoria  one  day  at  dinner,  and  afterward  attended  her  drawing- 
room,  presented  by  Lord  Palmerston — the  only  Pope  of  whom 

such  things  can  be  told Some  of  these  conversations  have 

been  recorded,  from  which  it  is  clear  that  Mgr.  Pecci  added 
the  grace  of  the  courtier  to  the  culture  of  the  ecclesiastic.  Leo- 
pold said,  "  I  often  forget  Pecci  is  an  Italian  :  and  his  French  is 
so  fluent,  that,  if  I  were  not  a  German,  I  should  certainly  find 
myself  some  day  converted  by  the  charm  of  his  diction  as  well  as 
by  the  logic  of  his  reasoning."  Leopold  one  day  said  to  him  at 
Laeken,  "I  am  sorry  I  cannot  suffer  myself  to  be  converted  by 
you,  but  you  are  so  winning  a  theologian  that  I  shall  ask  the 
Pope  to  give  you  a  cardinal's  hat."  "  Ah,"  replied  the  Nuncio,  "  a 
hundred  times  more  grateful  than  the  hat  would  it  be  to  me  to 
make  some  impression  on  your  heart."     "  Oh,  I  have  no  heart," 


56  HIS  HOLINESS,   rOPE  leo  xiii. 

exclaimed  the  king,  laughing.  "  Then,  better  still,  on  your  Maj- 
esty's mind." 

Mgr.  Peeci  helped  to  compose  many  difficulties  that  existed  in 
Belgium  at  the  time ;  and  it  was  through  his  wise  counsel  and 
enliofhtened  zeal  the  Belgian  College  in  Borne  was  built  for  the 
thorough  education  and  training  of  the  most  promising  students 
of  the  various  dioceses  of  that  kingdom. 

On  January  19,  1846,  Mgr.  Pecci  was  nominated  to  the  bishop- 
ric of  Perugia  by  Gregory  XVI.,  much  to  the  regret  of  the  King, 
the  clergy,  and  the  people  of  Belgium.  Leopold  I.  decorated  him 
with  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  order  which  he  had  founded,  and 
wrote  a  letter  to  Gregory  XVI.,  in  which  he  said:  "I  feel  bound 
to  recommend  Archbishop  Pecci  to  the  kind  protection  of  your 
Holiness ;  he  deserves  it  in  every  respect,  for  I  have  seldom  seen 
a  more  uncommon  devotion  to  duty,  more  upright  intentions  and 
straightforward  conduct.  His  stay  in  this  country  must  have 
enabled  him  to  do  your  Holiness  good  service.  I  beg  you  to 
require  him  to  give  you  an  exact  account  of  the  impressions  he 
takes  away  with  him  on  Church  matters  in  Belgium.  His  judg- 
ment on  all  such  things  is  very  sound,  and  your  Holiness  can 
trust  him  wholly." 

Before  returning  to  Rome,  Mgr.  Pecci  visited  London  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  King  of  the  Belgians  and  Baron  Von  Stock- 
mar.  He  was  received  with  much  cordiality  at  the  English 
Court  as  the  friend  of  Leopold  I.,  who  was  Queen  Victoria's 
uncle.  Mgr.  Pecci  remained  a  month  in  England,  where  he 
studied  closely  the  social  and  religious  conditions  of  the  country. 
He  also  remained  for  some  weeks  in  Paris,  where  he  was  highly 
honored  by  King  Louis  Philippe,  whose  daughter,  the  Queen  of 
the  Belgians,  had  held  him  in  such  high  esteem.  On  May  22, 
1846,  Mgr.  Pecci  reached  Rome,  only  to  find  Gregory  XVI.  on 
his  deathbed.  Having  presented  King  Leopold's  letter  to  the 
new  Poutiff,  Pius  IX.,  Mgr.  Pecci  left  Rome,  and  on  July  26,  the 
feast  of  St.  Anne,  his  mother's  patron  saint,  made  his  solemn 
entry  into  his  church  as  Bishop  of  Perugia.  More  than  sixty 
thousand  persons  from  the  surrounding  districts  welcomed  him, 
for  his  record  in  Perugia  liad  not  been  forgotten;  and  it  was  at 
the  solicitation  of  the  Perugianese  that  Gregory  XVI.  consented 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE  LEO   XIII.  57 

to  sacrifice  the  future  prospects  of  the  able  Nuncio  by  appointing 
him  to  that  bishopric. 

We  cannot  here  follow  in  detail  the  beneficent  labors  of  Mgr. 
Pecci  during  the  thirty-two  years  of  his  episcopate  in  Perugia. 
These  years  were  spent  "  in  educating  and  preparing  his  flock  to 
withstand  the  perils  which  beset  their  consciences,  their  homes, 
and  their  country ;  instructing  them  diligently  and  solidly ; 
creating  churches  and  schools  wherever  most  needed  ;  promoting 
piety  and  education  in  every  parish ;  raising  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation in  the  seminaries  destined  for  clerical  students ;  renovating 
the  great  schools  of  superior  education ;  lifting  his  eloquent 
voice,  in  pastoral  letters,  to  protest  against  the  outrages  and 
injustice  done  to  religion  and  its  chief,  and  warning,  by  writings 
as  admirable  for  their  sound  doctrine  and  exquisite  literary 
forms  as  they  are  for  their  opportuneness,  the  people  of  Italy  and 
all  Christendom  against  the  errors  which  unsettle  and  corrupt 
men's  minds  in  our  age,  and  against  the  vices  begotten  of  unbe- 
lief, the  unbridled  love  of  pleasure,  and  the  loss  of  faith  in  the 
eternal  world  with  its  rewards  and  punishments.  It  were  hard 
to  say  which  one  may  praise  most  in  this  laborious  episcopate — 
the  works  accomplished  by  the  Archbishop  to  foster  faith,  educa- 
tion, and  piety  among  his  people,  or  the  prophetic  writings  by 
which  he  taught  them  Christian  wisdom,  and  with  them  taught 
also  the  whole  Christian  world."  * 

On  December  19,  1853,  Archbishop  Pecci  was  preconized  car- 
dinal by  Pius  IX.  In  the  tumultuous  times  that  led  up  to  the 
invasion  of  the  Pontifical  States  by  the  Piedmontese,  Cardinal 
Pecci  displayed  extraordinary  energy  and  foresight,  and  his  utter- 
ances and  writings  of  those  days  describe  as  possibilities  and 
probabilities  all  the  evils  and  calamities  that  have  since  unhap- 
pily become  realities.  If  he  could  not  prevent  these  evils,  he 
succeeded,  within  his  own  sphere,  in  mitigating  their  effects  in 
many  instances. 

On  the  17th  of  January,  1871,  Perugia  celebrated  her  Cardinal- 
Archbishop's  jubilee.  It  was  a  magnificent  demonstration,  even 
far  surpassing  that  which  greeted  Mgr.  Pecci  when  he  entered 

*Mgr.  Bernard  O'Reilly's  Life  of  Leo  XIIL,  p.  139. 


58  niS   HOLINESS,    POPE   LEO   XIII. 

Perugia  as  its  Bishop  many  years  before.  Dark  days  had  de 
scended  on  the  Church ;  Eome  had  recently  been  occupied  by 
the  Piedmontese  despoilers;  the  spirit  of  the  anti-Christian 
Revolution  was  triumphant  throughout  the  Peninsula ;  and  the 
venerable  Pius  IX.,  a  prisoner  within  the  Vatican,  seemed  for 
the  moment  to  be  abandoned  to  the  fury  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Church.  The  clergy  and  people  of  Perugia  and  the  circumjacent 
dioceses  turned  out  in  full  force  to  show  their  appreciation  of  the 
faithful  pastor  of  souls  who  had  defended  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  the  flock  committed  to  his  eare,  with  such  constancy  and 
success,  against  the  influences  of  the  anti-Christian  propaganda. 
And  what  more  conclusive  proof  of  Archbishop  Pecci's  zeal  and 
ability  could  be  adduced  than  this  grand  out230uring  of  the  faith- 
ful to  do  him  homage  ? — a  living  proof  that  he  had  guarded  and 
defended  them  against  the  insidious  machinations  of  those  who 
had  so  sedulously  sought  to  sow  the  seeds  of  irreligion,  impiety, 
and  corruption  among  them.  The  Piedmontese  usurpers  were 
amazed  at  this  exhibition  of  the  popular  will,  and  did  not  dare 
undertake  to  suppress  it.  His  Holiness  Pius  IX.  sent  his  con- 
gratulations ;  and  many  testimonials  and  addresses  from  beyond 
his  diocese  came  to  remind  the  faithful  Bishop  of  Perugia  that 
his  virtues  and  labors  had  been  appreciated  and  remembered. 

In  1875  Cardinal- Archbishop  Pecci  was  appointed  by  Pius  IX. 
Protector  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  on  No- 
vember 26th  of  that  year  he  assumed  the  duties  of  his  charge. 
His  mother,  the  Countess  Anna,  had  been  a  pious  member  of  the 
Order,  had  induced  many  others  to  join  it,  and  had  been  widely 
noted  for  her  charities  toward  the  Franciscan  priests  and  broth- 
ers who  had  been  expelled  from  their  monasteries  and  driven 
upon  the  world  under  the  Napoleonic  occupation.  In  his  address 
on  that  occasion  he  referred  in  most  touching  language  to  the 
facts  that  from  his  infancy  he  had  been  devoted  to  the  great 
Saint  Francis,  and  was  ever  an  admirer  of  his  heroic  virtues,  and 
that  he  had  always  looked  upon  the  Third  Order  founded  by 
him  as  upon  "  an  institution  springing  from  divine  inspiration, 
one  replete  with  Christian  wisdom,  and  fruitful  in  most  blessed 
results  for  religion  and  the  entire  human  race." 

Pius  IX.  celebrated  his  golden  episcopal  jubilee  June  3,  1877. 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII.  59 

It  was  celebrated  with  an  eclat  and  enthusiasm  that  could  not 
be  surpassed,  although  the  Piedmontese  usurpers  had  recourse  to 
every  device  short  of  actual  violence  to  render  any  display  im- 
possible. The  cardinals,  archbishops,  and  bishops  of  the  despoiled 
Pontiiical  States  were  among  the  most  prominent  in  the  great 
demonstration,  and  the  Cardinal -Archbishop  of  Perugia  was 
their  leader,  and  had  been  chosen  to  deliver  the  address  of  con- 
gratulation in  their  name.  His  beautiful  and  filial  address  deeply 
moved  the  Holy  Father,  who  congratulated  and  thanked  him  at 
its  close.  How  little  did  Cardinal  Pecci  at  that  moment  dream 
that  before  a  year  should  have  passed  away  he  would  be  in  the 
place  of  the  venerable  and  holy  Pius  IX.,  contending,  as  he  him- 
self had  expressed  it,  against  "  the  worst  enemies  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  of  her  Divine  Head,  Christ,  who  were  permitted  to 
wage  against  both  the  most  bitter  war  which  the  memory  of  man 
can  recall  in  the  past  ages  as  well  as  in  the  present." 

Pius  IX.,  feeling  that  his  end  was  near,  appointed  Cardinal 
Pecci  Camerlengo  in  September,  18T7,  a  most  important  office,  as 
the  incumbent  has  the  administration  of  the  temporalities  of  the 
Holy  See  during  the  interval  between  the  death  of  the  Pope  and 
the  election  of  his  successor.  On  January  7,  1878,  Pius  IX.  yielded 
up  his  soul  to  God,  ending  a  life  of  glory  and  trial  such  as  few 
of  his  predecessors  had  known.  Cardinal  Pecci,  the  Camerlengo, 
took  every  precaution  to  preclude  any  pretext  for  interference  on 
the  part  of  the  Piedmontese  invaders.  On  Tuesday,  February 
19th,  the  first  balloting  for  the  election  of  the  Pope  took  place. 
Sixty-one  cardinals  were  present.  Cardinal  Joachim  Pecci's  name 
was  read  out  twenty-three  times,  but,  though  far  ahead  of  all 
others,  it  lacked  the  necessary  two-thirds  vote.  In  the  afternoon 
another  ballot  was  taken.  Cardinal  Pecci's  name  was  announced 
thirty-eight  times.  He  had  fervently  prayed  that  he  might  es- 
cape the  great  burden  which  he  deemed  himself  unable  and  un- 
worthy to  bear.  Cardinal  Donnet,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  who 
sat  beside  him  in  conclave,  thus  describes  his  attitude  at  that 
moment : 

"  I  remarked  that  Cardinal  Pecci,  hearing  his  own  name  men- 
tioned so  often,  and  that  everything  pointed  to  him  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Pius  IX.,  great  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  and  his 


60  HIS    HOLIJS^ESS,   POPE    LEO    XIII. 

hand  shook  so  violently  that  the  pen  it  held  fell  to  the  ground. 
I  picked  it  up  and  gave  it  to  him,  saying,  ^  Courage !  There  is 
no  question  here  of  you ;  it  is  the  Church  and  the  future  of  the 
world  that  are  in  question.'  He  made  no  reply,  only  lifting  his 
eyes  to  heaven  to  implore  the  divine  assistance." 

The  following  morning,  February  20,  1878,  the  balloting  was 
resumed,  and  Cardinal  Pecci's  name  was  read  forty-four  times ; 
the  two-thirds  majority  limit  was  passed,  and  Cardinal  Pecci  was 
canonically  elected  Supreme  Pontiff  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  To 
the  question  of  the  sub-dean  asking  by  what  name  he  wished  to 
be  called,  he  answered,  "  By  the  name  of  Leo  XIII." 

On  Sunday,  March  3d,  Leo  XIII.  was  crowned  in  the  Sistine 
Cbapel  with  the  usual  ceremonial.  On  the  4th  of  March  he  per- 
formed the  first  act  of  his  pontificate  by  reconstituting  the  Cath- 
olic hierarchy  in  Scotland,  a  project  which  had  been  decided  on 
by  Pius  IX.  previous  to  his  death.  The  ancient  archiepiscopal 
sees  of  St.  Andrews  and  Glasgow  were  restored,  and  the  episcopal 
sees  of  Aberdeen,  Dunkeld,  Whithorn  or  Galloway,  and  Argyll 
and  the  Isles.  The  Catholics  of  Scotland,  who,  since  the  so-called 
Eeformation,  had  been  subject  to  vicars-apostolic,  were  thus  given 
a  regular  episcopal  organization.  In  his  allocution  to  the  cardi- 
nals March  28th,  His  Holiness,  in  alluding  to  the  subject,  said  : 
"  We  trust  that  the  work  thus  brought  to  an  end  by  the  Holy 
See  shall  be  productive  of  abundant  fruit,  and  that,  through  the 
intercession  of  the  patron  saints  of  Scotland,  the  mountains  in 
that  country  shall  put  on  peace  and  the  hills  righteousness." 

Pope  Leo  XIII.  held  no  communication  with  King  Humbert,  and 
maintained  the  attitude  of  Pius  IX.  in  relation  to  the  temporal 
rights  of  the  Holy  See.  In  order  to  make  his  position  on  the 
question  clear,  he  thus  spoke  on  receiving  General  Kanzler,  June 
Cth  :  "  We  encourage  you  to  continue  firm  in  your  designs,  to  re- 
main faithful  to  the  glorious  banner  you  raised.  And  it  is  but 
just  and  proper  that  we  should  say  this  glorious  banner,  for  there 
is  no  more  beautiful  and  holy  cause  than  that  of  defending  the 
sacred  rights  of  the  Church  and  its  august  Head ;  there  is  no 
grander  military  glory  than  that  of  bearing  aloft  the  honor  of 
this  sacred  banner.  In  defending  the  Papacy,  you  defend  one  of 
the  most  providential  of  divine  institutions ;    in  defending  the 


HIS    HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO    XIII.  61 

Papacy,  you  become  the  support  and  stay  of  this  sov'^ereign  that 
Divine  Providence  has  granted  to  the  Head  of  the  Churcli  for  the 
independence  of  his  authority ;  in  defending  the  Papacy,  you  aid 
it  in  diffusing  throughout  the  world  its  beneficent  and  salutary 
effect." 

In  the  Deginning  of  1879  Pope  Leo  issued  an  encyclical  on 
Socialism,  wliich  contained  salutary  lessons  for  statesmen  in  all 
lands.  In  this  he  summoned  all  the  intellectual  forces  of  Cathol- 
icism in  opposition  to  the  anarchical  doctrines  of  modern  social- 
ism. He  also  took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  conciliate 
tlie  Governments  of  Europe,  v^itliout  abating  in  the  least  the  as- 
sertion of  the  rights  of  the  Church  and  the  Papacy.  In  Germany, 
Russia,  and  Switzerland,  meantime,  the  persecution  of  the  Church 
was  continued  with  unabated  rigor. 

On  May  12th,  of  the  same  year.  His  Holiness  admitted  a  num- 
ber of  new  cardinals  to  the  Sacred  College,  and  another  promo- 
tion to  that  rank  took  place  on  the  19th  of  September.  In  his 
zeal  for  the  revival  of  Christian  philosophy,  Leo  XIIL,  August 
4,  1879,  issued  an  encyclical  in  which  he  expressed  his  desire  of 
enthroning  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  as  the  "  Angel  of  the  Schools." 
After  describing  St.  Thomas  and  his  method  of  philosophical 
teaching.  His  Holiness  proceeded :  "  We  exhort  you,  venerable 
brethren,  most  urgently  to  restore  in  full  vigor  and  to  propagate 
as  far  as  possible  the  priceless  wisdom  of  St.  Thomas  for  the 
defense  and  armament  of  the  Catholic  faith,  for  the  welfare  of 
society,  and  for  the  advancement  of  all  sciences.  We  say,  '  the 
wisdom  of  St.  Thomas.'  Let  teachers,  designated  by  enlightened 
choice,  devote  themselves  to  instilling  into  the  minds  of  their  dis- 
ciples the  teaching  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  let  them  be  care- 
ful to  demonstrate  how  far  it  surpasses  all  others  in  solidity  and 
excellence.  Let  the  academies  you  have  instituted,  or  that  you 
shall  institute  in  future,  explain  and  defend  this  doctrine  and  use 
it  in  refuting  prevailing  errors."  This  recommendation  of  the 
restoration  of  the  philosophical  system  of  St.  Tliomas  was  eagerly 
received  and  zealously  acted  on  by  bishops  in  all  countries.  On 
many  subsequent  occasions  Leo  XIIL  urged  this  cherished  idea ; 
and,  with  this  view,  a  new  edition  of  the  complete  works  of  St. 
Thomas  was  prepared,  with  the  encouragement  and  approbation 


62  HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIIL 

of  His  Holiness.  Pope  Leo  also  introduced  many  reforms  in  the 
schools  of  higher  studies  in  Rome,  and  took  measures  toward 
raising  tlie  standard  of  education  among  the  clergy  of  that  dio- 
cese. He  also  urged  the  extension  and  improvement  of  element- 
ary education,  knowing  that  on  the  Christian  training  of  youth 
depends  largely  the  preservation  of  faith  and  morals. 

On  February  22,  1879,  a  congress  of  Catholic  writers  and  jour- 
nalists assembled  in  Rome  to  discuss  the  best  mode  of  treating 
politico-religious  questions,  and  of  preventing  the  divisions  that 
too  often  exist  among  Catholics  on  kindred  matters.  His  Holi- 
ness Leo  XHL  took  a  special  interest  in  this  assemblage,  be- 
stowed on  them  his  blessing,  and,  in  an  admirable  discourse, 
pointed  out  to  them  the  duties  of  Catholic  writers,  in  defending 
the  cause  of  truth  and  upholding  the  rights  of  the  Church.  In 
September  of  the  same  year  he  issued  a  code  of  rules  in  relation 
to  the  Vatican  Library,  whereby  the  rich  treasures  of  that  great 
storehouse  of  learnino;  were  made  more  accessible  to  scholars. 

On  December  28,  1879,  Leo  XHL  issued  an  encyclical  on  So- 
cialism, which  had  a  special  bearing  on  the  condition  of  things  in 
Germany,  where  the  Church  was  subjected  to  a  cruel  persecution. 
This  document  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  conWnce  the 
ruling  powers  of  that  country  that  tlie  great  danger  to  govern- 
ments was  in  the  irreligious  spirit  of  the  age  and  the  forces  of 
disorder  that  sprang  from  it,  and  not  the  Catholic  Church,  which 
is  a  bulwark  of  order,  a  stay  of  law,  the  defender  and  preserver 
of  morals,  and  the  surest  guide  to  peace  and  prosj)erity. 

When  Leo  XIII.  succeeded  to  the  Papal  Chair  diplomatic  in- 
tercourse had  been  broken  off  between  the  Holy  See  and  Russia. 
His  Holiness  took  means  to  bring  about  a  raprochement  between 
the  Vatican  and  St.  Petersburg,  and,  through  his  admirable  tact, 
friendly  intercourse  was  soon  re-established.  In  September  of 
the  following  year  His  Holiness,  in  order  to  encourage  the  Slav> 
onic  Catholics,  issued  an  encyclical  on  Sts.  Cyril  and  Methodius, 
their  apostles,  making  their  feast  one  of  higher  rank  in  the 
Church.  The  occasion  was  celebrated  with  great  joy  and  enthu- 
siasm throughout  the  Slavonic  world.  His  Holiness  also  evinced 
his  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Slavonic  peoples  by 
restoring  the  ancient  hierarchy  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  which 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE  LEO   XIII.  63 

shortly  before  had  been  placed  under  an  Austrian  protectorate. 
Under  his  direction  a  college  for  the  Armenians  was  founded  in 
Rome,  and  measures  were  taken  for  the  establishment  of  two 
-  great  educational  institutions  in  Athens  and  Constantinople  for 
,  the  benefit  of  the  Eastern  peoples.  Leo  XIII.  at  the  same  time 
opened  friendly  intercourse  with  the  emperors  of  China  and 
Japan,  and  exercised  his  fatherly  interest  in  regard  to  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  work  in  these  far-off  lands. 

In  1886  His  Holiness  issued  a  solemn  decree  sanctioning  the 
beatification  of  sixty  martyrs  who  were  put  to  death  for  the  faith 
in  England  between  the  years  1535  and  1583.  Among  these  con- 
fessors of  the  faith  appear  the  names  of  John  Cardinal  Fisher, 
Bishop  of  Rochester,  of  Lord  Chancellor  Sir  Thomas  More,  and 
of  Margaret  Pole,  the  mother  of  Cardinal  Pole.  The  Catholics  of 
England  celebratetl  the  event  with  joy  and  gratitude.  In  the  same 
year  the  first  high  pontifical  high  mass  since  the  Reformation  was 
celebrated  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark. 

Early  in  1884  Leo  XIII.  issued  the  bull  Rei  CatliollccB  incre- 
mentum^  convening  the  Plenary  Council  that  was  held  at  Balti- 
more in  the  following  November.  The  archbishops  of  the  United 
States  had  been  called  to  Rome  by  His  Holiness  the  year  before 
in  order  to  determine  the  questions  to  be  brought  before  the 
Council  and  to  receive  the  instructions  of  the  Propaganda  con- 
'  cerning  them.  Before  leaving  Rome  the  Holy  Father  presented 
a  full-length  portrait  of  himself  to  the  archbishops,  "  to  be 
hung,"  as  he  said,  "  in  the  hall  where  they  were  to  deliberate,  so 
that  he  might,  in  a  manner,  preside  over  the  great  national  Coun- 
cil." On  the  assembling  of  the  Council,  Sunday,  November  9th, 
Leo  XIII.  telegraphed  his  blessing  to  the  prelates  before  the  lat- 
ter had  telegraphed  the  message  which  they  had  intended  to  send 
him. 

His  Holiness  took  the  keenest  interest  in  the  deliberations  and 
work  of  the  Council,  and  especially  in  the  design  of  the  prelates 
to  establish  the  National  Catholic  University.  And  the  prelates, 
in  turn,  in  their  joint  pastoral  letter  issued  at  the  close  of  the 
Council,  thus  showed  their  appreciation  of  the  great  work  which 
Leo  is  accomplishing  throughout  the  world  from  within  the  walls 
which  imprison  him  : 


64  HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII. 

"  While  enduring  with  the  heroism  of  a  martyr  the  trials  which 
beset  him,  and  trustfully  awaiting  the  Almighty's  day  of  deliv- 
erance, the  energy  and  wisdom  of  Leo  XIII.  are  felt  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  In  the  East  he  is  preparing  the  way  for  the  return 
to  Catholic  unity  of  the  millions  whom  the  Greek  schism  has  so 
long  deprived  of  communion  with  the  See  of  Peter,  and  he  is  fol- 
lowing the  progress  of  exploration  in  lands  hitherto  unknown  or 
inaccessible  with  corresponding  advances  of  Catholic  missions. 
To  the  whole  world  his  voice  has  gone  forth  again  and  again  in 
counsels  of  eloquent  wisdom,  pointing  out  the  path  of  truth  in 
the  important  domains  of  philosophy  and  history;  the  best 
means  of  improving  human  life  in  all  its  phases,  individual,  do- 
mestic, and  social ;  the  ways  in  which  the  children  of  God  should 
walk,  that  all  flesh  may  see  the  salvation  of  God." 

During  his  entire  pontificate  Leo  XIII.  has  evinced  a  special  in- 
terest in  the  United  States  and  in  the  progress  of  the  Church  here. 

"Leo's  interest,"  writes  Archbishop  Ireland,  "in  our  republic 
is  but  an  episode  in  his  vast  treatment  of  the  present  and  future 
conditions  of  humanity.  Those  who  study  Leo  know  that  the 
peculiar  trait  of  his  mind  is  that  he  deals  with  all  particular 
questions  as  parts  of  a  general  scheme.  His  vision  is  primarily 
co-extensive  with  the  far-reaching  territory  of  the  Church  and  of 
humanity.  His  judgments  of  local  or  immediate  questions  are 
made  up  under  the  influence  of  this  larger  vision. 

"  The  One  fact  impressing  him  above  all  others  is  that  a  new  era 
is  coming  for  man — the  new  era  of  popular  rights  and  popular 
liberties,  the  elevation  of  the  masses,  the  reign  of  democracy.. 
Leo  sees  this  and  rejoices.  The  new  era  is  the  blossoming  of  the 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  in  which  God  is  the  Father  of  all  men, 
and  men  in  relation  to  one  another  are  brothers,  and  the  favors 
of  heaven  are  intended  for  all,  so  far  as  inequality  of  nature  in 
man  and  of  circumstances  permits.  The  evolution  from  one  his- 
toric condition  into  another  is  perilous,  and  if  due  direction  be 
not  given,  humanity  may  go  astray.  But  dangers  of  turning  oE 
from  the  main  road  do  not  prove  this  road  to  be  wrong.  It  is 
the  part  of  wisdom  and  love  in  the  leaders  of  humanity  to  avert 
such  dangers.  Now,  the  United  States  of  America  has  been  the 
first  of  nations  to  enter  with  any  breadth  of  march  upon  the  un- 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIK.  65 

tried  fields  of  the  new  order.  The  country  is  an  object-lesson  to 
all  countries,  and  all  scholars  of  humanity  are  intent  on  studying 
it.  Some  view  us  with  envy  and  fear,  some  with  admiration  and 
hope,  according  as  they  dread  or  welcome  the  risinsi:  up  of  the 
people  into  higher  manhood  and  fuller  possession  of  human  rights. 
Leo  is  chief  among  those  who  admire  and  hope.  His  genius  re- 
veals to  him  the  future,  in  which  he  sees  the  growth  and  exten- 
sion of  American  principles  of  citizenship  and  of  civil  and  polit- 
ical liberty.  Leo  has  come  to  us  from  the  watch-tower  of 
universal  humanity.  We  have  gone  to  him,  drawn  by  love  of 
our  own  institutions  reflected  in  his  vast  soul. 

"  I  might,  with  no  slight  degree  of  satisfaction  to  our  national 
pride,  speculate  as  to  the  extent  in  which  the  attention  given  by 
Leo  to  the  United  States  reacts  upon  his  general  conclusions  and 
aids  in  the  formation  of  his  world-wide  policy.  We  often  say 
that  Americans  are  leavening  the  minds  of  all  nations.  I  believe 
this  to  be  most  true,  but  I  am  prepared  to  add  that  the  better 
and  greater  portion  of  our  work  in  this  direction  will  come 
through  the  influence  of  American  democracy  and  American 
liberty  on  Leo  XIIL  The  most  powerful  of  his  encyclicals,  that 
on  the  Constitution  of  States,  that  on  the  Condition  of  Labor, 
that  on  France,  exhale  the  fragrant  air  of  our  own  '  Sweet  Land 
of  Liberty.'  Leo  is  in  mind  and  spirit  an  American  of  the  Amer- 
icans. If  I  desired  to  give  tangible  proof  I  would  call  attention 
to  Monsignore  Satolli,  who  comes  to  us  as  the  mouthpiece  of  Leo's 
mind,  and  who  gives  at  once  proofs  of  his  fullest  apprehension  of 
our  political  and  social  life,  and  of  his  most  cordial  loyalty  to  its 
spirit  and  its  forms." 

Among  the  many  grave  problems  that  confronted  Leo  XIII.  on 
his  accession  to  the  Pa23al  Chair,  the  most  urgent,  perhaps,  was 
that  of  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  between  the  Holy  See 
and  Germany.  Flushed  by  the  recent  triumph  over  France,  Bis- 
marck undertook  to  make  the  Church  in  the  kingdom  of  Prussia, 
and  in  all  Germany,  a  mere  tool  in  the  hands  of  the  State.  He 
essayed  the  impossible  task — a  task  which  more  powerful  than 
he  failed  to  perform — of  making  the  Catholic  Church  within  the 
domain  of  his  master's  jurisdiction  a  mere  State  Church.  The 
temporal  power  of  the  Pope  had  fallen  before  the  Piedmontese 


66  HIS    HOLINESS,    POPE   LEO    XIIL 

vandals ;  the  spirit  of  religious  revolt  had  been  aroused  in  Ger- 
many by  Dollinger  and  the  so-called  Old  Catholics ;  the  secret 
anti -Christian  societies  had  concentrated  their  forces  in  nearly  all 
the  European  countries  in  an  attack  on  the  Catholic  Church ;  and 
the  German  Chancellor  deemed  the  moment  opportune  to  carry 
out  his  cherished  design.  The  Jesuits  were  expelled ;  the  relig- 
ious orders  suppressed ;  the  supremacy  of  the  State  in  the  ecclesi- 
astical as  well  as  in  the  civil  order  was  proclaimed ;  the  Bishops 
were  shorn  of  their  authority ;  the  clergy  were  hampered  in  the 
performance  of  their  pastoral  duties ;  the  seminaries  were  closed, 
and  the  candidates  for  the  priesthood  were  to  be  educated  by  the 
State,  and  precluded  from  ordination  unless  they  were  iirst  exam- 
ined by  the  State  authorities  and  granted  a  State  certificate.  These 
laws  not  only  violated  the  legal  rights  of  the  Catholics  of  Prussia, 
but  also  the  treaties  between  that  kingdom  and  the  Holy  See. 

The  Prussian  Catholics  offered  a  passive  resistance  to  this 
attack  on  their  religious  rights,  and  soon  the  Archbishop  of  Co- 
logne, Primate  of  Prussia,  Archbishop  Ledochowski,  of  Posen, 
and  other  distinguished  prelates  and  clergy,  were  imprisoned ;  so 
that  in  1877  there  was  not  a  single  bishop  in  all  the  Rhine 
valley.  Four  years  later  over  six  hundred  parishes  were  without 
a  priest,  and  nearly  six  hundred  others,  with  a  population  aggre- 
gating over  a  million  and  a  half,  were  in  an  almost  equally  de- 
plorable condition.  Emperor  William  testily  declared  that  his 
Catholic  subjects  "  must  obey  the  laws,"  and  Bismarck  arrogantly 
boasted  that  "  he  would  not  go  to  Canossa."  Such  w^as  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  that  Leo  XIII.  encountered  at  the  very  opening 
of  his  pontificate.  We  need  not  dwell  here  on  the  patience,  tact, 
and  masterly  diplomacy  with  which  Leo  XIIL  accomplished  his 
object.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  persisted  in  his  wise  and  skilful 
policy  until  finally  the  most  powerful  statesman  in  Europe  gave  way 
before  him;  the  obnoxious  laws  were  gradually  repealed;  the 
rights  of  the  German  Catholics  were  restored  without  any  com- 
promise or  yielding  on  their  part ;  and  the  moral  power  of  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter  w\as  never  more  triumphantly  vindicated 
than  when  Prince  Bismarck  declared  before  the  Prussian  House 
of  Lords  that  the  May  Laws  were  a  "  blunder,"  inasmuch  as  they 
"  aimed  at  achieving  what  was  impossible." 


HIS    HOLINESS,    POPE    LEO    XIII.  67 

Scarcely  less  difficult  was  the  task  which  Pope  Leo  encountered 
in  France.  The  spirit  of  Voltairanism  and  persecution  was  ram- 
pant under  the  regime  of  Jules  Ferry,  Gambetta,  and  Paul  Bert, 
who  were  pushed  on  from  outrage  to  outrage  by  the  influence  of 
their  masters,  the  secret  societies.  Religious  orders  were  sup- 
pressed and  their  members  expelled,  the  schools  and  public  insti- 
tutions were  dechristianized,  and  a  campaign  of  persecution  was 
inaugurated  against  everything.  This  intolerance  and  tyranny 
of  the  minority  was  borne  because  the  majority  of  Frenchmen 
were  broken  up  and  divided  into  a  congeries  of  wrangling  factions. 
Leo  XIII.  saw  the  danger  and  he  was  quick  to  apply  the  remedy. 
While  protesting  against  the  expulsion  of  the  religious  orders 
and  the  other  unjust  measures  of  the  French  authorities,  he 
sought  to  bring  about  a  unity  of  action  among  Frenchmen, 
whereby  the  majority  might  not  be  longer  persecuted  and  out- 
raged by  the  infidel  few.  The  latter  invariably  sought  to  justify 
or  explain  their  action  on  the  ground  that  the  hierarchy  and  the 
clergy  generally  were  antagonistic  to  the  republic.  Referring  to 
this  hypocritical  pretence,  Leo  XIII.  wrote:  "The  Catholic 
Church  neither  blames  nor  condemns  any  form  of  State  constitu- 
tion. The  institutions  of  the  Church  herself,  deriving  their  origin 
from  purposes  of  public  utility,  can  flourish  under  any  govern- 
ment, whether  the  executive  or  judiciary  power  be  exercised 
therein  by  one  or  by  more.  As  to  the  Apostolic  See,  which  has  to 
maintain  relations  with  governments  in  the  midst  of  political 
changes  and  revolutions,  its  sole  purpose  is  to  secure  the  interests 
of  the  Christian  religion.  It  never  intends,  nor  can  intend,  to 
violate  the  rights  of  any  government,  no  matter  by  whom  admin- 
istered. It  is,  therefore,  certain  that  in  all  things  where  we  do 
no  injustice  to  others  we  should  o])ey  those  in  authority.  Nor 
by  so  obeying  do  we  sanction  whatever  is  wrong,  either  in  the 
constitution  or  the  administration." 

.  But  Leo  XIII.  went  further.  He  pronounced  in  favor  of  the  re- 
publican form  of  government  in  France,  seeing  that  such  a  govern- 
ment was  the  choice  of  the  majority  of  the  people.  His  letters  to  the 
French  bishops  and  his  encyclicals  on  France  saved  that  country 
from  revolution  and  strife,  and  his  far-sighted  policy  is  already 
bearing  good  fruit,  both  for  the  Church  and  State,  in  the  republic. 


68  HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII. 

Leo  XIII.,  says  a  recent  writer,  will  certainly  figure  amongst 
the  great  Popes  of  history.  As  lie  enjoys  the  admiration  and 
respect  of  his  century,  posterity  will  not  refuse  to  accord  him  its 
esteem,  and  will  place  him  in  the  position  he  merits — by  the  side 
of  Innocent  III.,  the  Pope  of  great  and  fertile  initiative ;  of  Nicho- 
las v.,  the  Pope  of  the  Renaissance,  the  founder  of  the  Vatican 
Library ;  and  of  Benoit  XIV.,  the  enlightened  Pope,  who  ranks 
beside  with  the  greatest  geniuses  of  his  time.  In  a  century  when 
material  power  celebrates,  it  may  be  said  its  apotheosis,  Leo 
XIII.  has  had  the  glory  of  raising  under  the  most  tangible  form 
the  moral  force  of  the  Popedom.  He  has  replaced  this  institution, 
which  some  pretended  was  immobilized  and  mummified  forever, 
in  the  highest  social  position,  as  the  illuminating  lighthouse  of 
the  future.  He  has  restored  it  as  a  universal  and  social  power. 
With  Leo  XIII.  the  Pope  has  returned,  as  Joseph  de  Maistre 
beautifully  expresses  himself,  the  natural  head,  the  most  powerful 
promoter,  the  great  Demiurge  of  universal  civilization. 

Leo  XIII.  is  a  modern  Pope,  as  much  as  the  pontifical  tradi- 
tions, where  the  fear  of  innovation  and  the  respect  for  usage 
reach  proportions  sometimes  excessive  will  allow.  Leo  XIII. 
loves  and  understands  his  century.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  he 
has  been  able  to  act  upon  it  to  a  high  degree.  Nothing  in  this 
century  is  strange  to  him.  If  in  his  encyclical  letters  he  has 
sounded  all  its  weaknesses,  he  has  also  understood  all  its  needs 
and  all  its  healthy  aspirations. 

He  has  seized  and  discerned  in  all  its  consequences  and  ramifi- 
cations the  capital  fact  of  the  nineteenth  century — the  rising  of 
the  democracy.  He  may  fear  the  excesses  or  reprove  the  mis- 
takes of  the  new  power;  he  does  not  condemn  them  in  any  of 
their  legitimate  manifestations.  As  formerly  his  predecessor 
Peter,  in  the  waves  of  the  Lake  of  Genesareth,  Leo  XIII.  has 
cast  his  net  into  the  sea  which  stretches  to  the  horizon  of  the 
future,  and  he  has  not  feared  to  venture  there  with  his  ship  of 
which  he  is  the  pilot. 

The  Social  Question,  the  redoubtable  enigma  which  is  on  the 
threshold  of  the  twentieth  century,  has  become  the  centre  of  his 
preoccupation,  and  he  has  uttered  his  word  upon  the  divers  solu- 
tions which  this  terrible  problem  calls  for. 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIIL  69 

It  is  often  said  that  ttie  Churcb  is  accustomed  to  be  behind 
the  century  when  she  does  not  miss  the  train.  This  is  a  reproach 
which  under  Leo  XIII.  it  would  be  difficult  to  address  to  the 
Popedom,  because  the  present  Pope  has  always  had  at  heart  to 
follow  in  everything  the  movement  of  his  century  and  to  adapt 
the  action  of  the  Church  to  the  new  conditions  of  society. 

Some  amongst  the  Catholics  on  the  Continent  would  like  to 
see  the  Church  as  it  was  in  the  past — to  bind  her  to  the  corpses 
of  dead  institutions.  Leo  XIII  is  not  of  this  school.  If  he  re- 
spects the  monarchies  wherever  they  are  founded  on  popular  and 
traditional  rights,  republics  do  Dot  frighten  him.  In  France  he 
urges  Catholics  to  adhere  to  the  present  regime  in  order  to  im- 
prove it ;  in  Brazil  the  same.  The  fall  of  Dom  Pedro,  who  dis- 
simulated badly  a  deep  hostility  toward  the  Church,  was  saluted 
with  joy  by  all  Catholics  in  Brazil,  and  provoked  at  the  Vatican 
no  sentiment  of  regret.  To  the  Brazilian  Catholics,  who  im- 
plored his  advice,  Leo  XIII.  replied:  "Accept  the  Republic; 
try  to  imitate  the  Catholics  in  the  United  States,  who  have 
placed  their  rights  and  their  liberties  under  the  palladium  of  free 
institutions  and  the  common  law." 

As  regards  the  United  States,  it  bas  no  sincerer  friend  or  more 
profound  admirer  than  Leo  XIII.  When  Mr.  Cleveland,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Pope's  jubilee,  sent  him  as  a  present  a  richly 
bound  copy  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Leo  XIII. 
appreciated  this  present  above  others,  and  on  receiving  it  he 
might  have  thought,  even  if  he  did  not  explicitly  express  himself, 
that  he  held  in  his  hands  the  charter  of  the  society  of  the  future. 

Crushed  and  humiliated  as  was  the  Holy  See  at  the  close  of 
the  reign  of  Pius  IX.,  Leo  XIII.  has  restored  to  the  Popedom, 
with  the  respect  of  governments  and  people,  that  prestige  and 
influence  which  were  her  attributes  during  the  heroic  times  of 
her  history.  Rarely  has  the  tiara  shone  with  so  brilliant  and 
pure  a  light,  or  shed  its  rays  so  brightly  and  so  far.  The  Pope- 
dom has  lost  the  material  possession  of  Rome,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  thanks  to  Leo  XIIL,  she  is  preparing  to  take  possession  of 
the  world,  or  at  any  rate  she  has  splendidly  enlarged  the  sphere 
of  her  social  action  and  the  dominions  of  her  moral  conquests. 

Catholicism  may  be  proud  to  salute  in  its  actual  head  a  man 


70 


HIS   HOLINESS,   POPE   LEO   XIII. 


whose  greatness  of  character  and  whose  intellectual  superiority 
command  the  admiration  and  the  esteem  of  his  contemporaries, 
and  which  place  him  unequalled  amongst  the  sovereigns  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 


MU2  OF  LEO  XiU 


THE  FIRST  APOSTOLIC  DELEGATE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

WITH    A    SKETCH   OF   THE   MISSIOJI    OF   THE 

MOST  REV.  FRANCISCO  SATOLLI, 

ARCHBISHOP    OR    LEPANTO, 

BY 

The  rev.  Thomas  O'Gorman,  d.d., 

OF  THE  CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY  OF  AMERICA. 


The  appointment  of  Mgr.  Satolli  in  1893  as  Papal  Delegate  in 
the  United  States  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  for  the 
Church  in  this  country.  Formerly  it  was  necessary  to  carry  all 
questions  of  aj^peal  to  the  Propaganda,  Rome;  but  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  Apostolic  Delegate  renders  it  possible  to  have  these 
cases  more  speedily  heard  and  determined  in  the  country  where 
they  occur,  thus  saving  much  time  and  inconvenience  to  all  con- 
cerned. 

The  following  communication  from  His  Holiness,  Leo  XHL, 
appointing  Mgr.  Satolli,  defines  the  powers  of  the  Apostolic 
Delegate : 

"  Zeo  XIII.,  Pope,  to  his  Venerable  Brother,  Frcmcisco  Satolli,  Titular 
ArcKbishop  of  Lepanto. 

"  Venerable  Bkother,  Greeting  and  Apostolic  Blessing. 

"The  Apostolic  office,  which  the  inscrutable  designs  of  God 
have  laid  on  our  shoulders,  unequal  though  they  be  to  the 
burden,  keeps  us  in  frequent  remembrance  of  the  solicitude  in- 
cumbent on  the  Roman  Pontiff  to  procure,  with  watchful  care, 
the  good  of  all  the  churches.  This  solicitude  requires  that  in  all, 
even  the  remotest,  regions  the  germs  of  dissension  be  weeded  out, 
and  the  means  which  conduce  to  the  increase  of  religion  and  the 

71 


72  MOST   REV.    FRANCISCO   SATOLLI. 

salvation  of  Christian  souls,  be  put  into  effect  amid  the  sweetness 
of  peace. 

"  With  this  purpose  in  view,  we,  the  Eoraan  Pontiff,  are  wont 
to  send  from  time  to  time  to  distant  countries  ecclesiastics  who 
represent  and  act  for  the  Holy  See,  that  they  may  procure  more 
speedily  and  energetically  the  good,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of 
the  Catholic  peoples.  For  grave  reasons,  the  churches  of  the 
United  States  of  America  demand  of  us  special  care  and  provi- 
sion; hence,  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  an  Apostolic  Delega- 
tion should  be  established  in  the  said  States. 

"  After  giving  attentive  and  serious  consideration  to  all  the  bear- 
ings of  this  step  and  consulting  with  our  Venerable  Brothers,  the 
Cardinals  in  charge  of  the  Congregation  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith,  we  have  chosen  you,  Venerable  Brother,  to  be  en- 
trusted with  such  delegation.  Your  zeal  and  ardor  for  religion, 
your  wide  knowledge,  skill  in  administration,  prudence,  wisdom, 
and  other  remarkable  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  as  well  as  the 
assent  of  the  said  Cardinals,  justify  our  choicG. 

"  Therefore,  Venerable  Brother,  holding  you  in  very  special  affec- 
tion, we,  by  our  apostolic  authority  and  by  virtue  of  these  present 
letters,  do  elect,  make,  and  declare  you  to  be  Apostolic  Delegate 
in  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  good  pleasure  of  ourself 
and  of  this  Holy  See.  We  grant  you  all  and  singular  powers 
necessary  and  expedient  for  the  carrying  on  of  such  delegation. 
We  command  all  whom  it  concerns  to  recognize  in  you  as  Apostolic 
Delegate  the  supreme  power  of  the  delegating  Pontiff.  We  com- 
mand that  they  give  you  aid  and  obedience,  concurrence  in  all 
things,  and  that  they  receive  with  reverence  your  salutary  admo- 
nitions and  orders.  Whatever  sentence  or  penalty  you  shall  de- 
clare or  inflict  duly  against  those  who  oj)pose  your  authority,  we 
will  ratify,  and,  with  the  authority  given  us  by  the  Lord,  will 
cause  to  be  observed  inviolable  until  condign  satisfaction  be 
made,  notwithstanding  constitutions  and  apostolic  ordinances  or 
any  other  to  the  contrary. 

"  Given  at  Rome  in  St.  Peter's  under  the  Fisherman's  King  this 
24th  day  of  January,  1893;  of  our  Pontificate  the  fifteenth  year. 
"(Countersigned)     Serafino  Cardinal  Vanutelli." 

(Seal  of  King.) 

Mgr.  Satolli  was  born  in  Marciano,  diocese  of  Pei'ugia,  Italy, 
July  21,  1841.  In  that  quaint  ecclesiastical  city,  whose  univer- 
sity dates  back  to  the  fourteenth  century,  his  boyhood  was 
passed.  He  was  taken  under  the  protection  of  Pope  Leo,  then 
Archbishop  of  Perugia,  at  an  early  age.     On  June  1,  1888,  he 


MOST   REV.    FRANCISCO   SATOLLI.  73 

"was  created  titular  Archbishop  of  Lepanto.  There  is  probably 
no  man  living  who  is  closer  to  Leo  XIII.  than  Mgr.  Satolli,  or 
who  has  enjoyed  more  unrestrained  intimacy  with  him,  or  w^ho 
has  participated  to  a  greater  extent  in  the  broad,  progressive  pol- 
icies of  Leo  in  politics,  philosophy,  and  religion. 

Coincident  with  his  coming  hither  as  Papal  Delegate,  Mgr. 
Satolli  was  also  delegated  to  represent  the  Pope  at  the  opening 
of  the  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago.  In  18S9  he  had  been 
deputed  by  His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII.,  to  represent  him  at  Balti- 
more, on  the  occasion  of  the  centenary  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy 
in  the  United  States,  and  of  the  inauguration  of  the  Catholic 
University  in  Washington.  On  this  latter  occasion  Mgr.  Satolli 
had  the  honor  of  meeting  President  Harrison  and  members  of 
the  Cabinet.  How  deeply  impressed  he  was  by  all  he  saw  at  the 
time,  how  warm  his  admiration  for  our  country,  how  glowing  the 
account  to  the  Pope  on  his  return,  is  evidenced  by  the  more 
frequent,  the  more  eulogistic  words  that  since  then  have  come  to 
us  from  the  heart  and  lips  of  the  venerable  man  who  is  the  spir- 
itual chief  of  the  largest  body  of  Christians  in  the  world. 

MGR.    SATOLLl's    MISSION.* 

"Naturally,  the  American  people  ask,"  writes  Dr.  O'Gorman, 
"What  manner  of  man  is  this  Papal  envoy?  The  answer  I 
should  give  the  question  is,  he  is  a  man  after  the  manner  of  his 
master;  we  shall  know  the  legate  from  a  study  of  the  Pope. 
Among  the  men  who  mould  the  century  and  guide  its  move- 
ments, Leo  XIII.  is  conceded  on  all  sides  to  be  pre-eminent.  His 
influence  is  most  potent  in  the  order  of  ideas  and  in  the  order  of 
facts,  in  the  philosophical  and  social  spheres.  It  is  a  common 
fallacy  to  call  philosophy  dreaming,  and  to  divide  mankind  into 
dreamers  and  Avorkers,  as  if  every  man  must  belong  to  either  of 
those  two  classes,  as  if  no  one  man  could  at  once  be  philosoplier  and 
worker.  Leo  XIII.  is  both,  a  man  of  thought  and  a  man  of 
action.  Any  one  who  looks  deeply  into  the  nature  of  things  and 
of  man,  or  has  acquaintance  with  the  history  and  the  leaders  of 
the  race,  need  not  be  told  that  there  is  a  close  connection  between 
the  ideal  and  the  real,  the  head  and  the  hand,  thought  and  deed. 
"The  thought  no  less  than  the  action  of  the  Pope  is  a  reform, 
*  This  article  by  Dr.  O'Gorman,  here  given  by  permission,  will  be  of  interest. 


74  MOST   KEV.    FRANCISCO   SATOLLI. 

but  not  a  revolution.  Both  make  for  progress,  but  tbey  do  not 
repudiate  tradition.  Leo  XIII.  stretches  out  for  the  new  and  the 
future,  but  the  old  and  past  is  his  starting-point  and  base  of 
operations;  he  desires  a  new  flowering  and  fruitage,  but  without 
uprooting;  he  would  build  the  coming  age  on  lines  of  a  new 
symmetry  and  beauty,  but  without  tearing  up  the  secular  foun- 
dations on  which  rested  the  centuries  that  have  passed  away. 
Progress  is  not  a  leap  in  the  vacuum,  but  an  advance  on  a  solid 
road.  He  who  plans  what  is  to  be  without  taking  account  of 
what  has  been,  builds  on  the  sand  or  in  the  air. 

"  The  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  Pope's  movement  in 
the  reo-ion  of  the  ideal  and  the  real  is  the  union  of  two  elements, 
commonly  supposed  to  be  contradictory,  tradition  and  progress. 
Tradition  binds  the  ideas  and  deeds  of  to-day  to  the  truths  and 
facts  of  yesterday  that  have  been  demonstrated  and  consecrated 
by  the  mind  and  suffrage  of  preceding  ages.  In  the  world  of 
human  thought  and  action  no  less  than  in  the  world  of  matter 
nothing  that  has  been  perishes.  Progress  drives  us  to  the  inces- 
sant pursuit  of  the  True  and  Good,  and  urges  us  to  adapt  the 
eternal  True  and  Good  to  the  complete  and  ever-changing  condi- 
tions of  the  life  of  mankind.  In  this  double  force,  one  centrip- 
etal, holding  us  to  the  fixed  acquisitions  of  the  past,  the  other 
centrifugal,  pushing  us  out  to  the  dimly  seen  treasures  of  the 
future,  is  true  reform.  Here  is  the  secret  of  the  policy  of  Leo 
XIII.,  on  the  one  hand  calling  back  Catholic  thinkers  to  the 
philosoj^hical  system  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  culmination  in 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas  of  the  best  thought  of  paganism  and  Chris- 
tianity, of  Aristotle,  Plato,  the  Gospel,  St.  Augustine;  on  the 
other  hand  bidding  us  launch  fearlessly  into  the  social  questions 
and  the  democratic  movement  that  are  the  torment  and  the  aspi- 
ration of  our  age.  This  union  of  the  past  and  the  future  in  the 
present  gives  potency  to  the  Pope's  influence,  whereas  the  ab- 
sence of  the  element  of  tradition  and  the  repudiation  of  the  past 
make  socialism  and  anarchy  irrational  movements,  doomed  after 
a  brief  fitful  fever  to  decay  and  death. 

"  Furthermore,  Leo  XIII.'s  intellectual  and  social  direction  is 
marked  by  a  tendency  to  peace  on  the  lines  of  truth  and  justice, 
peace  without  sacrifice  of  principles,  peace  imposed  with  a  firm 


MOST   REV.   FRANCISCO   SATOLLI.  75 

and  undeviating  moderation,  by  appeals  to  reason  and  sentiment 
rather  than  by  harsh  and  peremptory  measures.  It  is  evident 
from  all  his  official  utterances  and  actions  that  he  seeks  and 
advises  above  all  things  conciliation  and  harmony.  One  hesitates 
between  two  titles  by  which  to  qualify  the  reigning  Pontiff. 
'The  People's  Pope'  he  is  because  of  his  love  and  compassion 
for  the  laboring  masses,  because  of  his  defense  of  the  rights  of 
labor,  because  of  his  approval  of  the  democratic  form  of  govern- 
ment for  the  nations  that  see  in  that  form  their  life  and  prosper- 
ity. But  '■  The  Pacificator '  he  is  also,  because  of  his  constant 
care  to  preach  and  impose  peace  on  all  warring  factions.  We  do 
not  venture  to  say  which  of  these  two  titles  history  will  adjudge 
him.  Within  the  world  at  large,  harmony  between  the  natural 
and  supernatural,  earth  and  heaven,  faith  and  reason,  science  and 
religion,  the  Church  and  civil  governments;  within  the  State, 
harmony  between  governor  and  governed,  between  legitimate 
authority  that  comes  from  God  and  individual  liberty,  heaven's 
noblest  gift  to  man ;  between  the  different  classes  of  men,  em- 
ployers and  employed,  capital  and  labor,  rich  and  poor ;  within 
the  Church,  harmony  between  pastors  and  flock,  between  nation 
and  nation,  between  pastors  and  pastors; — yes,  harmony  and 
conciliation  everywhere  have  been  the  burden  of  his  teaching 
and  acting  from  the  first  Encyclical,  in  which  he  outlined  the 
programme  of  his  Pontificate,  to  the  recent  letters  addressed  to 
the  French  clergy  and  people,  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  punctu- 
ated and  made  notable  bv  admirable  documents  on  socialism,  the 
origin  of  power,  marriage,  the  civil  constitution  of  the  State,  lib- 
erty, the  condition  of  the  workingman.  '  Peace  on  earth  to  men 
of  good  will '  is  the  text  he  never  wearies  of  expounding  to  a 
world  sorely  vexed  by  dissensions,  and  looking  for  the  Saviour 
that  will  bid  the  w^inds  be  still  and  the  waves  be  calm. 

"And,  to  bring  about  peace,  he  can,  when  occasion  demands, 
put  forth  a  firmness  none  the  less  effective  for  being  moderate. 
Witness  the  energy  with  which  he  insisted,  in  spite  of  powerful 
opposition,  that  the  republican  form  of  government,  the  choice 
of  the  French  people,  should  be  loyally  accepted  by  the  various 
Catholic  bodies  in  France.  He  knows  how  to  adapt  fundamental 
and    unchangeable   principles    to    the    exigencies   of   time    and 


76  MOST  EEV.   FRANCISCO   SATOLLI. 

place ;  how  to  conciliate  truth  with  conditions  and  circumstances 
of  the  Church's  environment.  If  the  philosophy  of  St.  Thomas  is 
the  ideal  he  counsels,  he  advises  also  the  practical  qualities  that 
marked  the  Angel  of  the  Schools,  in  philosophy  union  of  specu- 
lation and  experience,  of  synthesis  and  analysis ;  in  politics,  the 
prudent  application  of  theory  to  facts ;  in  all  things,  moderation 
and  maturity  of  language. 

"  Such  is  the  Pope  who  sends  a  legate  to  the  Church  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  legate  is  like  unto  the  master.  Mgr. 
Satolli,  Archbishop  of  Lepanto,  has  been  associated  by  Leo  XIII. 
to  the  speculative  and  practical  work  of  his  Pontificate.  Trained 
in  Perugia  under  the  eye  of  Joachim  Pecci,  then  Archbishop  of 
that  city,  in  the  diocesan  seminary  which  the  future  Pope  had 
made  the  most  eminent  ecclesiastical  school  in  Italy,  Satolli  was 
called  to  Rome  soon  after  his  patron  had  ascended  the  throne, 
and  at  once  became  the  principal  helper  of  Leo  XIII.  in  the  res- 
toration of  philosophical  and  theological  studies  in  Rome.  To 
him  were  intrusted  the  most  important  chairs  in  the  most  famous 
schools  of  the  Eternal  City,  the  Propaganda  and  the  Roman 
Seminary.  His  reputation  grew  speedily ;  he  was  soon  known 
as  the  foremost  master  of  theology  among  all  the  notabilities 
gathered  around  the  Vatican.  The  Pope,  who  admires  his  gifts 
of  mind  and  is  proud  of  his  success,  has  more  than  once  referred 
to  his  '  Perugian  boy '  those  who  sought  to  know  what  was  the 
genuine  Thomistic  philosophy.  In  spite  of  his  numerous  profes- 
sional duties,  the  illustrious  master  has  found  time  to  publish  a 
course  of  philosophy  in  three  volumes,  a  commentary  on  the 
'  Summa '  of  St.  Thomas  in  five  volumes,  and  various  essays  of 
the  highest  merit ;  for  instance,  on  the  beautiful  and  true  in  rela- 
tion with  the  study  of  nature,  on  the  variety  of  systems  and  the 
essential  defect  of  modern  theology,  on  the  powers  of  the  soul, 
and  others  of  a  like  kind.  He  should  not  be  taken  for  one  of 
those  who  know  only  how  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  others ;  he 
can  blaze  and  open  up  his  own  path ;  his  writings  and  teaching 
have  the  stamp  of  originality.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  have 
been  praised  by  Leo  XIII.  in  a  special  brief  of  June  29,  1886, 
and  that  his  method  has  been  held  up  as  a  model  to  others.  Surely 
the  Papal  Legate  is  in  touch  with  the  Pope's  intellectual  tendency. 


MOST   REV.   FRANCISCO   SATOLLI.  77 

"  There  is  in  Rome  a  special  school  of  a  very  high  order  where 
young  clergymen  of  birth,  fortune,  and  talent  are  trained  in 
ecclesiastical  diplomacy,  prepared  for  the  nunciatures  and  the 
various  branches  of  Church  administration,  and  are  exercised  in 
the  handling  of  the  politico-religious  and  social  questions  which 
Leo  XIII.  has  made  so  prominent  in  his  Encyclicals.  This  school 
is  known  as  the  'Academy  of  the  Noble  Ecclesiastics,'  and,  as 
any  one  easily  sees,  it  is  essentially  of  a  professional  and  practi- 
cal character.  It  is  rare  that  a  master  in  the  regions  of  ideal 
speculation  should  be  equally  proficient  and  successful  in  the 
sphere  of  the  real  and  practical.  It  is  the  mark  of  a  mind  of 
wide  range,  of  a  mind  both  versatile  and  great,  to  hold  the  lead 
in  both  theory  and  practice,  to  pass  easily  and  without  a  jar 
from  the  domain  of  abstract  thought  and  science  to  that  of  con- 
crete politics  and  history.  Yet  this  has  been  Satolli's  fate  and 
feat ;  a  few  years  ago  he  was  appointed  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
President  of  the  Academy  of  Noble  Ecclesiastics.  The  pen  that 
had  won  laurels  in  the  field  of  theology  and  philosophy  was 
equally  at  home  and  successful  in  the  arena  of  practical  politics. 
No  wonder,  for  the  great  master,  St.  Thomas,  with  whom  Satolli's 
mind  is  imbued,  has  laid  down  and  developed  the  leading  prin- 
ciples that  rule  all  the  sciences  that  touch  the  interests  of  man  as 
a  moral  and  social  being.  And  so  we  meet  Satolli  as  author  of 
treatises  on  Concordats  and  on  the  relations  of  the  Church  with 
the  State  in  the  early  centuries  of  Christianity.  It  is  from  his 
work  in  the  Academy  of  Noble  Ecclesiastics  that  he  comes  to 
us,  and  his  position  there  is  ample  warrant  that  he  knows  and 
has  imbibed  all  the  social  and  political  tendencies  of  Leo  XIII. 

"We  know  not  in  detail  what  maybe  the  ecclesiastical  matters 
with  which  his  mission  is  concerned,  but  we  do  know  and  can 
safely  assert  that  he  will  carry  out  the  policy  of  peace,  concilia- 
tion, and  prudent  but  firm  moderation  that  characterize  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff.  That  the  Vatican  is  friendly  to  America 
needs  no  proof  at  this  hour  of  the  day. 

"  It  would  be  hard  to  tell  the  bare  truth  on  this  point  without 
seeming  to  be  overboastful,  so  very  remarkable  are  the  esteem 
and  affection  for  our  country  Leo  XIII.  has  manifested.  He  rec- 
ognizes in  the  United  States  the  furthest  advance  yet  attained 


78  MOST   EEV.    FRANCISCO   SATOLLI. 

by  the  true  spirit  of  our  era ;  the  most  symmetrical  and  orderly 
development  of  democracy  which  the  world  has  yet  beheld ;  a 
Republic  which  is  a  rebuke  and  a  lesson,  equally  to  the  absolut- 
ism of  the  past  and  to  the  red  revolutionism  which  misrepre- 
sents democracy  and  imperils  its  future  in  Europe.  Here  he  sees 
the  Church  and  State  moving  on  parallel  lines  peacefully,  in 
mutual  respect  and  forbearance,  in  the  best  manner  which,  con- 
sidering the  existing  state  of  things,  could  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected. He  appreciates  the  contrast  here  presented  to  the  condi- 
tion of  insult  and  violence  which  the  Church  has  to  endure  from 
Caesarism  or  from  red  revolutionism  elsewhere,  and  he  honors 
and  loves  our  country  for  her  straightforward,  broad-hearted 
people.  In  acts  that  speak  louder  than  words  he  has  shown  that 
he  has  no  fear  of  such  democracy  and  such  freedom  as  ours,  and 
that  he  should  rejoice  to  see  it  giving  tone  to  the  future  of  the 
world.  The  man  nearest  him  and  best  acquainted  with  his 
thoughts  can  have  to  us  none  but  a  mission  of  friendliness.  His 
presence  among  us  will  have  for  effect  to  increase  the  devotedness 
of  American  Catholics  for  the  Church  and  the  Holy  See,  for  our 
country  and  its  institutions ;  to  develop  in  the  clergy  the  love  of 
science  and  a  taste  for  higher  studies ;  to  maintain  in  the  Catholic 
Hierarchy  union  of  mind,  peace  of  heart,  and  concord  in  action. 
Gracious  be  his  welcome,  pleasant  hie  stay,  fruitful  his  mission ! " 


Illusl^rafions  of 

Some  Noted  Cathedrals 

RELIGIOUS  AND  EDUCATIONAL 


The  Vatican  Library.  This  engraving  represents  the  salone^ 
or  great  double  hall,  of  the  Vatican  Library,  one  of  the  first 
libraries  in  existence.  It  was  founded  by  Pope  Nicholas  V., 
1455,  and  the  present  building  was  erected  by  Pope  Sixtus  V., 
1588.  It  contains  over  220,000  v^olumes,  more  than  25,000 
manuscripts,  and  a  great  number  of  bibliographical  rarities. 
Many  of  its  treasures  are  among  the  most  valuable  in  the  world, 
both  for  antiquity  and  intrinsic  importance. 

St.  Peter's  Church  at  Rome.  Hftre  we  have  an  admirable 
representation  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  and  the  Vatican  Palace, 
the  residence  of  the  Pope.  St.  Peter's  is  the  largest  cathedral  in 
the  world.  It  stands  over  the  spot  where  St.  Peter  was  mar- 
tyred. It  was  begun  in  1450  and  was  140  years  building.  It 
is  613  feet  long,  450  feet  wide,  and  will  hold  nearly  75,000  peo- 
ple. Michael  Angelo  was  the  architect  of  this  wonderful  edifice. 
From  the  balcony  in  front  the  Holy  Father  always  gives  his 
benediction  to  the  people  at  Easter.  The  high  altar  is  over  the 
grave  of  St.  Peter,  where  112  lamps  are  kept  burning  day  and 
night. 

St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  This  is  the  most  magnificent  church 
edifice  in  the  United  States.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
Archbishop  Hughes  in  1858,  and  it  was  not  finished  until 
twenty  years  afterward.  The  base  is  of  granite,  and  the  super- 
structure of  white  marble.  It  is  332  feet  long  and  174  feet 
broad ;  the  towers  are  328  feet  high.  The  height  of  the  main 
entrance  is  51  feet,  and  width  32  feet.  With  the  exception  of 
the  Cathedral  of  Mexico,  it  is  the  largest  on  this  continent. 


ii  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SOME  NOTED  CATHEDRALS. 

Interior  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  This  is  a  splendid  view 
of  the  interior  of  St.  Patrick's.  Within  the  great  sanctuary 
are  three  altars,  the  central  being  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
and  elaborate  structures  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  The  tab- 
ernacle is  3  feet  wide  and  6  feet  high.  It  is  made  of  Carrara 
marble,  is  inlaid  with  precious  stones,  and  adorned  by  exquisite 
Eoman  mosaics,  representing  a  sacred  emblem  and  the  Crown  of 
Thorns.  The  cathedral  contains  103  stained  glass  windows,  some 
of  them  being  57  feet  high  and  27  feet  wide. 

Baltimore  Cathedral.  Exterior  and  interior  views  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Baltimore,  as  the  Metropolitan  Cathedral  of  the 
United  States,  possess  a  special  interest.  It  stands  on  the  most 
elevated  spot  of  ground  in  the  city,  on  a  lot,  the  gift  of  Col.  John 
E.  Howard,  a  distinguished  officer  of  Washington's  army.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  by  Archbishop  Carroll  in  1806,  and  the 
edifice  was  completed  by  Archbishop  Marechal  in  1821.  The 
ground  plan  is  that  of  a  cross,  and  the  intersection  of  nave  and 
transept  is  covered  by  a  large  and  beautifully  proportioned  dome. 
At  the  corners  of  the  front  rise  two  towers  to  the  height  of  132 
feet  terminating  in  minarets  like  those  on  the  famous  Church  of 
St.  Sophia,  Constantinople. 

Confirmation  Day  among  the  Indians.  Here  we  have  a  view 
of  Confirmation  Day  at  the  Crow  Indian  agency,  Montana.  The 
Mission  is  conducted  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  who  have  been 
more  successful  in  civilizing  and  Christianizing  the  Indians, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Protestants  and  non-Catholics,  than 
all  other  influences  combined.  The  Jesuits  were  the  first  mission- 
aries among  the  Indians  on  this  continent,  and  to-day  they  are 
working  among  them  as  zealously  and  successfully  as  two  cen- 
turies ago. 

The  Celebration  of  High  Mass.  This  engraving  affords  us  a 
view  of  the  interior  of  one  of  the  most  noted  cathedrals  of  Europe, 
during  High  Mass.  It  is  a  Grothic  structure,  grand  in  its  pro- 
portions, but  graceful  and  pleasing  in  the  effect  it  produces.  The 
chapel  of  St.  Louis  is  gorgeous  in  its  finish,  and  the  ceremonials 
there  on  great  occasions  are  elaborate  and  beautiful. 


The  Vatican  Library. 


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St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York. 


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FOR  THE 

SETTLING  OF  THE  SCHOOL  QUESTION 


AND    THE 


GlYING  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION. 

The   Most   Rev.    FRANCIS    SATOLLI, 

Archbishop  of  Lepanto, 
Delegate  of  the  Apostolic  See  in  the  United  States  of  America, 

TO 

THE  ARCHBISHOPS  ASSEMBLED  IN  NEW  YORK. 


All  the  following  was  read  and  considered  in  the  meeting  of  the 
Archbishops,  the  difficulties  answered,  and  the  requisite  alterations  made, 
November  17,  1892. 


I. 

All  care  must  be  taken  to  erect  Catholic  schools,  to  enlarge 
a?id  improve  those  already  established,  and  to  make  them  equal 
to  the  public  schools  in  teaching  and  in  discipline. 

Cone.  Plen.  Bait.  III.,  No.  197,  p.  101. 

II. 

When  there  is  no  Catholic  school  at  all,  or  when  the  one  that 
is  available  is  little  fitted  for  giving  the  children  an  education  in 
keeping  with  their  condition,  then  the  pubHc  schools  may  be 
attended  with  a  safe  conscience,  the  danger  of  perversion  being 
rendered  remote  by  opportune  remedial  and  precautionary 
measures ;  a  matter  that  is  to  be  left  to  the  conscience  and  judg- 
ment of  the  Ordinaries. 

Ibid.,  No.  198,  p.  103. 

HI. 

We  enact  and  command  that  no  one  shall  be  allowed  to  teach 
in   a  parochial  school  who  has  not   proven   his  fitness  for  the 


80  SETTLING   OF  THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION". 

position  by  previous  examination.  No  priest  shall  have  the 
right  to  employ  any  teacher,  male  or  female,  in  his  school,  with- 
out a  certificate  of  ability  or  diploma  fi'om  the  Diocesan  Board 

of  Examiners. 

Ibid.,  No.  203,  p.  108. 

IV. 

Normal  Schools,  as  they  are  called,  are  to  be  established  where 
they  are  wanting  and  are  evidently  necessary. 

Ihid.,  No.  205,  p.  110. 

V. 

We  strictly  forbid  any  one,  whether  Bishop  or  Priest,  and  this 
is  the  express  prohibition  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  through  the 
Sacred  Congregation,  either  by  act  or  by  threat  to  exclude  from 
the  Sacraments  as  unworthy,  parents  [who  choose  to  send  their 
children  to  the  public  schools].  As  regards  the  children  them- 
selves, this  enactment  applies  with  still  greater  force. 

Ihid,,  No.  198,  p.  104. 
Conf.  Tit.  VI.  Cap.  I,  II. ;  Tit.  VII. 

VI. 

To  the  Catholic  Church  belongs  the  duty  and  the  divine  right 
of  teaching  all  nations  to  believe  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and 
to  observe  w^hatsoever  Christ  commanded  {Mattk.  xxviii.  19); 
in  her  likewise  is  vested  the  divine  right  of  instructing  the  young 
in  so  far  as  theirs  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  {Marie  x.  14) 
{Conf.  Cone.  Bait.  PL  III.,  No.  194)  ;  that  is  to  say,  she  holds  for 
herself  the  right  of  teaching  the  truths  of  faith  and  the  law  of 
morals  in  order  to  bring  up  youth  in  the  habits  of  a  Christian 
life.  Hence,  absolutely  and  universally  speaking,  there  is  no 
repugnance  in  their  learning  the  first  elements  and  the  higher 
branches  of  the  arts  and  the  natural  sciences  in  public  schools 
controlled  by  the  State,  whose  office  it  is  to  provide,  maintain, 
and  protect  everything  by  which  its  citizens  are  formed  to  moral 
goodness,  while  they  live  peaceably  together,  with  a  sufficiency 
of  temporal  goods,  under  laws  promulgated  by  civil  authority. 

For  the  rest,  the  provisions  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore  are 
yet  in  force,  and,  in  a  general  way,  will  remain  so ;  to  wit :  "  Not 
only  out  of  our  paternal  love  do  we  exhort  Catholic  parents, 
but  we  command  them,  by  all  the  authority  we  possess,  to  pro- 
cure a  truly  Christian  and  Catholic  education  for  the  beloved 


SETTLING   OF   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION.  81 

offspring^  given  them  of  God,  born  again  in  Baptism  unto  Christ 
and  destined  for  Heaven,  to  shield  and  secure  them  throughout 
cliildhood  and  youth  from  the  dangers  of  a  merely  worldly 
education,  and  therefore  to  send  them'to  parochial  or  other  truly 
Catholic  schools."  United  with  this  duty  are  the  rights  of 
jtarents,  which  no  civil  law  or  authority  can  violate  or  weaken. 

VII. 

The  Catholic  Church  in  general,  and  especially  the  Holy  See, 
far  from  condemning  or  treating  with  indifference  the  public 
schools,  desires  rather  that,  by  the  joint  action  of  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical authorities,  there  should  be  public  schools  in  every 
State,  according  as  the  circumstances  of  the  people  require,  for 
the  cultivation  of  the  useful  arts  and  natural  sciences ;  but  the 
Catholic  Church  shrinks  from  those  features  of  public  schools 
which  are  opposed  to  the  tnith  of  Christianity  and  to  morality ; 
and  since,  in  the  interest  of  society  itself,  these  objectionable 
features  are  removable,  therefore,  not  only  the  Bishops,  but  the 
citizens  at  large  should  labor  to  remove  them,  in  virtue  of  their 
own  right  and  in  the  cause  of  morality. 

VIII. 

It  is  long  since  the  Holy  See,  after  consultation  with  the 
Bishops  of  the  United  States  of  America,  decreed  that  parish 
schools  and  other  institutions  under  the  direction  of  the  Bishops, 
each  according  to  the  conditions  of  its  own  diocese,  Avere  oppor- 
tune and  necessary  for  Catholic  youth,  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
held  for  certain  that  the  public  schools  bore  within  themselves 
a  proximate  danger  to  faith  and  morals,  for  various  reasons 
{Cone.  Fl.  Bait.  III.^  No.  194,  seq. ;  App.,  p.  279)  ;  viz.:  because 
in  the  public  schools  a  purely  secular  education  is  given, — inas- 
much as  it  excludes  all  teaching  of  religion, — because  teachers 
are  chosen  indiscriminately  from  every  sect,  and  no  law  prevents 
them  from  working  the  ruin  of  youth, — so  that  they  are  at  lib- 
erty to  instil  errors  and  the  germs  of  vice  in  tender  minds. 
Likewise,  certain  corruption  seemed  to  impend  from  the  fact 
that  in  these  schools,  or  at  least  in  many  of  them,  children  of 
both  sexes  are  brought  together  for  their  lessons  in  the  same 
voom. 

Wherefore,  if  it  be  clear  that  in  a  given  locality,  owning  to  the 
wdser  dispositions  of  public  authorities,  or  the  watchful  prudence 
of  School  Board,  teachers  and  parents,  the  above  named  dangers 


82  SETTLING   OF  THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION. 

to  faith  and  morals  disappear,  then  it  is  lawful  for  Catholic 
parents  to  send  their  children  to  these  schools,  to  acquire  the 
elements  of  letters  and  arts,  provided  the  parents  themselves  do 
not  neglect  their  most  serious  duty,  and  the  pastors  of  souls  put 
forth  every  effort,  to  instruct  the  children  and  train  them  in  all 
that  pertains  to  Catholic  worship  and  life. 

IX. 

It  is  left  to  the  judgment  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Ordinaries 
to  decide  whether,  in  a  certain  part  of  their  respective  dioceses, 
a  parochial  school  can  be  built  and  kept  up  in  a  fitting  condition, 
not  inferior  to  the  public  schools,  taking  into  consideration  the 
temporal  condition  of  the  parents,  while  graver  needs  for  pro- 
curing their  spiritual  welfare  and  the  decent  support  of  the 
Church  are  pressing.  It  will  be  well,  therefore,  as  was  the  wont 
of  our  forefathers,  and  as  was  done  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Church,  to  establish  weekly  classes  of  Catechism,  which  all  the 
children  of  the  parish  should  attend ;  for  the  better  success  of 
this  measure,  let  the  zeal  of  pastors  in  fulfilling  their  duty,  and 
the  love  of  Catholic  parents,  leave  no  efi'ort  unspared.  (Cf.  Cone. 
PL  Bolt.  III.,  No.  198.) 

X. 

No  reproach,  either  in  public  or  in  private,  shall  be  cast  upon 
Catholic  parents  who  send  their  children  to  private  schools,  or  to 
academies  where  a  better  education  is  given  under  the  direction 
of  religious,  or  of  approved  and  Catholic  persons.  If  they  make 
sufficient  provision  for  the  religious  training  of  their  children,  let 
them  be  free  to  secure  in  other  ways  that  education  which  the 
position  of  their  family  requires. 

XL 

It  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  and  will  be  a  most  happy  arrange- 
ment, if  the  Bishop  agree  with  the  civil  authorities  or  with  the 
members  of  the  School  Board,  to  conduct  the  school  with  mutual 
attention  and  due  consideration  tor  their  respective  rights. 

While  there  are  teachers  of  any  description  for  the  secular 
branches,  who  are  legally  inhibited  from  offending  Catholic 
religion  and  morality,  let  the  right  and  duty  of  the  Church  obtain 
of  teaching  the  children  Catechism,  in  order  to  remove  danger  to 
their  faith  and  morals  from  any  quarter  whatsoever. 

It  seems  well  to  quote  here  the  words  of  our  Holy  Father  Leo 


SETTLING   OF   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION.  83 

XIII.  (See  the  Pope's  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Xew  York 
and  to  the  Bishops  of  the  Province) :  "  We  further  desire  you 
to  strive  earnestly  that  the  various  local  authorities,  firmly  con- 
vinced that  nothing  is  more  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
monwealth than  religion,  should  by  wise  legislation  provide  that 
the  system  of  education  which  is  maintained  at  the  public  exj)ense, 
and  to  which  therefore  Catholics  also  contribute  their  share, 
be  in  no  way  prejudicial  to  their  conscience  or  religion.  For  we 
are  persuaded  that  even  your  fellow-citizens  who  differ  from  us 
in  belief,  with  their  characteristic  intelligence  and  prudence,  will 
readily  set  aside  all  suspicions  and  all  views  unfavorable  to  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  willingly  acknowledge  her  merit,  as  the  one 
that  dispelled  the  darkness  of  paganism  by  the  light  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  created  a  new  society  distinguished  by  the  lustre  of 
Christian  virtues  and  by  the  cultivation  of  all  that  refines.  We 
do  not  think  that  any  one  there,  after  looking  into  these  things 
clearly,  will  let  Catholic  parents  be  forced  to  erect  and  support 
schools  which  they  cannot  use  for  the  instruction  of  their  chil- 
dren." 

XII. 

As  for  those  Catholic  children  that  in  great  numbers  are  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools,  where  now,  not  without  danger,  they 
receive  no  religious  instruction  at  all,  strenuous  efforts  should  be 
made  not  to  leave  them  without  sufficient  and  seasonable  instruc- 
tion in  Catholic  faith  and  practice.  We  know  by  experience 
that  not  all  our  Catholic  children  are  found  in  our  Catholic 
schools.  Statistics  show  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Catholic 
children  in  the  United  States  of  America  attend  schools  which 
are  under  the  control  of  State  Boards,  and  in  which,  for  that 
reason,  teachers  of  every  denomination  are  engaged.  Beyond  all 
doubt,  the  one  thing  necessary — i.  e.^  religious  and  moral  educa- 
tion according  to  Catholic  principles — is  not  to  be  treated  either 
lightly  or  with  delay,  but  on  the  contrary  with  all  earnestness 
and  energy. 

The  adoption  of  one  of  three  plans  is  recommended,  the  choice 
to  be  made  according  to  local  circumstances  in  the  different  States 
and  various  personal  relations. 

The  first  consists  in  an  agreement  betw^een  the  Bishop  and  the 
members  of  the  School  Board,  whereby  they,  in  a  spirit  of  fair- 
ness and  good  will,  allow  the  Catliolic  children  to  be  assembled 
during  fi*ee  time  and  taught  the  Catechism ;  it  would  also  be  of 
the  greatest  advantage  if   this  plan   were  not  confined  to  the 


84  SETTLING   OF   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION. 

primary  schools,  but  were  extended  likewise  to  the  high  schools 
and  colleges,  in  the  form  of  a  free  lecture. 

The  second:  to  have  a  catechism  class  outside  the  public  school 
building,  and  also  classes  of  higher  Christian  doctrine,  where,  at 
fixed  times,  the  Catholic  children  would  assemble  with  diligence 
and  pleasure,  induced  thereto  by  the  authority  of  their  parents, 
the  persuasion  of  their  pastors,  and  the  hope  of  praise  and 
rewards. 

The  third  plan  does  not  seem  at  first  sight  so  suitable,  but  is 
bound  up  more  intimately  with  the  duty  of  both  parents  and 
pastors.  Pastors  should  unceasingly  urge  upon  parents  that  most 
important  duty,  imposed  both  by  natural  and  by  divine  law,  of 
bringing  up  their  children  in  sound  morality  and  Catholic  faith. 
Besides,  the  instruction  of  children  appertains  to  the  very  essence 
of  the  pastoral  charge ;  let  the  pastor  of  souls  say  to  them  with 
the  Apostle :  "  My  little  children,  of  whom  I  am  in  labor  again 
until  Christ  be  formed  in  you."  {Gal.  iv.  19.)  Let  him  have 
classes  of  children  in  the  parish  such  as  have  been  established  in 
Rome  and  many  other  places,  and  even  in  churches  in  this  coun- 
try, with  very  happy  results. 

Nor  let  him,  with  little  prudence,  show  less  love  for  the  chil- 
dren that  attend  the  public  schools  than  for  those  that  attend  the 
parochial ;  on  the  contrary,  stronger  marks  of  loving  solicitude 
are  to  be  shown  them ;  the  Sunday-school  and  the  hour  for  Cate- 
chism should  be  devoted  to  them  in  a  special  manner.  And  to 
cultivate  this  field,  let  the  pastor  call  to  his  aid  other  priests, 
religious,  and  even  suitable  members  of  the  laity,  in  order  that 
what  is  supremely  necessary  be  wanting  to  no  child. 

XIII. 

For  the  standing  and  growth  of  Catholic  schools,  it  seems  that 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  teachers  prove  themselves  qualified, 
not  only  by  previous  examination  before  the  Diocesan  Board  and 
by  a  certificate  or  diploma  received  from  it,  but  also  by  having 
a  teacher's  diploma  from  the  School  Board  of  the  State,  awarded 
after  successful  examination.  This  is  urged,  first,  so  as  not  to 
appear  regardless,  without  reason,  of  what  public  authority 
requires  for  teaching.  Secondly,  a  better  opinion  of  Catholic 
schools  will  be  created.  Thirdly,  greater  assurance  will  be 
given  to  parents  that  in  Catholic  schools  there  is  no  deficiency  to 
render  them  inferior  to  public  schools;  that,  on  the  contrary, 
everything  is  done  to  make  Catholic  schools  equal  to  public 
schools,  or  even  superior.     Fourthly,  and  lastly,  we  think  that 


SETTLING   OF   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION.  85 

this  plan  would  prepare  the  way  for  the  State  to  see,  along  with 
the  recognized  and  tested  fitness  of  the  teachers,  that  the  laws 
are  observed  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  arts  and  sciences,  to 
method  and  pedagogics,  and  to  whatever  is  ordinarily  required 
to  promote  the  stability  and  usefulness  of  the  schools. 


XIV. 

It  is  necessary  that  what  are  called  Normal  Schools  should 
reach  such  efficiency  in  preparing  teachers  of  letters,  arts  and 
sciences,  that  their  graduates  shall  not  fail  to  obtain  the  Diploma 
of  the  State.  For  the  sake  of  the  Catholic  cause,  let  there  be 
among  laymen  a  growing  rivalry  to  take  the  diploma  and  doctor- 
ate, so  that,  i^ossessed  of  the  knowledge  and  qualifications  requi- 
site for  teaching,  they  may  compete  for  and  honorably  obtain 
positions  in  the  public  Gymnasia,  Lyceums,  and  scientific  institu- 
tions. 

The  knowledge  of  truth  of  every  kind,  straightforward  justice 
united  with  charity,  the  effulgence  and  appreciation  of  the  liberal 
arts — these  are  the  bulwarks  of  the  church. 

Prayer 

For  the  Necessities  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

O  God,  unchangeable  power  and  light  eternal,  mercifully 
regard  the  wonderful  mystery  of  thy  whole  Church,  and  peace- 
fully effect  by  thy  eternal  decree  the  work  of  human  salvation; 
and  may  the  whole  world  experience  and  see  what  was  cast  down, 
raised  up ;  what  was  grown  old,  renovated ;  and  all  things 
through  Him  return  to  a  perfect  state,  from  Whom  they  received 
their  beginning,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  thy  Son. 

(From  the  Roman  Missal.) 


Letter  of  Pope  Leo  XIIL 


ON  THE 


SCHOOL   QUESTION,   AS   IT   EELATES  TO  THE  EDU- 
CATION, OF   CATHOLIC    CHILDREN    IN   THE 
UNITED   STATES. 


To  our  Beloved  Son^  James  Gibbons,  Cardinal  Priest  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Churchy  Titular  of  St.  Mary's  Beyond  the  Tiber,  Archbishop  of  Bal- 
timore., and  to  our  Venerable  Brethren  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of 
the  United  States  of  Worth  America : 

^  Pope  Leo  XIIL 

Beloved  son  and  venerable  brethren,  health  and  apostolic  bene- 
diction. 

We  have  often  given  manifest  proofs,  both  of  our  solicitude 
for  the  welfare  of  the  faithful  people  and  Bishops  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  of  the  peculiar  affection  with  ^vhich  we 
cherish  that  portion  of  our  Saviour's  flock.  Of  this  we  have 
given  an  additional  and  unmistakable  evidence  in  sending  to  you 
as  our  delegate  our  venerable  brother  Francis,  Titular  Archbishop 
of  Lepanto,  an  illustrious  man,  not  less  pre-eminent  by  his  learn- 
ing than  by  his  virtues,  as  you  yourselves,  in  the  recent  meeting 
of  the  Arch1)i8hops  in  Nev/  York,  have  plainly  testified,  thus  con- 
firming the  trust  ^vhich  we  had  reposed  in  his  prudf^.nce. 

Now,  his  legation  had  this  for  its  first  object :  that  it  should 
be  a  public  testimonial  of  our  good-will  towards  your  country 
and  of  the  hiojh  esteem  in  which  we  hold  those  who  administer 
the  government  of  the  Republic,  for  he  was  to  assist  in  our  name 
at  the  dedication  of  the  Universal  Exposition  held  in  the  city  of 
Chicago,  in  which  we  ourselves,  by  the  courteous  invitation  of  its 
directors,  have  taken  part. 

85 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    OX   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTIOJS^.  87 

But  his  legation  bad  this  also  for  its  purpose :  that  our  pres- 
ence should  be  made,  as  it  were,  perpetual  among  you  by  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  an  apostolic  delegation  at  Washington. 
By  this  we  have  manifestly  declared  not  only  that  we  love  your 
nation  equally  with  those  most  flourishing  countries  to  which  we 
have  been  accustomed  to  send  representatives  vested  with  our 
authority,  but  also  that  we  vehemently  desire  that  the  bonds  of 
mutual  relationship  binding  you  and  your  faithful  people  with 
us,  as  children  with  their  father,  should  grow  closer  every  day. 
Nor  was  it  a  small  comfort  to  our  heart  that  this  new  act  of  our 
care  in  your  regard  was  followed  by  a  general  outpouring  of 
thanks  and  affection  towards  us. 

Now,  in  our  fraternal  solicitude  for  your  well-being,  we  had 
above  all  given  command  to  the  Archbishop  of  Lepanto  that  he 
should  use  all  his  endeavors  and  all  the  skill  of  his  fraternal  char- 
ity for  the  extirpation  of  all  the  germs  of  dissension  developed  in 
the  too  well-known  controversies  concerning  the  proper  instruc- 
tion of  Catholic  youth — a  dissension  whose  flame  was  fanned  by 
various  writings  published  on  both  sides.  These  commands  of 
ours  our  venerable  brother  fully  complied  with,  and  in  the  month 
of  November  of  last  year  he  repaired  to  New  York,  where  there 
was  assembled,  Avith  you,  beloved  son,  all  the  other  Archbishops 
of  your  countiy,  they  having  complied  with  the  desire  which  I 
had  communicated  to  them  through  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
the  Propaganda,  that,  after  conferring  with  their  suffragans,  they 
should  Join  counsels  and  deliberate  concerning  the  best  method 
of  caring  for  those  Catholic  children  who  attend  the  public 
schools  instead  of  Catholic  schools. 

The  things  which  you  wisely  decreed  in  that  meeting  were 
pleasing  to  the  said  Archbishop  of  Lepanto,  who  bestowed  mer- 
ited praise  on  your  prudence,  and  expressed  his  belief  that  these 
decrees  would  prove  ^most  useful.  This  judgment  we  also  with 
great  pleasure  confirm ;  and  to  yourself  and  the  other  prelates 
then  assembled  with  you  we  give  deserved  praise  for  having  thus 
opportunely  responded  to  our  counsel  and  our  expectation. 

But  at  the  same  time  our  said  venerable  brother,  wishing,  as  it 
was  our  desire,  to  settle  the  questions  concerning  the  right  in- 
struction of  Catholic  youth  about  which,  as  above  stated,  con- 


88  POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION. 

troversy  was  being  waged  and  writings  published  with  excited 
minds  and  angry  feelings,  laid  before  you  certain  propositions 
put  in  shape  by  himself,  touching  upon  both  the  theoretical  prin- 
ciples of  the  subject  and  their  practical  application.  When  the 
meeting  of  Archbishops  had  seriously  weighed  the  meaning  and 
1)earing  of  these  propositions,  and  had  asked  for  certain  declara- 
tions and  corrections  in  them,  all  this  the  Archbishop  of  Lepanto 
cheerfully  complied  with,  which,  being  done,  the  distinguished 
assemblao^e  closed  its  sessions  with  a  declaration  of  o^ratitude  and 
of  satisfaction  with  the  way  in  which  he  had  fulfilled  the  com- 
mission intrusted  to  him  by  us.  All  this  we  find  in  the  minutes 
of  the  meeting  which  you  have  taken  care  to  send  us. 

But  these  propositions  of  our  delegate  having  been  inoppor- 
tunely made  public,  minds  were  at  once  excited  and  controversies 
started  afresh,  which,  through  false  interpretations,  and  through 
malignant  imputations,  scattered  abroad  in  the  newspapers,  grew 
more  widespread  and  more  serious.  Then  certain  prelates  of  your 
country,  whether  displeased  with  the  interpretations  put  upon 
some  of  these  j)ropositions,  or  fearing  the  harm  to  souls  which  it 
seemed  to  them  might  thence  result,  confided  to  us  the  reason  of 
their  anxiety.  And  we,  knowing  that  the  salvation  of  souls  is 
the  supreme  law  to  be  ever  assiduously  borne  in  mind  by  us; 
wishing,  moreover,  to  give  you  another  proof  of  our  solicitous 
affection,  requested  that  each  of  you  should,  in  a  private  letter, 
fully  open  his  mind  to  us  on  the  subject,  which  was  diligently 
complied  with  by  each  one  of  you.  Upon  the  examination  of 
these  letters,  it  became  manifest  to  us  that  some  of  yon  found  in 
the  propositions  no  reason  for  apprehension,  while  to  others  it 
seemed  that  the  proj)osition  partially  al)rogated  the  disciplinary 
law  concerning  schools  enacted  by  the  Council  of  Baltimore,  and 
they  feared  that  the  diversity  of  interpretations  put  upon  them 
would  engender  sad  dissensions  which  would  prove  detrimental 
to  the  Catholic  schools. 

After  carefully  weighing  the  matter  we  are  firmly  convinced 
that  such  interpretations  are  totally  alien  from  the  meaning  of 
our  delegate,  as  they  are  assuredly  far  from  the  mind  of  this  Apos- 
tolic See.  For  the  principal  propositions  offered  by  him  Avere 
drawn  from  the  decrees  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   SCHOOL   QUESTION.  89 

more,  and  especially  declare  that  Catholic  schools  are  to  be  most 
sedulously  promoted,  and  that  it  is  to  be  left  to  the  judgment 
and  conscience  of  the  Ordinary  to  decide,  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances, when  it  is  lawful,  and  when  unlawful,  to  attend  the 
public  schools.  Now,  if  the  words  of  any  speaker  are  so  to  be 
taken  that  the  latter  part  of  his  discourse  shall  be  understood  to 
agree,  and  not  to  disagree,  with  what  he  said  before,  it  is  surely 
both  unbecoming  and  unjust  so  to  exj^lain  his  later  utterances  as 
to  make  them  agree  with  the  preceding  ones.  And  this  is  the 
more  true  since  the  meaning  of  the  writer  was  not  at  all  left  ob- 
scure. For,  while  presenting  his  propositions  to  the  distinguished 
meeting  in  New  York,  he  expressly  declared,  as  is  evident  from 
the  minutes,  his  admiration  for  the  zeal  manifested  by  the  bishops 
of  North  America  in  the  most  wise  decrees  enacted  by  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  for  the  promotion  of  the  Catholic 
instruction  of  the  young.  He  added,  moreover,  that  these  de- 
crees, in  as  far  as  they  contain  a  general  rule  of  action,  are  faith- 
fully to  be  observed,  and  that,  although  the  public  schools  are 
not  to  be  entirely  condemned  (since  cases  may  occur,  as  the 
Council  itself  had  foreseen,  in  which  it  is  lawful  to  attend  them), 
still  every  endeavor  should  be  made  to  multiply  Catholic  schools 
and  to  bring  them  to  perfect  equipment.  But  in  order  that,  in  a 
matter  of  so  grave  importance,  there  may  remain  no  further  room 
for  doubt  or  for  dissension  of  opinions,  as  we  have  already  de- 
clared in  our  letter  of  the  23d  of  May  of  last  year  to  our  vener- 
able brethren,  the  Archbishop  and  Bishops  of  the  Province  of 
New  York,  so  we  again,  as  far  as  need  be,  declare  that  the  decrees 
which  the  Baltimore  Councils,  agreeably  to  the  directions  of  the 
Holy  See,  have  enacted  concerning  parochial  schools,  and  Avhat- 
ever  else  has  been  prescribed  by  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  wliether 
directly  or  through  the  Sacred  Congregations,  concerning  the 
same  matter,  are  to  be  steadfastly  observed. 

Wherefore  we  confidently  hope  (and  your  devoted ness  to  us 
and  to  the  Apostolic  See  increases  our  confidence)  that,  having 
put  away  every  cause  of  error  and  all  anxiety,  you  will  woi'k  to- 
gether with  hearts  united  in  perfect  charity  for  the  wider  and 
wider  spread  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  your  immense  country.  But 
while  industriously  laboi-ing  for  tlie  glory  of  God  and  the  salva- 


90  POPE   LEO    XIII.    ON   THE   SCHOOL    QUESTION. 

tiou  of  the  souls  intrusted  to  your  care,  strive  also  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  your  fellow-citizens  and  to  prove  the  earnestness  of 
your  love  for  your  country,  so  that  they  who  are  intrusted  with 
the  administration  of  the  Government  may  clearly  recognize  how 
strong  an  influence  for  the  support  of  public  order  and  for  the 
advancement  of  public  prosperity  is  to  be  found  in  the  Catholic 
Church. 

And  as  to  yourself,  beloved  son,  we  know  for  certain  that  you 
will  not  only  communicate  to  our  other  venerable  brethren  in  the 
United  States  this  our  mind,  which  it  hath  seemed  good  to  us  to 
make  known  to  you,  but  that  you  will  also  strive  with  all  your 
power  that,  the  controversy  being  not  only  calm  but  totally 
ended,  as  is  so  greatly  to  be  desired,  the  minds  which  have  been 
excited  by  it  may  peacefully  be  united  in  mutual  good-will. 

Meanwhile,  as  a  pledge  of  our  affection,  we  most  lovingly  in 
the  Lord  bestow  upon  you  and  upon  our  said  venerable  brethren 
and  upon  the  clergy  and  faithful  people  intrusted  to  your  care 
the  apostolic  benediction. 

Given  at  Rome,  from  St.  Peter's,  on  the  31st  day  of  May,  in 
the  year  1893,  the  sixteenth  year  of  our  pontificate. 

Leo  XIII.,  Pope. 


The  Sacred  CoxGKEGmox  of 
THE  Propaganda  Fide. 


Propaganda  (Lat.  de  Propaganda  Fide^  regarding  tlie  propa- 
gation of  the  faith)  is  the  name  given  to  a  commission  of  Cardi- 
nals, appointed  for  tlie  direction  of  the  missions  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  also  to  a  college  in  Rome,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
prepare  missionaries  for  heathen  and  non-Catholic  countries. 
The  institution  was  originated  by  PojDe  Gregory  XIII.  (1572-84) ; 
but  it  was  Gregory  XV.  (1621-23)  who,  by  a  bull  of  June  22, 
1622,  founded  the  Congregation  of  the  Propaganda,  and  provided 
means  for  its  continuance.  The  cardinal  vicar  and  the  cardinal 
secretary  of  state  were  amongst  its  first  members.  Additional 
privileges  were  granted  it  by  other  bulls ;  and  all  the  pontifical 
colleges  founded  up  to  that  date,  as  well  as  those  which  should 
afterw^ard  be  founded  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  were  de- 
clared subject  to  the  Propaganda. 

The  cardinal  prefect  is  the  head  of  the  Congregation,  and  as 
such  governs  the  Catholic  missions  of  the  world ;  the  secretary  is 
assisted  by  five  subalterns  (jninutanti)^  who  act  as  heads  of  de- 
partments, and  these  again  are  assisted  by  inferior  employees 
(sGrittori).  The  deliberations  of  this  body,  embracing  a  great 
variety  of  important  questions,  when  formulated  by  decrees  and 
signed  by  the  cardinal  prefect  and  the  secretary,  were 
declared  by  Urban  VIII.,  in  1684,  to  have  the  force 
of  apostolic  constitutions  which  should  be  inviolably  ob- 
served. The  more  important  acts  of  the  Congregation, 
which  are  discussed  in  weekly  meetings  by  the  cardinal 
prefect  and  the  ofiicials,  are  submitted  to  the  Pope  for  his  su- 
preme decision.  The  archives  of  the  institution  were  transferred 
in  1660  from  the  Vatican  to  the  Palazzo  Ferrattini  in  the  Piazza 

81 


92  THE   SACRED   C0:NGREGATI0N   OF   THE   PROPAGANDA   FIDE. 

di  Spafrna,  Rome,  which  is  the  seat  of  the  Congregation.  They 
form  a  valuable  collection  of  historical,  ethnographical,  and  geo- 
graphical documents,  embracing  a  period  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  and  serve  as  a  record  of  past  events  and  of  precedents 
to  be  followed  in  decisions  on  questions  that  may  arise.  The 
funds  of  the  institution  were  at  first  supplied  by  Gregory  XV. 
and  V)y  pi'ivate  bequests.  Cardinal  Barberini,  brother  of  Urban 
VIIL,  provided  for  eighteen  places  in  perpetuity  for  students, 
Mo-r.  Vives  for  ten.  Pope  Innocent  XIT.  bequeathed  to  it  150,- 
000  crowns  in  gold ;  Clement  XII.  gave  it  70,000  crowns.  In 
the  second  assembly  of  the  Congregation  it  was  proposed  and 
accepted  as  a  rule,  that  prelates,  on  being  raised  to  the  dignity  of 
Cardinal,  should  pay  for  a  ring  offered  them  by  the  Pope  a  sum 
which  was  at  first  fixed  at  545  golden  scydi,  and  which  is  now 
600  Roman  scudi.  Large  donations  were  made  to  the  Propa- 
ganda by  Catholics  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  the  United 
States,  Spain,  and  Italy.  The  cardinal  prefect  administers  the 
property  of  the  institution  in  the  name  of  the  Congregation.  To 
provide  for  the  affairs  of  the  Church  of  the  Oriental  Rite,  Pius 
IX.,  in  1862,  appointed  a  special  Congregation  with  its  own  sec- 
retary, consultors,  and  officials. 

The  primary  purpose  of  the  Propaganda  being  to  secure 
laborious  and  pious  missionaries,  colleges  for  their  education  and 
training  were  established.  Chief  among  these  is  the  Propaganda 
or  Urban  College  in  Rome,  so  named  from  Urban  VIIL  It  is  a 
general  missionary  seminary  for  the  whole  world.  Here  students 
are  received  from  all  foreign  nations,  and  there  are  special  foun- 
dations for  Georgian,  Persian,  Chaldseau,  Syrian,  Coptic,  Brahman, 
Abyssinian,  Armenian,  Greek,  and  Chinese  students,  as  well  as 
for  students  from  England,  Ireland,  America,  and  Australia,  al- 
though these  last  have  special  colleges  in  Rome.  After  the  age 
of  fourteen  each  student  takes  an  oath  to.  serve  the  missions  dur- 
ing his  whole  life  in  the  ecclesiastical  province  or  vicariate  as- 
signed to  him  by  the  Congregation,  to  which  he  must  annually 
send  an  account  of  himself  and  his  work.  He  is  maintained  and 
clothed  free  of  expense.  His  studies  embrace  the  full  course  of 
Greek,  Latin,  and  Italian  letters,  some  of  the  chief  Oriental  lan- 
guages, as  Hebrew,  Syriac,  Arabic,  Armenian,  and,  when  neces- 


THE  SACRED  CONGREGATION^  OF  THE  PROPAGANDA  FIDK.     93 

saiy,  Cliinese.  There  are  also  schools  for  the  teaching  of  rational 
and  natural  philosophy,  a  complete  course  of  theology,  and  the 
institutions  of  canon  law.  Besides  this  principal  seminary,  the 
Propaganda  has  colleges  dependent  on  it  both  in  Rome  and  in 
other  countries,  under  the  direction  of  regular  and  secular 
priests.  From  its  beginning  it  had  at  its  disposition  national 
colleges, — such  as  the  English,  founded  by  Gregory  XIII. ;  the 
Jrish,  by  Cardinal  Ludovisi  in  1628;  the  Scotch,  by  Clement 
yill.  in  1600;  the  German  and  Hungarian;  the  American,  of 
the  United  States,  opened  by  Pius  IX.  in  1859,  and  the  Canadian, 
since  opened;  the  Greek,  founded  by  Gregory  XIIL;  the  Arme- 
nian, established  by  Leo  XIIL,  and  the  Bohemian,  opened  N  >- 
vember  4,  1884.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Propaganda  extends 
over  the  English  colleges  of  Lisbon  and  Valladolid,  the  Lush  col- 
lege of  Paris  and  the  American  of  Louvain.  Besides  these 
many  other  colleges  serve  for  the  education  of  missionaries  for 
the  Propaganda,  as  the  College  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  in  Kome, 
founded  by  Pius  IX. ;  in  Milan  the  seminary  of  St.  Colocero,  for 
all  foreign  missions;  and  at  Genoa  the  College  Brignole  Sale,  fur 
Italian  emigrants  to  America.  The  institutions  at  Verona  for 
Central  Africa  are  the  support  of  the  missions  in  Soudan.  Chief 
of  all  the  seminaries  is  that  of  Paris,  which  for  two  centuries  has 
supplied  missionaries  for  India  and  for  China.  To  these  is  com- 
mitted the  vast  College  of  the  Island  of  Pulo  Penang,  where 
young  men  from  China  and  neighboring  countries  are  trained  to 
the  priesthood.  In  Paris  many  missionaries  are  taken  from  the 
French  seminary  directed  l)y  the  fathers  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  go  to  French  colonies.  At  Lyons  is  the 
collejxe  for  African  missions.  In  Beli2rium  there  are  the  collesces 
of  Foreign  Missions,  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  and  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier  for  Chinese  missions.  In  Holland  there  was 
recently  established  the  college  of  Stiel,  whose  students  go  to 
China.  In  All  Hallows  College,  Ireland,  the  students  are  edu- 
cated for  the  missions  in  Australia,  Canada,  and  the  Ca})e  of 
Good  Hope.  In  England  a  seminary  has  grown  up  within  a 
few  years  at  Mill  Hill,  wliicli  has  already  supplied  priests  to  the 
missions  of  Borneo  and  Madras. 

The  Propaganda,  in  the  establishment  of  vicariates  or   1:1  w 


94  THE   SACRED   CONGREGATIOiY   OF   THE  PROPAGANDA   FIDE. 

episcopal  sees,  has  always  encouraged  tlie  formation,  as  soon  as 
circumstances  would  permit,  of  seminaries  for  the  education  of  a 
native  clergy,  and  frequently  these  have  flourished,  as  the  com- 
munities of  the  '  Houses  of  God  "  (case  di  Dio)  in  Tonking,  the 
seminaries  of  Sze-chueu,  of  Peking,  and  of  Nanking.  The  first 
step  taken  in  a  new  mission  is  the  erection  of  a  chapel,  followed 
by  the  opening  of  a  school  and  an  orphanage.  As  numbers  in- 
crease, and  more  priests  come  to  the  new  mission,  they  are  united 
under  a  suj^erior  invested  with  special  powers  by  the  Propa- 
ganda— in  fact,  a  prefect-apostolic.  As  churches  increase  and 
the  faith  spreads,  a  vicar-apostolic,  who  is  a  bishop  in  partihuSy 
is  appointed,  and,  if  the  progress  made  requires  it,  the  mission  is 
erected  into  an  episcopal  diocese.  Such  has  been  the  method  of 
proceeding  in  the  American  and  Canadian  missions ;  such,  in 
part,  is  what  has  happened  in  India,  China,  and  Africa.  Through 
these,  whether  prefects  or  vicars-apostolic  or  bishops,  the  orders 
of  the  Propaganda,  which  are  those  of  the  head  of  the  Church, 
are  trausmitted  to  the  faithful,  and  they  are  the  ordinary  centres 
of  its  correspondence,  although  it  does  not  disdain  the  reports 
furnished  by  the  humblest  members  of  the  Christian  flock.  The 
prelates  furnish  exact  reports  to  the  Propaganda  of  the  progress 
and  circumstances  of  the  faith  in  their  various  missions. 

The  material  means  for  the  diffusion  of  the  faith  are  supplied 
in  the  first  place  by  special  grants  from  the  revenues  of  the 
Propaganda  and  from  various  associations  in  Europe.  The 
greatest  part  is  furnished  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith  in  Paris  and  Lyons.  This  society  is  independent  of  the 
Propaganda,  relying  wholly  on  the  energy  of  the  two  central 
councils  of  Paris  and  Lyons  and  on  the  charity  of  the  faithful, 
though  it  attends  to  the  suggestions  of  the  Propaganda,  which 
indicates  to  it  the  needs  of  new  missions.  Contributions  are  also 
furnished  by  other  associations,  as  that  of  the  Holy  Infancy,  or 
that  for  the  education  of  Oriental  nations.  Similar  societies,  oc- 
cupied with  the  support  of  special  missions,  exist  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  and  Austria. 

The  Propaganda  likewise  takes  care  that,  as  soon  as  a  mission 
is  established,  pious  foundations  are  constituted  by  native  Chris- 
ticuis,  and  become  the  local  property  of  the  Church,  and  so  supply  it 


THE   SACRED   CONGEEGATIO:!^   OF   THE   PROPAGATTOA   FIDE.  95 

with  a  stable  and  enduring  vitality.  Subscriptions  from  Europe 
are  given  only  to  the  poorer  missions,  which,  however,  are  very 
numerous.  One  of  the  most  powerful  aids  adopted  by  the 
Propaganda  in  the  diffusion  of  the  faith  is  the  printing-press. 
The  missionaries  are  required  to  study  the  languages  of  the 
countries  to  which  they  are  sent,  and  exhorted  to  publish  books 
in  those  languages.  Printing-presses  are  introduced  into  new 
missions.  In  China,  what  may  be  described  as  wooden  stereo- 
types are  employed  for  the  printing  of  Catholic  works  in  the 
Chinese  lans-uao^e.  Early  in  its  career  the  Cons-reg-ation  of  the 
Propaganda  established  at  its  seat  in  Rome  the  celebrated  poly- 
glot printing-press,  and  gave  it  a  character  of  universality.  There 
people  of  all  nations — the  Copt,  the  Armenian,  the  Arab,  the 
Hebrew,  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese,  and  the  native  of  Malabar — 
may  find  books  in  their  native  tongue  and  in  their  special  type. 

China  and  India  are  among  the  most  extensive  fields  in  which 
the  missionaries  have  labored.  Previous  to  the  founding  of  the 
Propaganda,  the  Jesuits  had  established  several  missions  in 
India.  The  introduction  of  vicars- apostolic  consolidated  the 
basis  of  Christianity,  and  now  twenty-three  vicariates  and  a  dele- 
gate-apostolic direct  the  spiritual  affairs  of  that  great  country. 
In  Africa,  Catholic  missionaries  were  the  first  travelers,  two  cen- 
turies prior  to  Livingstone  and  Stanley.  The  earliest  mission  was 
that  of  Tunis  (1624).  The  missions  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
were  entrusted  to  the  clergy  of  Mauritius ;  the  Reformat!  and  the 
Observants  went  to  Egypt,  the  Carmelites  to  Mozambique  and 
Madagascar,  the  Capuchins  and  Jesuits  to  Ethiopia  and  Abyssinia. 

The  spiritual  affairs  of  Africa  are  directed  by  one  metropolitan 
and  thirty-six  bisliops,  vicars,  and  prefects-apostolic.  The  pro- 
gress of  Catholicism  in  Australia  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
two  metropolitans,  those  of  Melbourne  and  Sydney,  with  twelve 
suffragans,  direct  its  sj^iritual  affairs.  While  the  missionary  field 
of  the  Propaganda  embraces  Asia,  Africa,  Oceanica,  and  both 
Americas,  as  well  as  England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Holland,  Ger- 
many, Norway  and  Sweden,  Iceland,  Greenland,  Switzerland, 
Albania,  Macedonia,  Greece,  Turkey,  etc.,  perhaps  the  most  splen- 
did results  of  its  work  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada. 


96  THE   SACRED   CONaREGATIOIS^   OF   THE   PROPAGANDA   FIDE. 

The  Italian  Government,  in  virtue  of  tlie  laws  relating  to  eccle- 
siastical property  of  1866,  1867,  and  19tli  June,  1873,  sold  the 
Villa  Montralto,  Frascati,  belonging  to  the  Propaganda,  and 
placed  the  j^rice  in  the  Italian  funds,  paying  interest  to  the  Con- 
gregation. Other  property  of  the  Congregation  having  been  sold, 
a  law-suit  was  entered  upon  and  decided  in  the  Court  of  Cassa- 
tion at  Rome,  May  31,  1881,  in  favor  of  the  Propaganda.  Appeal 
was  made  to  the  tribunal  of  Ancona,  where,  14th  December, 
1881,  decision  was  given  against  the  Propaganda.  Appeal  being 
again  made,  the  Court  of  Cassation  of  Rome  gave  final  judgment, 
9th  February,  1884,  against  the  Propaganda.  This  sentence  em- 
powers the  Italian  Government  to  sell  the  landed  or  immovable 
property  of  the  Propaganda,  place  the  proceeds  in  the  Italian 
funds,  and  2^ay  the  interest  to  the  Congregation.  Protests 
against  this  act  have  been  issued  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  his  Secre- 
tary of  State,  by  nearly  all  the  Catholic  bishops,  and  by  innu- 
merable thousands  of  lay  Catholics,  and  many  Protestants. 


Sunol's  Statue  of  Christopher  Columbus. 
Designed  for  Central  Park,  New  York. 


Pope  Leo  XIII.  on  Christopher 

Columbus. 

HIS    LETTER    ON    THE   WORK   OF    THE    GREAT 

DISCOVERER. 


To  the  Archhishojps  and  BisJurps  of  Spain  and  Italy  and  of  the  two  Amer- 
icas^ Leo  XIII.  ^  Pope : 

Venerable  Brothers,  Greeting  and  Apostolic  Benediction. 

From  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  a  man  from  Ligu- 
ria  first  landed,  under  the  auspices  of  God,  on  the  trans-Atlantic 
shores,  humanity  has  been  strongly  inclined  to  celebrate  with 
gratitude  the  recollection  of  this  event.  It  would  certainly  not 
be  an  easy  matter  to  find  a  more  worthy  cause  to  touch  their 
hearts  and  to  inflame  their  zeal.  The  event  in  effect  is  such  in 
itself  that  no  other  epoch  has  seen  a  grander  and  more  beautiful 
one  accomplished  by  man ;  as  to  who  accomplished  it  there  are 
few  who  can  be  compared  to  him  in  greatness  of  soul  and  of 
genius.  By  his  work  a  new  world  flashed  forth  from  the  unex- 
plored ocean,  thousands  upon  thousands  of  mortals  were  returned 
to  the  common  society  of  the  human  race,  led  from  their  barbar- 
ous life  to  peacefulness  and  civilization,  and,  what  is  of  much 
more  importance,  recalled  from  perdition  to  eternal  life  by  the 
bestowal  of  the  gifts  which  Jesus  Christ  brought  to  the  world. 

ADVANTAGES    TO    CIVILIZATION    THAT    FLOWED    FROM  CHRISTOPHER 
COLUMBUs'    DISCOVERY. 

Europe,  astonished  alike  by  the  novelty  and  the  prodigiousness 
of  this  unexpected  event,  understood  little  by  little  in  due  course 
of  time  what  she  owed  to  C-olumbus,  when,  by  sending  colonies  to 


98  Pt)Pi-:    J.EO    XIII.    ON    CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

America,  by  frequent  communications,  by  exchange  of  services, 
by  the  resources  confided  to  the  sea  and  received  in  return,  there 
was  discovered  an  accession  of  the  most  favorable  means  jDOSsible 
to  the,  knowledge  of  nature,  to  the  reciprocal  abundance  of 
riches,  with  the  result  that  the  prestige  of  Europe  increased 
enormously. 

Therefore  it  would  not  be  fitting,  amid  these  numerous  testi- 
monials of  honor  and  in  these  concerts  of  felicitations,  that  ^e 
Church  should  maintain  complete  silence,  since,  in  accordance 
with  her  character  and  her  institution,  she  willingly  aj)proves 
and  endeavors  to  favor  all  that  aj^pears,  wherever  it  is,  to  be  wor- 
thy of  honor  and  praise.  Undoubtedly  she  reserves  particular 
and  supreme  honors  to  the  virtues  pre-eminent  in  regard  to  mo- 
rality, inasmuch  as  they  unite  to  the  eternal  salvation  of  souls ; 
nevertheless  she  does  not  despise  the  rest,  neither  does  she  ab- 
stain from  esteeming  them  as  they  deserve ;  it  is  even  her  habit 
to  favor  them  with  all  her  power,  and  to  always  have  in  honor 
those  who  have  well  merited  of  human  society  and  who  have 
passed  to  posterity. 

THK    CATHOLIC    FAITH    IJ^SPIRED    THE    ENTERPRISE. 

Certainly  God  is  admirable  in  His  saints ;  but  the  vestiges  of 
Ilis  divine  virtue  appear  as  imprinted  in  those  in  whom  shines  a 
superior  force  of  soul  and  mind,  for  this  elevation  of  heart  and 
this  spark  of  genius  could  only  come  from  God,  their  author  and 
protector. 

It  is  in  addition  an  entirely  special  reason  for  which  we  believe 
we  should  commemorate  in  a  grateful  spirit  this  immortal  event. 
It  is  that  Columbus  is  one  of  us.  When  one  considers  with  what 
motive  above  all  he  undertook  the  2:)lan  of  exploring  the  dark 
sea,  and  with  what  object  he  endeavored  to  realize  this  plan,  one 
cannot  doubt  that  the  Catholic  faith  superlatively  inspired  the 
enterprise  and  its  execution,  so  that  by  this  title  also  humanity 
is  not  a  little  indebted  to  the  Church. 

THK    EMINENTLY    DISTENCTIVE    POINT    IN  COLUMBUS'    CHARACTER. 

There  are,  without  doubt,  many  men  of  hardihood  and  full  of 
experience  who,  l.pforf  Christopher  Columous  and  a^'ti-r  him,  ex- 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    OX   CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS.  99 

plored  with  persevering  efforts  unknown  lands  across  seas  still 
more  unknown.  Their  memory  is  celebrated  and  will  be  so  by 
the  renown  and  the  recollection  of  their  good  deeds,  seeing  that 
they  have  extended  the  frontiers  of  science  and  of  civilization, 
and  that  not  at  the  price  of  slight  efforts  but  with  a  very  exalted 
ardor  of  spii'it,  and  often  through  extreme  perils.  It  is  not  the 
less  true  that  there  is  a  very  great  difference  between  them  and 
him  of  whom  we  speak.  The  eminently  distinctive  point  in  Co- 
lumbus is,  that,  in  crossing  the  immense  expanses  of  the  ocean, 
he  followed  an  object  more  grand  and  more  ele^iated  than  the 
others.  This  does  not  doubtless  say  that  he  was  not  in  any  way 
influenced  by  the  very  praiseworthy  desire  to  be  master  of  sci- 
ence, to  well  deserve  the  approval  of  society,  or  that  he  despised 
the  glory  whose  stimulant  is  ordinarily  more  sensitive  to  elevated 
minds,  or  that  he  was  not  at  all  looking  to  his  personal  interests. 
But  above  all  these  human  reasons,  that  of  religion  was  upper- 
most by  a  great  deal  in  him,  and  it  was  this  without  any  doubt 
which  sustained  his  spirit  and  his  will,  and  which  frequently,  in 
the  midst  of  extreme  difficulties,  tilled  him  with  consolation.  He 
learned  in  reality  that  his  plan,  his  resolution  profoundly  carved 
in  his  heart,  was  to  open  access  to  the  Gospel  in  new  lands  and 
in  new  seas. 

THE    STUDY    OF    ^STATURE    UNITED   TO   THE    STUDY  OF  RELIGIOl^f  LIFTED 
HIS    MIND    TO    GRAND    CONCEPTIONS. 

This  may  seem  hardly  probable  to  those  who,  concentrating  all 
their  care,  all  their  thoughts  in  the  present  nature  of  things,  as  it 
is  perceived  by  the  senses,  refuse  to  look  upon  greater  benefits. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  characteristic  of  eminent  minds 
to  prefer  to  elevate  themselves  higher,  for  they  are  better  dis- 
posed than  all  others  to  seize  the  impulses  and  the  inspirations  of 
the  divine  faith. 

Certainly  Columbus  had  united  the  study  of  nature  to  the 
study  of  religion,  and  he  had  conformed  his  mind  to  the  precepts 
intimately  drawn  from  the  Catholic  faith.  It  is  thus  that,  hav- 
ing learned  by  astronomy  and  ancient  documents  that  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  known  world  there  were,  in  addition,  toward  the 
West,  large  tracts  of  territory  unexj^lored  up  to  that   time  by 


100  POPE  LEO   Xiri.    ON   CHRISTOPHEE  COLUMBUS. 

anybody,  he  considered  in  his  mind  the  immense  multitude  of 
those  who  were  plunged  in  lamentable  darkness,  subject  to  in- 
sensate rites  and  to  the  superstitions  of  senseless  divinities. 

COLUMBUS    AS    A    MISSIOISTARY. 

He  considered  that  they  miserably  led  a  savage  life  with  fero- 
cious customs,  that  more  miserably  still  they  were  wanting  in  all 
notion  of  the  most  important  things,  and  that  they  were  plunged 
in  ignorance  of  the  only  true  God.  Thus,  in  considering  this  in 
himself,  he  aimed  first  of  all  to  propagate  the  name  of  Christian 
and  the  benefits  of  Christian  charity  in  the  West.  As  a  fact,  as 
soon  as  he  presented  himself  to  the  sovereigns  of  Spain,  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  he  explained  the  cause  for  which  they  were  not  to 
fear  taking  a  warm  interest  in  the  enterprise,  as  their  glory  would 
increase  to  the  power  of  becoming  immortal  if  they  decided  to 
cany  the  name  and  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  into  such  distant 
regions.  And  when  not  long  afterward  his  prayers  were  granted 
lie  called  to  witness  that  he  wished  to  obtain  from  God  that 
these  sovereigns,  sustained  by  His  help  and  His  mercy,  should 
persevere  in  causing  the  Gospel  to  penetrate  upon  new  shores 
and  in  nesv  lands.  He  conceived  in  the  same  manner  the  plan 
of  asking  Alexander  VI.  for  apostolic  men,  by  a  letter  in  which 
these  words  are  found :  "  I  hope  that  it  will  some  day  be  given 
to  me,  with  the  help  of  God,  to  propagate  afar  the  very  holy 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Gospel." 

"immortal  actions  of  grace." 

Also  can  one  imagine  him  filled  wdth  joy  when  he  wrote  to 
Raphael  Sanchez,  the  first  who  from  the  Indies  had  returned  to 
Lisbon,  that  "  immortal  actions  of  grace  must  be  rendered  to 
God,  in  that  He  had  deigned  to  cause  to  prosper  the  enterprise 
so  well;  and  that  Jesus  Christ  could  rejoice  and  triumph  upon 
earth  and  in  heaven  for  the  coming  salvation  of  innumerable 
people  who  previously  had  been  going  to  their  ruin."  That  if 
Columbus  also  asks  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  permit  only 
Catholic  Christians  to  go  to  the  New  World,  there  to  accelerate 
trade  with  the  natives,  he  supports  this  motive  by  the  fact  that 
"  l)y  Ills  enterprise  and  efforts  he  has  not   sought  for  anything 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    OjS"   CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS.  101 

else   than    the   glory    and    the    development   of    the    Christia]i 
religion." 

This  was  what  w^as  perfectly  known  to  Isabella,  who,  better 
than  any  other  person,  had  penetrated  the  mind  of  such  a  great 
man ;  much  more,  it  appears  that  the  same  plan  was  fully  adopted 
by  this  very  pious  woman  of  great  heart  and  manly  mind.  She 
V»ore  witness  in  effect  of  Columbus  that  in  courageously  giving 
himself  up  to  the  vast  ocean  he  "  realized  for  the  divine  glory  a 
most  signal  enterprise."  And  to  Columbus  himself,  w^hen  he 
had  happily  returned,  she  wrote  that  she  "  esteemed  as  having 
highly  employed  the  resources  which  she  had  consecrated  and 
which  she  would  still  consecrate  to  the  expeditions  in  the  Indies, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  propagation  of  Catholicism  would 
result  from  them." 

THE    SOURCE    OF    STREISTGTH. 

Also,  if  he  had  not  inspired  himself  from  a  cause  superior  to 
human  interests,  where,  then,  would  he  have  drawn  tbe  constancy 
and  the  strength  of  soul  to  support  what  he  was  obliged  to  the 
end  to  endure  and  to  sr.bmit  to — that  is  to  say,  the  unpropitious 
advice  of  the  learned  people,  the  repulses  of  princes,  the  tempests 
of  the  furious  ocean,  the  continual  watches  during  which  he  more 
than  once  risked  losing  his  sight?  To  that  adding  the  combats 
sustained  against  the  barbarians,  the  infidelities  of  his  friends,  of 
his  companions,  the  villainous  conspirators,  the  perfidiousness  of 
the  envious,  the  calumnies  of  the  traducers,  the  chains  w-ith 
which,  after  all,  though  innocent,  he  was  loaded. 

IX  THE  ORDER  OP  PROVIDENCE  COLUMBUS '  DISCOVERY  OF  THE 
NEW  WORLD  WAS  DESIGNED  TO  COMPENSATE  THE  CHURCH  FOR 
HER    LOSS    IN    THE    OLD. 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  man  overwhelmed  with  a  burden  of 
trials  so  great  and  so  intense  would  have  succumbed  had  he  not 
sustained  himself  by  the  consciousness  of  fulfilling  a  very  noble 
enterprise,  which  he  conjectured  would  be  glorious  for  the  Chris- 
tian name  and  salutary  for  an  infinite  multitude. 

And  the  enterprise  so  carried  out  is  admirably  illustrated  by 
the  events  of  that  time.     In  effect,  Columbus  discovered  America 


1U2  POPE   LEO   XIII.   ON   ClIKISTOPHEIl   COLUMBUS. 

at  about  the  period  when  a  great  tempest  was  goiiig  to  unchain 
itself  ao-aiust  the  Church.  Inasmuch  as  that  it  is  permitted  by 
the  course  of  events  to  appreciate  the  ways  of  Divine  Providence, 
it  really  seems  that  the  man  for  whom  Liguria  honors  herself  was 
destined  by  a  special  plan  of  God  to  compensate  Catholicism 
for  the  injury  which'  it  was  going  to  suffer  in  Europe. 

TO    CHRISTIANIZE    THE    INDIAN. 

To  call  the  Indian  race  to  Christianity,  this  was  without  doubt 
the  mission  and  the  work  of  the  Church.  This  mission  she  con- 
tinued to  fulfill  with  an  uninterrupted  course  of  charity,  and  she 
still  continues  it,  having  advanced  herself  recently  so  far  as  the 
extremities  of  Patagonia.  As  to  Columbus,  certain  as  he  was  of 
tracino-  out  and  of  preparing  the  way  for  the  Gospel,  and  fully 
absorbed  in  this  thought,  he  caused  all  his  actions  to  converge  to 
it,  not  undertaking  anything  of  any  kind  but  under  the  shield 
of  religion  and  with  the  escort  of  piety.  We  recall  in  this,  in 
reality,  things  which  are  well  known  but  which  are  none  the  less 
remarkable,  in  order  to  show  forth  the  mind  and  the  heart  of 
this  great  man. 

Thus,  when  compelled  by  the  Portuguese,  by  the  Genoese,  to 
leave  without  having  obtained  any  result,  he  went  to  Spain.  He 
matured  the  grand  plan  of  the  projected  discovery  in  the  midst 
of  the  walls  of  a  convent  with  the  knowledge  of,  and  with  the 
advice  of,  a  monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  d'Assisi. 

After  seven  years  had  revolved,  when  at  last  he  goes  to  dare 
the  ocean,  he  takes  care  that  the  expedition  shall  comply  with 
the  acts  of  spiritual  expiation ;  he  prays  to  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
to  assist  the  enterprise  and  to  direct  its  course,  and  before  giving 
the  order  to  make  sail  he  invokes  the  august  divine  trinity. 

COLUMBUS    TAKES     POSSESSION     OF   THE     NEW    WORLD    IN   THE    NAME 

or    JESUS    CHRIST. 

Then,  once  fairly  at  sea,  while  the  waters  agitate  themselves, 
while  the  crew  murmurs,  he  maintains,  under  God's  care,  a  calm 
constancy  of  mind.  Ilis  plan  manifests  itself  in  the  very  names 
which  he  imposes  on  the  new  islands,  and  each  time  that  he  is 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   CHEISTOPHEE   COLUMBUS.  103 

called  upon  to  land  upon  one  of  them  lie  worships  the  Almighty 
God,  and  only  takes  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

As  whatever  coast  he  approaches,  he  has  nothing  more  as  his 
first  idea  than  the  planting  on  the  shore  of  the  sacred  sign  of 
the  cross ;  and  the  divine  name  of  the  Redeemer,  which  he  had 
sung  so  frequently  on  the  open  sea,  to  the  sound  of  the  murmur- 
ing waves,  he  is  the  first  to  make  it  reverberate  in  the  new 
islands.  In  the  same  way,  when  he  institutes  the  Sj^anish 
colony,  he  causes  it  to  be  commenced  by  the  construction  of  a 
temple,  where  he  first  provides  that  the  popular  fetes  shall  be 
celebrated  by  august  ceremonies. 

Here,  then,  is  what  Columbus  aimed  at  and  what  he  accom- 
plished when  he  went  in  search,  over  so  great  expanse  of  sea  and 
of  land,  of  regions  up  to  that  time  unexplored  and  uncultivated, 
but  whose  civilization,  renown,  and  riches  were  to  rapidly  attain 
that  immense  development  which  we  see  to-day. 

THE   EESTJLT. 

In  all  this  the  magnitude  of  the  event,  the  efficacy  and  the 
variety  of  the  benefits  which  have  resulted  from  it,  tend  assuredly 
to  celebrate  him  who  was  the  author  of  it  by  a  grateful  remem- 
brance and  by  all  sorts  of  testimonials  of  honor ;  but,  in  the  first 
place,  we  must  recognize  and  venerate  particularly  the  divine 
project  to  which  the  discoverer  of  the  New  World  was  subservi- 
ent and  to  which  he  knowingly  obeyed. 

In  order  to  celebrate  worthily  and  in  a  manner  suitable  to  the 
truth  of  the  facts  the  solemn  anniversary  of  Columbus,  the 
sacredness  of  religion  must  be  united  to  the  splendor  of  the  civil 
pomp.  This  is  why,  as  previously,  at  the  first  announcement  of 
the  event  public  actions  of  grace  were  rendered  to  the  providence 
of  the  immortal  God,  upon  the  example  which  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  gave,  the  same  also  now,  in  celebrating  the  recollection 
of  the  auspicious  event.     We  esteem  that  we  must  do  as  much. 

We  decree  to  this  effect  that  the  day  of  October  12,  or  the 
following  Sunday,  if  the  respective  diocesan  bishops  judge  it  to 
be  opportune,  after  the  office  of  the  day,  the  Solemn  Mass  of  the 
Very  Holy  Trinity  shall  be  celebrated  in  the  Cathedral  and 
collegial  churches  of  Spain,  Italy,  and  the  two  Americas. 


104  POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS. 

ALL   SHOULD    CONCUR. 

In  addition  to  these  countries,  we  Lope  that  upon  the  initiative 
of  the  Bishops  as  much  may  be  done  in  the  others,  for  it  is  fitting 
that  all  should  concur  in  celebrating  with  piety  and  gratitude 
an  event  which  has  been  profitable  to  all. 

In  the  meanwhile,  as  a  pledge  of  the  celestial  favors  and  in 
testimony  of  our  fraternal  good  will,  we  affectionately  accord  in 
the  Lord  the  apostolic  benediction  to  you,  venerable  brothers,  to 
your  clergy  and  to  your  people. 

Given  at  Rome,  near  St.  Peter's,  July  16,  of  the  year  1892,  the 
fifteenth  of  our  pontificate. 

Leo  XIIL,  Pope. 


The  Catholic  University  of 
America. 


The  corner-stone  of  the  new  Catholic  University  of  America 
was  laid  at  Washington,  D.  C,  May  24,  1888.  The  President  of 
the  United  States,  several  members  of  his  Cabinet,  and  a  large 
number  of  distinguished  prelates,  priests,  scholastics,  and  semi- 
narians were  present.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies, 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria,  delivered  an  address. 
Bishop  Keane,  Rector  of  the  University,  presented  to  Miss  Mary 
Gwendolen  Caldwell,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  a  gold  medal  sent  by 
Leo  XIII.  in  recognition  of  her  munificent  gift  to  the  new  Uni- 
versity. It  was  struck  by  order  of  His  Holiness  at  the  beginning 
of  and  in  commemoration  of  the  eighth  year  of  his  pontificate. 
One  side  contains  the  profile  of  the  Pope.  On  the  other  is  a  rep- 
resentation of  the  genius  of  history  lifted  aloft  by  angels,  with 
an  inscription  commemorating  the  opening  of  the  archives  of  the 
Vatican  to  the  historical  researches  of  the  scholars  of  the  world. 
The  medal  is  inclosed  in  a  red  velvet  case  embossed  with  the 
Papal  arms. 

The  following  cablegram  (in  Latin)  was  received  from  the 
Holy  Father: 

''  The  Pontiff  offers  his  hearty  congratulations  for  the  work 
that  has  just  been  begun,  and  gives  his  apostolic  blessing  to  all 
the  bishops." 

Almost  immediately  following  came  a  cablegram  from  Rome 
asking  for  full  details  of  the  ceremonies,  to  which  an  answer  was 
immediately  cabled  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Keane. 

The  site  of  the  university  is  the  old  Middleton  property,  and 
it  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city.     It  has  an  extensive 


105 


106  THE   CATHOLIC    UNIVERSITY   OF   AMERICA. 

acreage,  and  tbe  land  is  Ligb,  dry,  and  rolling.  The  grounds  face 
tlie  North  Capitol  Street  gate  and  front  on  one  side  of  the  Sol- 
diers' Home  estate.  From  the  new  building  a  view  is  had  of  the 
city  of  Washington,  with  the  Capitol,  the  Washington  Monu- 
iment,  and  a  stretch  of  the  Potomac  as  the  most  prominent 
features. 

The  project  of  establishing  an  American  Catholic  university  is 
not  of  recent  date.  Twenty-one  years  ago  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  treating  of  the  all-important  subject  of 
Christian  education,  devoted  an  entire  chapter  to  the  question 
of  the  founding  of  a  Catholic  university.  Finally,  the  Third  Plenary 
Council,  held  in  1884,  deeming  that  the  time  had  come,  appointed  a 
committee  to  take  practical  measures  looking  towards  that  end. 
The  project  was  advanced  by  the  munificent  offer  of  $300,000  by 
Miss  Mary  Gwendolen  Caldwell,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  as  a  starting 
fund.  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria,  111.,  an  old  friend  of  the 
Caldwell  family,  was  chosen  to  present  the  offer  to  the  Council, 
and  as  no  conditions  were  coupled  with  the  gift,  it  was  accepted, 
so  far  as  the  Bishops  were  concerned.  Miss  Caldwell's  sister 
gave  an  additional  $50,000. 

After  the  acceptance  of  Miss  Caldwell's  offer  the  Bishops  of  the 
Council  found  that  the  decisive,  vivifying  word  of  the  Pope  was 
alone  needed  to  give  the  project  shape  and  life,  and  this  they  ob- 
tained without  delay.  Not  only  was  the  brief  readily  granted, 
but  His  Holiness  took  a  personal  interest  in  the  work,  which 
showed  that  from  the  outset  his  heart  was  set  on  its  realization. 
He  also  expressed  his  desire  that  the  university  should  be  and 
should  remain  thoroughly  American.  "  I  wish,"  he  said,  "  that 
it  should  be  founded  by  American  means,  and  that  it  should  be 
conducted  by  American  brains ;  and  if  at  first  you  have  to  call 
^in  the  help  of  foreign  talent  in  your  faculties,  it  must  be  with  the 
Iview  of  developing  home  intellect,  of  training  professors  who  will 
gradually  form  indigenous  faculties  worthy  of  the  name  the  uni- 
versity bears." 

And  in  his  brief  approving  of  the  university  he  says :  "  We, 
therefore,  moved  by  a  desire  for  your  good,  and  consulting  the 
best  interests  of  the  Republic,  most  willingly  indorse  your  inten- 
tion of  founding  a  university.     But  that  this  university  may  be 


THE   CATHOLIC    UNIVERSITY   OF   AMERICA.  107 

happily  completed,  and  that  day  by  day  it  may  grow,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  it  should  be  under  the  authority  and  protection  of  all 
the  prelates  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  administration  be 
held  by  the  prelates,  whose  duties  it  will  be  to  mark  out  the  line 
of  studies,  to  enact  the  proper  laws,  to  choose  the  professors,  and 
to  put  in  order  whatsoever  may  pertain  to  the  best  government 
of  this  university.  But  when  these  things  are  completed  it  is 
proper  that  they  be  handed  over  to  the  examination  of  the  Apos- 
tolic See,  in  order  that  they  may  receive  its  approbation."  And 
a  short  time  afterwards,  in  an  audience  given  to  the  representa- 
tives of  all  the  colleges  of  Rome,  addressing  his  remarks  to  the 
Rector  of  the  American  College,  Pope  Leo  earnestly  said : 
"  About  the  university  at  Washington,  it  is  my  desire  that  all  the 
bishops  should  work  together  with  unity  and  with  energy.  I 
have  confided  the  care  of  the  university  to  them,  and  it  would 
greatly  grieve  me  did  I  suppose  that  there  could  possibly  be 
among  them  any  want  of  agreement  and  of  earnestness  in  regard 
to  it.  Let  them  at  once  push  this  work  to  completion,  and  they 
will  win  for  the  university  the  support  of  public  opinion  in  the 
United  States.  The  honor  of  the  American  episcopate  demands 
it — yes,  the  honor  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States  and  the 
dignity  of  the  Holy  See,  which  has  so  solemnly  given  this  univer- 
sity its  approval." 

From  these  earnest  words  it  is  evident  that  Leo  XIIL  manifests 
more  than  an  ordinary  interest  in  the  American  Catholic  Univer- 
sity. He  also  warmly  endorsed  the  action  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  bishops  in  deciding  that  the  university  should  be  located 
at  Washin2:ton,  beino;  convinced  that  from  no  other  centre  could 
it  exercise  its  beneficent  action  as  from  the  National  Capital. 
This  was  why  the  bishops  chose  Washington  in  preference  to  any 
other  city,  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  the  students  in  that  city 
would  have  the  advantage  of  consulting  and  visiting  the  Con- 
gressional Library,  the  museums,  art  galleries,  and  other  places  of 
instruction. 

The  incorporators  of  the  University  were  Cardinal  Gibbons,  of 
Baltimore  ;  Archbishop  Ryan,  of  Philadelphia ;  Archbishop 
Williams,  of  Boston  ;  Archbishop  Corrigan,  of  New  York  ;  Arch- 
bishop Ireland,  of  St.  Paul;  Rev.  Placidus  Chappelle,  of  Wash- 


108  THE   CATHOLIC   UNIVERSITY   OF   AMERICA. 

ino-ton,  now  coadjutor-bishop  of  Santa  Fe;  Bishop  Spalding,  of 
Peoria ;  Bishop  Keane,  Bector  of  the  University ;  Bishop  Marty, 
of  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D. ;  Mgr.  John  Farley,  of  New  York ;  Dr. 
John  S.  Foley,  of  Baltimore ;  Bishop  Borgess,  of  Detroit ;  Eu- 
gene Kelly,  of  New  York;  Bernard  F.  F.  Farden,  of  Philadel- 
phia ;  Thomas  E.  Waggemau,  of  Washington ;  and  Michael  Jen- 
ninsrs  and  Thomas  S.  Lee,  of  Baltimore. 

The  University  will  not  in  any  wise  interfere  with  the  other 
Catholic  colleges  or  institutions  of  learning.  It  will  belong  to  a 
higher  sphere,  and  will  begin  where  they  leave  off.  On  any 
lower  level  there  would  be  no  reason  for  its  existence.  It 
started  with  the  faculty  of  divinity,  and  will  develop  by  degrees, 
and  will  add  on  the  other  faculties  as  circumstances  and  popular 
appreciation  make  it  possible. 

The  branches  outside  of  divinity  that  will  be  taught  in  the 
new  University  will  embrace  philosophy,  law,  medicine,  natural 
science,  mathematics,  belles-lettres,  history,  and  ancient  and  mod- 
ern languages. 

It  was  recognized  that  philosophical  studies  must  constitute 
the  essential  characteristic  of  the  University  work;  but,  in  order 
to  meet  the  practical  demand  of  the  American  people,  it  was  de- 
cided that  especial  care  should  be  shown  in  the  organization  of 
the  school  of  science,  and  this  particularly  in  regard  to  its  prac- 
tical reference  to  engineering  in  its  various  departments.  It  was 
concluded  that  by  October,  1894,  the  school  of  science  would  be 
80  organized  as  not  only  to  form  specialists  in  mathematics,  phys- 
ics, chemistry,  and  natural  sciences,  but  also  to  turn  out  men 
thoroughly  equipped  in  civil,  electrical,  and  mining  engineering. 

The  committee  on  organization  was  constituted  i  standing 
committee  with  whom  the  Rector  is  to  confer  in  regard  to  the 
selection  of  professors,  the  final  approval  being  always  given  by 
His  Eminence  Cardinal  Gibbons  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
directors. 

The  institution  will  not  be  closely  modelled  after  any  other 
university,  but  will  aim  to  combine  and  incorporate  the  best 
features  of  all.  It  will  take  the  highest  standards  and  the  best 
systems  that  experience  has  devised  and  adapt  them  to  American 
needs. 


THE   CATHOLIC   UiaVERSITY   OF   AMERICA.  109 

The  University  will  be  open  to  all  who  are  able  or  anxious  to 
profit  by  it.  Students  who  have  graduated  from  colleges  can 
there  listen  to  the  most  eminent  lecturers  that  can  be  secured, 
who  will  treat  not  of  the  elements  of  learning,  but  of  the  philos- 
ophy of  the  various  sciences.  The  professorial  chairs  will  also  be 
^opeu  to  all,  laymen  and  clerics — no  other  condition  being  imposed 
than  the  test  of  merit. 

The  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  of  Richmond,  is  the  Rector  of 
the  University,  having  resigned  his  see  to  devote  all  his  time  to 
his  new  office. 

All  the  professors  required  for  the  beginning  have  been  already 
secured. 

The  divinity  building  was  to  be  completed  by  the  fall  of  1889. 
It  will  cost  $175,000,  but  it  will  require  a  million  dollars  to 
wholly  establish  and  equip  this  department.  The  total  cost  of 
the  University  is  estimated  at  $8,000,000,  and  it  is  thought  it 
will  not  be  completed  in  less  than  twenty  years.  Not  a  dollar  of 
debt  will  be  contracted.  Neither  is  the  University  to  be  built 
with  the  pennies  of  the  poor.  It  is  intended  to  make  the  rich 
build  it.  They  will  especially  profit  by  it,  and  the  Bishops  think 
the  poorer  portion  of  the  Catholic  community  have  calls  enough 
upon  them  for  other  purposes. 

When  completed  the  edifice  will  consist  of  a  centre  building 
55  by  57  feet  and  five  stories  in  height,  with  wings  on  either  side 
105  by  45  feet  each  and  four  stories  in  height.  The  total  front- 
ago  will  be  265  feet,  and,  with  the  return  wings  at  either  end, 
the  total  depth  160  feet.  The  interior  of  the  divinity  building, 
when  finished,  is  thus  described :  The  public  rooms  will  be  lo- 
cated on  the  first  floor,  and  consist  of  an  entrance  hall  15  feet 
wide,  a  corridor  14  feet  wide  the  whole  length  of  the  building, 
which  will  open  into  four  parlors  en  suite  in  the  centre  building, 
a  lecture-room  seating  300  j^ersons,  three  class-rooms,  a  prayer 
liall,  refectory  kitchen,  recreation-room,  reading-room,  and  library. 
The  latter  will  be  in  the  basement  of  the  chapel.  The  latter  will 
consist  of  a  nave  26  by  60  feet  and  semicircular  sacristy  IS  by 
26  feet.  The  ceiling  will  be  ribbed  and  barrel-arched.  Ten  side 
altars  will  be  placed  in  alcoves  on  each  side  of  the  nave.  The 
library  will  contain  shelving  for  10,000  volumes,  which  can  be 


110  I'HE   CATHOLIC    UNIVERSITY   OF   AMERICA. 

doubled  in  capacity  by  adding  cases  in  a  gallery.  The  second, 
third,  and  fourth  floors  will  be  devoted  to  the  living  accommoda- 
tious  for  the  professors  and  students,  two  rooms  being  allowed  to 
each — sittinsr-room  and  bedchamber. 

The  total  accommodations  will  be :  For  the  Kector  and  pro- 
fessors, twelve  double  rooms ;  students,  sixty-four  double  rooms ; 
and  three  rooms  for  guests.  The  grand  staircase  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  room  mil  ascend  in  double  and  return  flights  in  a 
hall  twenty-nine  feet  square,  and  at  the  ends  of  the  wings  will  be 
a  fireproof  staircase  of  stone  and  brick.  The  building  is  designed 
in  the  Romanesque  style  of  architecture,  and  vnil  bo  built  of  red 
brick,  trimmed  with  brown  sandstone,  on  a  basement  story  of 
granite. 

We  cannot  more  appropi'iately  conclude  this  sketch  of  the  new 
Catholic  University  of  America  than  by  quoting  the  following 
extracts  from  Bishop  Spalding's  admirable  address  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone. 

Of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America  he  said: 

"  All  observers  remark  its  great  development  here — the  rapid 
increase  in  the  number  of  its  adherents,  its  growth  in  wealth  and 
influence,  the  firm  yet  gentle  hand  with  which  it  brings  hetero- 
geneous populations  under  the  control  of  a  common  faith  and 
discipline,  and  the  ease  with  which  it  adapts  itself  to  new  condi- 
tions and  organizes  itself  in  every  part  of  the  country.  It  is  not 
a  little  thing,  in  spite  of  unfriendly  public  opinion  and  of  great 
and  numerous  obstacles,  in  spite  of  the  burden  which  high 
achievements  impose  and  of  the  lack  of  easy  and  supple  move- 
ment which  gathering  years  imply,  to  enter  new  fields,  to  bend 
one's  self  to  unaccustomed  work,  and  to  struggle  for  the  right  to 
live,  in  the  midst  of  a  generation  heedless  of  the  good  and  mind- 
ful only  of  the  evil  which  has  been  associated  with  one's  life. 
And  this  is  what  the  Catholic  Church  in  America  has  had  to  do 
and  has  done  with  a  success  which  recalls  the  memory  of  the 
spread  of  Christianity  through  the  Eoman  empire.  It  counts  its 
members  here  by  millions,  while  a  hundred  years  ago  it  counted 
them  by  thousands,  and  its  priests,  churches,  schools,  and  institu- 
tions of  charity  it  reckons  by  the  thousands,  while  then  they  could 
be  counted  hardly  by  tens.    And  public  opinion,  which  was  then 


THE   CATHOLIC   ITNIVEBSITY   OF  AMERICA.  m 

hostile,  is  no  longer  so  in  the  same  degree.  Prejudice  has  not,  in- 
deed, ceased  to  exist ;  for,  where  there  is  question  of  religion,  of 
society,  of  politics,  even  the  fairest  minds  will  not  see  things  as 
they  are,  and  the  multitude,  it  may  be  supposed,  will  never  be- 
come impartial ;  but  the  tendency  of  our  life  and  of  the  age  is 
opposed  to  bigotry,  and,  as  we  lose  faith  in  the  justice  and  effi- 
cacy of  persecution,  we  perceive  more  clearly  that  true  religion 
can  neither  be  defended  nor  propagated  by  violence  and  intoler- 
ance, by  appeals  to  sectarian  bitterness  and  national  hatred.  And 
by  none  is  this  more  sincerely  acknowledged  or  more  deeply  felt 
than  by  the  Catholics  of  the  United  States." 

THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FUTURE. 

Of  the  Church  in  the  future  he  said : 

"  But,  like  the  old,  the  Church  can  look  to  the  past ;  like  the 
young,  she  can  look  to  the  future ;  and  if  there  are  Catholics  who 
linger  regretfully  amid  glories  that  have  vanished,  there  are  also 
Catholics  who,  in  the  midst  of  their  work,  feel  a  confidence  which 
leaves  no  place  for  regret ;  who  well  understand  that  the  earthly 
environment  in  which  the  Church  lives  is  subject  to  change  and 
decay,  and  that  new  surroundings  imply  new  tasks  and  impose 
new  duties..  The  splendor  of  the  mediaeval  Church,  its  worldly 
power,  the  pomp  of  its  ceremonial,  the  glittering  pageantry  in 
which  its  pontiffs  and  prelates  vied  with  kings  and  emperors  in 
gorgeous  display,  are  gone  or  going,  and,  were  it  given  to  man 
to  recall  the  past,  the  spirit  whereby  it  lived  would  be  still 
wanting. 

"  But  it  is  the  mark  of  youthful  and  barbarous  natures  to  have 
eyes  chiefly  for  the  garb  and  circumstances  of  religion ;  to  see  the 
body  only  and  not  the  soul.  At  all  events  the  course  of  life  is 
onward,  and  enthusiasm  for  the  past  cannot  become  the  source  ot 
great  and  far-reaching  action.  The  present  alone  gives  opportu- 
nity, and  the  face  of  hope  turns  to  the  future,  and  the  wise  are 
busy  with  what  lies  at  hand,  with  immediate  duty,  and  not  with 
schemes  for  bringing  back  the  things  that  have  passed  away. 
Leaving  the  dead  with  the  dead,  they  work  for  life  and  for  the 
living:." 


The  Catholic  Summer  School 


The  great  and  propitious  movement  along  the  lines  of  higher 
Catholic  education,  known  as  the  Catholic  Summer  School,  was 
formally  inaugurated  at  New  London,  Conn.,  July  31,  1892, 
under  the  most  auspicious  circumstances.  The  large  attendance 
of  Catholic  ladies  and  gentlemen,  many  of  them  distinguished  in 
literary  and  educational  circles,  gave  assurance  of  success  to  the 
institution  from  the  outset.  The  Summer  School  is  a  popular 
extension  of  the  system  of  Catholic  university  education. 

Its  object  is  to  increase  the  facilities  for  busy  people  as  well  as 
for  those  of  leisure  to  pursue  lines  of  study  in  various  depart- 
ments of  knowledge  by  providing  opportunities  of  getting  in- 
struction from  eminent  specialists.  It  is  not  intended  to  have  the 
scope  of  the  work  limited  to  any  class,  but  rather  to  establish  an 
intellectual  centre  where  any  one  with  serious  purpose  may  come 
and  find  new  incentives  to  efforts  for  self -improvement.  Here,  in 
the  leisure  of  a  summer  vacation,  without  great  expense,  one  may 
listen  to  the  best  thought  of  the  world,  condensed  and  presented 
by  unselfish  masters  of  study.  The  opportunity  thus  provided 
of  combining  different  classes  of  students  for  mutual  improve- 
ment will  be  most  acceptable  to  professors  and  lecturers  who 
wish  to  have  an  apj^reciative  audience  to  enjoy  with  them  the 
fruits  of  the  latest  research  in  history,  literature,  natural  science, 
and  other  branches  of  learnino;.  All  these  branches  of  human 
learning  are  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  Christian  truth,  ac- 
cording to  Cardinal  Newman's  declaration :  "  Truth  is  the  object 
of  knowledge,  of  whatever  kind  ;  and  truth  means  facts  and  their 
relations.  Religious  truth  is  not  only  a  portion,  but  a  condition 
of  knowledge.  To  blot  it  out  is  nothing  short  of  unravelling  the 
web  of  university  teaching.  The  Church  fears  no  knowledge, 
but  she  purifies  all ;  she  represses  no  elements  of  nature,  but  cul- 
tivates the  whole." 

On  this  line  of  principle  and  of  thought  the  directors  of  the 


THE   CATHOLIC   SUMMER   SCHOOL.  113 

Summer  School  propose  to  its  students,  young  and  old,  abundant 
instruction  in  various  departments  of  knowledge,  on  a  broad  basis 
of  information,  by  competent  teachers  and  lecturers  who  are 
"  quite  up  to  the  times,"  being  able  to  throw  upon  their  subjects 
the  higher  and  still  broader  light  of  central  principles,  of  spirit- 
ual truth,  and  of  coherent  faith.  Intellectual  culture  is  to  be 
fostered  in  harmony  with  the  true  Christian  faith  by  the  most 
enlightened  representatives  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  idea  and  plan  of  a  Catholic  Summer  School  were  first  pro- 
posed for  consideration  by  Editor  Warren  E.  Mosher,  of  the 
Catholio  Reading  Circle  Review^  Youngstown,  Ohio.  The  propo- 
sition attracted  the  attention  of  certain  Catholics  interested  in  the 
question  of  education ;  and  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  Catholic 
Club,  New  York  city,  a  definite  plan  for  the  project  was  adopted, 
and  a  provisional  board  of  trustees  elected.  New  London,  Conn., 
was  selected  as  a  suitable  locality  for  the  first  session,  or  until  a 
permanent  site  would  be  chosen. 

The  course  of  study  apj^ointed  for  the  first  year  embraced  ten 
lectures  on  ethics,  twelve  on  English  literature,  nine  on  general 
history,  five  on  science  and  revealed  religion,  and  fifteen  on  mis- 
cellaneous topics.  Three  lectures  were  delivered  on  each  week 
day,  Saturdays  being  devoted  to  rest  and  recreation.  Rev.  P.  A. 
Halpin,  S.  J.,  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  the  College  of  St.  Fran- 
cis Xavier,  New  York,  delivered  the  series  of  lectures  on  ethics ; 
while  among  those  to  whom  other  subjects  were  assigned  were 
such  well-knoAvn  authors  and  writers  as  George  Parsons  Lathrop, 
Professor  Maurice  F.  Egan,  Richard  Malcolm  Johnson,  Rev. 
Thomas  Hughes,  S.  J.;  Brother  Azarias,  Dr.  Marc  F.  Vallete, 
Professor  John  P.  Brophy,  Miss  Katherine  E.  Conway,  Dr.  Rich- 
ard H.  Clarke,  Rev.  Rene  J.  Holaind,  S.  J.;  Revs.  Walter  Elliot 
and  Thomas  McMillan  of  the  Paulist  Fathers  ;  and  Rev\  George 
M.  Searle,  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America. 

.  A  permanent  site  for  the  Catholic  Summer  School  was  finally 
selected  at  Plattsburg,  on  the  beautiful  shores  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  The  site  chosen  is  in  every  respect  an  admirable  one.  It 
possesses  convenience  of  access,  natural  advantages,  healthful 
situation,  beauty  of  scenery,  and  adequate  accommodation  for 
visitors.     The  promoters  also  took  into   consideration  the  fact 


114  THE   CATHOLIC   SUMMER  SCHOOL. 

that  in  the  great  State  Library  and  State  Museum  at  Albany  a 
wealth  of  literary  resource  is  presented  which  should  not  be  over- 
looked. New  York  State  also  enjoys  the  privileges  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua ■  system,  whose  influence  is  not  only  national  but  inter- 
national ;  and  the  desirability  of  having  a  Catholic  institution 
like  the  Summer  School  brought  within  the  scoj^e  of  these  com- 
bined educational  benefits  was  a  further  recommendation. 

The  site  selected  consists  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
of  land  situated  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Champlain,  nearly  op- 
posite Burlington,  Vt ,  and  about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Plattsburg,  and  known  as  "  Cliff  Haven."  The  land  has  a  front- 
age of  half  a  mile  on  the  lake,  where  there  is  a  smooth,  sandy 
beach  for  part  of  the  distance,  and  a  rocky  bluff  the  remainder. 
The  tract  includes  part  of  Bluff  Point,  on  which  is  the  large 
Hotel  Champlain,  which  will  accommodate  five  hundred  guests. 

The  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York 
granted  an  absolute  charter,  February  9,  1S93,  by  virtue  of  which 
the  Catholic  Summer  School  has  a  legal  existence  as  a  corporation 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  is  classified  within 
the  system  of  public  instruction  devoted  to  University  Extension. 
By  this  charter  from  the  Board  of  Regents  many  advantages  are 
secured  for  students  preparing  for  examinations,  besides  the  legal 
privileges  that  could  be  obtained  in  no  other  way.  In  the  official 
documents  relating  to  the  charter  ample  guarantees  are  given 
that  the  object  for  which  the  Catholic  Summer  School  was  or- 
ganized shall  be  steadily  kept  in  view,  and  the  good  work  con- 
tinued according  to  the  plans  approved  by  its  founders  and 
trustees. 

For  the  second  session,  1893,  the  Plattsburg  Opera  House,  the 
State  Normal  School  Building,  and  the  Plattsburg  High  School 
Building  were  used,  and  furnished  ample  accommodation.  The 
courses  included  Educational  Epochs,  Philosophy  of  History, 
Science  and  Religion,  Ethical  Problems,  Evidences  of  Religion, 
and  Mental  Philosophy. 

With  a  view  to  sustain  the  interest  of  all  who  attended  the 
first  session  of  the  Summer  School,  an  entirely  new  list  of  sub- 
jects was  selected  by  the  Board  of  Studies  for  the  session  at 
Plattsburg  in  1893.     Rev.  J.  A.  Zahm,  C.  S.  C,  of  Notre  Dame 


THE   CATHOLIC   SUMMER  SCHOOL.  115 

University,  Ind.,  was  chosen  to  deliver  five  lectures  on  Science  in 
Relation  to  Religion ;  and  Rev.  J.  A.  Doonan,  S.  J.,  of  Boston 
College,  Mass.,  four  lectures  on  Mental  Philosophy.  Other  lec- 
tures assigned  were  :  Very  Rev.  A.  F.  Hewitt,  D.D.,  of  the  Paul- 
ist  Fathers,  New  York — subject,  Authenticity  of  the  Gospels; 
Thomas  H.  Cummings,  of  Boston,  Mass. — subject,  Columbus  and 
the  Discovery  of  America ;  Helena  T.  Groessman,  of  Amherst, 
Mass. — subject.  Indebtedness  of  America  to  Isabella  the  Catho- 
lic ;  Agnes  L.  Sadlier,  of  New  York — subject,  Women  of  the 
American  Revolution ;  Donald  Downie,  of  Montreal,  Canada — 
subject.  New  France  and  Old  France;  Brother  Azarias,  of  De  La 
Salle  Institute,  New  York,  was  assigned  for  five  lectures  on  Edu- 
cational Epochs;  Richard  Malcolm  Johnston,  of  Baltimore,  Md., 
for  five  lectures  on  Studies  among  Famous  Authors ;  and  each 
of  the  following  for  one  lecture  each :  Rev.  A.  P.  Doyle,  C.  S.  P., 
Editor  of  the  Catholic  World^  New  York — subject.  Catholic  Edu- 
cational Institutions;  Rev.  Daniel  J.  O'Sullivan,  of  St.  Albans,  Vt. 
— subject.  Lake  Champlain  and  its  Discoverer;  Rev.  W.  Living- 
ston, of  St.  Joseph's  Seminary,  Troy,  N.  Y. — subject.  Life  and 
Lyric  Poetry  of  Longfellow  ;  George  Parsons  Lathrop,  LL.D.,  of 
New  London,  Conn.— subject.  Genius  and  Society.  For  the  third 
week,  Rev.  P.  A.  Halpin,  S.  J.,  of  St.  Francis  Xavier's  College, 
New  York,  was  selected  to  deliver  five  lectures  on  Ethical  Prob- 
lems; Rev.  Joseph  McMahon,  of  New  York,  three  lectures  on 
Science  and  Miracles  at  Lourdes ;  Rev.  T.  J.  Conaty,  D.D.,  Editor 
of  the  CathoUc  School  and  Home  Magazine,  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
two  lectures  on  Celtic  Literature  and  Irish  Writers  in  English 
Literature.  Lectures  were  also  arranged  from  Brother  Potamian 
(Dr.  O'Reilly),  of  the  College  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  London, 
England,  on  Electricity  and  Magnetic  Phenomena ;  and  Rev.  L. 
F.  Kearney,  O.  P.,  of  Somerset,  Ohio,  on  What  we  Owe  to  the 
Summa  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas.  To  provide  more  adequately 
for  the  interests  of  women  at  the  Summer  School,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Board  of  Studies. 

In  addition  to  the  course  of  lectures,  it  was  also  provided  to 
hold  a  series  of  conferences  on  Method  and  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  Method  to  the  teaching  of  the  various  subjects  in 
the  school  curriculum.     It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  scope  of  the 


116  THE   CATHOLIC   SUMMER  SCHOOL. 

Summer  School  is  broad  and  deep,  and  that  great  benefit  must 
result  from  its  establishment. 

To  the  question  ^vhether  we  are  ready  for  such  a  school,  it  has 
been  truly  said  the  interest  shown  in  the  movement  from  the  first 
day  of  its  inception  would  prove  our  readiness  were  proof  needed. 
"  From  the  hierarchy,  from  the  religious  communities,  from  the 
clergy  generally,  from  that  large  and  powerful  body,  the  Catho- 
lic lay  teachers,  in  public,  private,  and  parochial  schools,  from 
our  writers,  from  ourpress,  a  chorus  of  commendation,  of  encour- 
agement, has  testified  to  the  timeliness  of  the  movement.  The 
incompleteness  of  our  so-called  popular  education  teachers  soon 
learn.  The  reading,  the  thoughtful  man  and  woman,  find  them- 
selves, early  in  life,  embarrassed  by  the  crowd  of  c[uestions  that 
press  upon  them — questions  having  to  do  with  their  calling,  with 
their  rights  and  duties  as  members  of  society,  as  citizens,  as 
parents,  as  Catholics.  Something  is  wanting,  evidently  ;  and  the 
want  is  a  more  complete  education.  How,  where  is  this  to  be 
had  ?  Heretofore  this  question  was  not  easily  answered.  Now 
we  have  an  answer  for  all  questioners :  At  the  Summer  School. 
During  t^vo  months  out  of  twelve  can  one  hope  to  make  up  all 
that  is  requisite?  Not  all,  decidedly;  though  two  months  of 
leisurely  study  under  Catholic  masters,  and  two  months  of  con- 
stant association  with  earnest,  intellectual,  educated  Catholics, 
will  be  worth  more  than  a  year's  schooling  under  less  favorable 
conditions,  and  more  than  several  years  of  solitary,  unguided 
reading."* 

The  success  of  the  enterprise  is  now  fully  established,  and  the 
Catholic  Summer  School  may  be  Justly  regarded  as  the  starting 
point  of  one  of  the  greatest  educational  institutions  ever  estab- 
lished under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States. 

*  Catholic  World,  July,  1893. 


Leo  XIII.  AND  THE  WORLD'S  FAIR. 

By  the  Most  Reverend  John  Ireland  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul. 


To  the  Honorable  Thomas  B.  Bryan  will  be  due  a  large  share 
of  the  success  attending  the  World's  Fair.  He  was  intrusted 
with  the  difficult  task  of  winning  over  to  it  the  sympathies  of 
Europe.  More  obstacles  lay  in  his  pathway  than  Americans 
may  easily  understand.  His  intelligence,  tact,  persuasive  speech 
triumphed  over  the  apathy  and  indifference  of  some,  over  the 
avowed  opposition  of  others.  When  the  time  came  for  his  home- 
ward journey,  gov^ernments,  journalists,  artists,  business  men,  all 
Europe,  were  enthusiastic  in  their  adhesion  to  Chicago's  great 
enterprise.  I  frequently  met  Mr.  Bryan  in  Rome,  and  I  had  oc- 
casions to  learn  much  of  the  work  to  which  his  mind  and  heart 
were  thoroughly  devoted. 

Among  his  other  achievements,  that  of  securing  in  favor  of  the 
World's  Fair  the  prestige  of  Pope  Leo's  influence  is  to  be  ac- 
counted as  of  singular  importance.  The  idea  was  altogether  Mr. 
Bryan's  own.  He  told  one  day  Monsignore  O'Connell  and  my- 
self his  thought  and  his  desire  to  have  the  opportunity  to  speak 
of  the  Fair  to  Leo.  We  warmly  approved  his  j^urpose,  and  within 
a  few  days  he  was  received  in  the  Vatican  with  all  the  honors 
usually  accorded  to  diplomatic  personages.  Mr.  Bryan  sti'uck  at 
once  a  sympathetic  chord  in  the  Pope's  soul  when  he  spoke  to 
him  of  the  United  States,  of  the  nation's  Columbian  celebrations, 
of  the  World's  Fair.     If  Mr.  Bryan  had  imagined  he  would  meet 


1^8  LEO   ^IIL    AND    THE    WORLDS   FAIR. 

the  mere  churchman,  he  was  soon  undeceived.  He  was  in  pres- 
ence of  the  man  of  the  world,  interested  in  all  manners  of  prog- 
ress the  statesman,  understanding,  as  few  do,  the  lives  of  nations 
and  tlieir  mutual  interlacings.  The  promise  of  active  interest  in 
the  Ftdr  was  given,  and  Mr.  Bryan  returned  to  his  hotel  prepared 
to  mark  in  his  record-book  with  a  white  stone  the  day  of  his  au- 
dience with  Leo. 

The  following  day  an  audience  was  given  by  the  Pope  to  two 
Frencli  gentlemen — Monsieur  Judet,  the  editor  of  the  JRetit  Jour- 
nal^ and  Monsieur  Henri  Lorin.  This  audience  will  be  historic, 
for  from  it  came  the  famous  interview,  startling  all  Europe,  in 
which  Leo  made  public  his  proposed  policy  toward  the  Frencli 
republic.  This  interview  was  the  forerunner  of  the  encyclicals 
to  the  French  people  on  the  situation  of  Church  and  State  in 
France.  During  the  audience  Leo  spoke  to  his  French  visitors 
with  deep  feeling  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
impressions  which  the  audience  with  Mr.  Bryan  had  left  upon 
him.  As  an  example  of  a  country  in  which  liberty  is  a  fact  no 
less  than  a  profession,  which  France,  to  her  advantage,  should 
imitate,  he  held  up  to  them  the  young  republic  of  the  West.  His 
words  on  America  were  at  once  telegraphed  through  all  Europe, 
and  they  made  a  sensation. 

Leo  XHL,  in  the  vastness  of  power  and  influence,  deriving 
from  his  personal  genius  and  his  position  as  first  chieftain  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  interests  the  whole  world,  without  as  well  as 
within  the  body  of  believers  in  his  spiritual  prerogatives.  His  is 
the  highest  and  most  far-reaching  moral  power  of  the  universe. 
The  nations  of  Europe  count  with  him  as  the  most  powerful  of 
sovereigns.  His  encyclical  on  "  Labor  "  has  moved  to  the  depths 
the  social  world.  His  encyclicals  on  France  have  saved  the 
French  republic  from  all  its  dangers,  the  Panama  crisis  included, 
and  have  more  or  less  influenced  the  political  thoughts  of  all 
peoples.  As  a  leader  of  men,  as  a  thinker,  as  a  history-making 
statesman,  Leo  takes  first  rank  in  this  wondrous  period  of  time 
through  which  humanity  is  now  passing.  The  leaders  of  men 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century — men  very  dif- 
ferent in  cliaracter  and  purpose,  but  conspicuous  above  their  fel- 
lows V)y  mind  and  power  magnetic — are  not  numerous.     I  would 


LEO    XIII.    AND    THE    WORLD's    FAIR.  US 

name  Leo,  Gladstone,  Bismarck,  Blaine,  Manning.  At  the  head 
of  the  list  I  unhesitatingly  put  Leo.  The  greatest  of  countries, 
the  greatest  of  enterprises  enhances  in  honor  and  fame  when 
Leo  upholds  its  name  and  ambitions. 

Some  days  after  his  audience  Mr.  Bryan  received  the  pontificjil 
letter,  expressive  of  Leo's  appreciation  of  the  World's  Fair,  and 
of  his  wishes  for  its  most  complete  success.  This  letter  was 
published  at  once  in  the  leading  journals  of  the  world  : 

"  Greeting  :  While  we  see  on  all  sides  the  preparations  that 
are  eagerly  being  made  for  the  celebration  of  the  Columbian 
quatri-centenary  feasts,  in  memory  of  a  man  most  illustrious  and 
deserving  of  Christianity  and  all  cultured  humanity,  we  hear  with 
great  pleasure  that  the  United  States  have,  among  other  nations, 
entered  this  competition  of  praise  in  such  manner  as  befits  both 
the  vastness  and  richness  of  the  country  and  the  memory  of  the 
man  so  great  as  he  to  whom  these  honors  are  being  shown. 
Nothing,  certainly,  could  be  more  splendid  than  what  is  told  us 
of  the  grand  and  magnificent  Exposition  which  the  nation  will 
hold  at  Chicago,  bringing  together  every  kind  of  produce  and 
work  which  fruitful  nature  bears  and  the  artful  industry  of  man 
creates.  The  success  of  this  effort  will  surely  be  another  proof 
of  the  great  spirit  and  active  energy  of  this  people,  who  under- 
take enormous  and  difficult  tasks  with  such  great  and  happy  deal- 
ing. We  rejoice,  moreover,  in  the  nobility  of  the  purpose,  which 
is  equal  in  greatness  to  the  undertaking  itself.  It  is  a  testimony 
of  honor  and  gratitude  to  that  immortal  man  of  whom  we  have 
spoken,  who,  desirous  of  finding  a  road  by  which  the  light  and 
truth  and  all  the  adornments  of  civil  culture  might  be  carried  to 
the  most  distant  parts  of  the  world,  could  neither  be  deterred  by 
dangers  nor  wearied  by  labors  until  having  in  a  certain  manner 
renewed  the  bonds  between  two  parts  of  the  human  race  so  long- 
separated,  he  bestowed  upon  both  such  great  benefits  that  he  in 
justice  must  be  said  to  have  few  equals  or  a  superior.  While, 
therefore,  we  bestow  on  the  citizens  of  the  great  republic  welJ- 
merited  praise,  we  express  the  fervent  hope  that  their  noble  un- 
dertaking may,  other  nations  uniting  with  them  and  lending  their 
aid,  have  a  most  prosperous  issue,  that  will  prove  of  great  use  in 
stimulating  the  ingenuity  of  man,  in  promoting  the  development 
of  nature,  and  in  encouraging  all  the  fine  arts. 

"  Given  at  St.  Peter's,  Rome,  in  the  year  1892,  and  the  fifteenth 
year  of  our  pontificate. 

"  Leo  pp.  XIIL" 


120  I^EO   XIII.    AND   THE   WOELD'S    FAIR. 

The  Pope's  interest  in  the  Fair  was  now  fully  awakened.  At 
a  later  date  I  had  myself  the  honor  to  place  before  him  the  cour- 
teous letter  of  Madam  Bertha  Honore  Palmer,  requesting  that  he 
recommend  to  the  active  attention  of  Catholic  women  and  of  con- 
ventual institutes  the  Woman's  Department  of  the  Faii\  The 
Cardinal  Secretary  of  State,  M.  Rampolla,  replied  in  the  Pope's 
name  to  Madam  Palmer,  who  has  taken  pains  to  have  the  letter 
widely  distributed  through  the  several  Catholic  countries  of  Eu- 
rope and  South  America : 

''Alost  Distinguished  Madam:  The  high  pontiff,  Leo  XIII., 
was  very  much  pleased  with  the  respectful  letter  addressed  to  him 
by  you  April  5,  in  the  name  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers, 
to  whom  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  intrusted  the 
care  of  the  interests  of  women  in  the  great  Exposition  of 
Chicago. 

"Interested  as  the  holy  father  is  in  everything  that  may  re- 
dound to  the  honor  of  the  church,  and  may  serve  to  stimulate 
noble  and  useful  endeavor,  he  cannot  fail  to  applaud  the  intention 
and  plan  of  making  at  this  great  Exposition  a  collective  exhibit 
of  the  most  celebrated  works  produced  by  the  ingenuity  and  in- 
dustry of  Catholic  women  even  in  those  ages  called  barbaric,  be- 
cause they  lacked  the  refinement  of  civilization  of  which  we 
boast  at  the  present  time. 

"The  public  exhibition  of  such  objects  would  furnish  new 
proof  of  how  much  the  Christian  religion  and  Christian  educa- 
tion have  done  to  raise  and  ennoble  the  condition  of  woman,  so 
debased  and  downtrodden  under  the  dominion  of  paganism. 

"His  Holiness  therefore  desires  that  Catholic  women  shall  take 
part  gladly  in  the  execution  of  this  praiseworthy  project,  and  be- 
lieves that  there  will  not  be  lacking  those  who,  if  invited  by  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers,  will  organize  themselves  into  one  or 
more  committees  or  sub-committees  for  the  purpose  of  lending 
you  and  your  associates  in  office  sympathetic  and  efficient  assist- 
ance. 

"  With  this  aiisurance,  the  holy  father  trusts  that  the  plan  set 
forth  in  your  letter  may  be  as  prosperous  and  fruitful  of  good  re- 
sults in  its  execution  as  it  is  wise  and  prudent  in  conception. 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  improve  this  opportunity  o£  express- 
ing the  sentiment  of  high  esteem  with  which  I  subscribe  myself, 
most  distinguished  madam, 

"  Yours  most  devotedly, 

"M.  Cardinal   Rampolla. 

"IloME,  July  6,  1892." 


LEO   XIII.    AND   THE   WORLD'S   FAIR.  121 

Monsignore  SatoUi,  Arclibishop  of  Lepanto,  was  commissioned 
by  Leo  to  represent  Lim  at  the  opening  ceremonies  of  the  World's 
Fair,  October  21,  1892.  He  will  be  also  present  at  the  ceremo- 
nies of  May  1,  1893. 

Leo  appears  as  an  exhibitor  at  the  Fair,  The  Vatican  Is  send- 
ing historic  maps  and  manuscripts  bearing  upon  the  earliest  dis- 
coveries in  America,  cbarts  of  the  catacombs,  rich  mosaics,  etc. 
It  was  desired  that  some  of  the  great  paintings  of  the  Vatican 
museum  be  forwarded  to  Chicago,  but  fears  were  entertained  lest 
some  possible  accident  happen  to  them  in  the  journeying,  and  we 
shall  not  see  them  at  the  Fair. 

It  may  be  asked  whence  Leo's  willingness,  and  even  strong  de- 
sire, to  show  sympathy  with  America  in  her  great  enterprise  of 
the  World's  Fair;  or,  rather,  it  may  be  asked  whence  Leo's  pe- 
culiar affection  for  the  republic  of  the  United  States.  His  in- 
terest in  the  Fair  is  but  an  episode  of  his  general  interest  in  the 
country. 

I  would  m  my  answer  make  a  further  enlargement  of  ideas, 
and  say  that  Leo's  interest  in  our  republic  is  but  an  episode  in 
his  vast  treatment  of  the  present  and  future  conditions  of  human- 
ity. Those  who  study  Leo  know  that  the  peculiar  trait  of  his 
mind  is  that  he  deals  with  all  particular  questions  as  parts  of  a 
general  scheme.  His  vision  is  primarily  coextensive  with  the 
far-reaching  territory  of  the  Church  and  of  humanity.  His  judo-, 
ments  of  local  or  immediate  questions  are  made  up  under  the  in- 
fluence of  this  larger  vision.  The  one  fact  impressing  him  above 
all  others  is  that  a  new  era  is  coming  for  man — the  era  of  popu- 
lar rights  and  popular  liberties,  the  elevation  of  the  masses,  the 
I'eign  of  democracy.  Leo  sees  this  and  rejoices.  The  new  era  is 
the  blossoming  of  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  in  which  God  is 
the  Father  of  all  men,  and  men  in  relation  to  one  another  are 
brothers,  and  the  favors  of  Heaven  are  intended  for  all,  so  far  as 
inequality  of  nature  in  men  and  of  circumstances  permits.  The 
evolution  from  one  historic  condition  into  another  is  perilous,  and 
if  due  direction  be  not  given,  humanity  may  go  astray.  But  dan- 
gers of  turning  off  from  the  main  road  do  not  prove  this  road  to 
be  wrong.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  and  love  in  the  leaders  of 
humanity  to  avert  such   dangers.     Now,  the   United  States  of 


122  LEO   XIII.   AND   THE   WORLD'S   FAIR. 

America  has  been  tlie  first  of  nations  to  enter  with  any  breadth 
of  march  upon  the  untried  fields  of  the  new  order.  The  country- 
is  an  object-lesson  to  all  countries,  and  all  scholars  of  humanity 
are  intent  in  studying  it.  Some  view  us  with  envy  and  fear,  some 
with  admiration  and  hope,  according  as  they  dread  or  welcome 
the  risino-  up  of  the  people  into  higher  manhood  and  fuller  pos- 
session of  human  rights.  Leo  is  chief  among  those  who  admire 
and  hope.  His  genius  reveals  to  him  the  future,  in  which  he  sees 
the  growth  and  extension  of  American  principles  of  citizenship 
and  of  civil  and  political  liberty.  Leo  has  come  to  us  from  the 
watch-tower  of  universal  humanity.  We  have  gone  to  him, 
drawn  by  love  of  our  own  institutions  reflected  in  his  vast  soul. 

I  might,  with  no  slight  degree  of  satisfaction  to  our  national 
pride,  speculate  as  to  the  extent  in  which  the  attention  given  by 
Leo  to  the  United  States  reacts  upon  his  general  conclusions  and 
aids  in  the  formation  of  his  world-wide  policy.  We  often  say 
that  Americans  are  leavening  the  minds  of  all  nations.  I  believe 
this  to  be  most  true,  but  I  am  prepared  to  add  that  the  better 
and  greater  portion  of  our  work  in  this  direction  will  come 
through  the  influence  of  American  democracy  and  American  lib- 
erty upon  Leo  XIII.  The  most  powerful  of  his  encyclicals — that 
on  the  constitution  of  States,  that  on  the  condition  of  labor,  that 
on  France,  exhale  the  fragrant  air  of  our  own  "  Sweet  Land  of 
Liberty."  Leo  is  in  mind  and  spirit  an  American  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. If  I  desired  to  give  tangible  proof  I  would  call  attention 
to  JMonsignore  Satolli,  who  comes  to  us  as  the  mouthpiece  of  Leo's 
mind,  and  who  gives  at  once  proofs  of  his  fullest  apprehension  of 
our  political  and  social  life,  and  of  his  most  cordial  loyalty  to  its 
spirit  and  its  forms. 

I  wonder  whether  Americans  understand  how  much  in  the  ful- 
filment of  their  national  mission  and  in  the  spreading  over  the 
world  of  the  spirit  of  their  institutions  is  dependent  upon  the 
present  year  of  their  history.  The  world  will  be  represented  at 
the  World's  Fair.  Not  so  much  the  commerce  and  the  art  of  the 
world  will  be  there  as  its  political  and  social  thought.  Journal- 
ists, essayists,  scholars,  statesmen,  are  coming  to  see,  to  scrutinize, 
and,  on  their  return  to  their  homes,  to  speak  and  write  about  us. 
Their  articles,  books,  and  lectures  will  be  the  thought  of  Europe 


LEO   XIII.   AND   THE   WORLD'S   FAIR.  123 

and  Asia  for  the  next  fifty  years.  As  America  shows  herself  dur- 
ing her  World's  Fair,  such  will  she  be  painted  and  such  will  she 
be  believed  to  be  by  her  sister  nations.  The  impressions  our 
guests  carry  homeward  will,  more  than  words  can  tell,  decide  the 
political  and  social  conditions  of  the  whole  world  in  the  twentieth 
century  of  the  Christian  era. 

Respectfully, 

John  Ireland. 
The  Archdiocese  of  St,  Paul,  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  March  23, 1893. 


THE    VATICAN 


THE  CATHOLIC  EXHIBIT. 


Of  the  many  exhibits  at  the  great  Columbian  Exposition  none 
was  of  more  historic  interest  than  that  contributed  by  the 
Vatican.  The  main  portion  of  the  Columbian  Vatican  treasures 
were  displayed  in  the  building  re2:)resenting  the  Convent  of  La 
Rabida.  Many  of  these  treasures,  if  lost,  could  never  be  re- 
placed. A  value  could  not  be  assigned  to  them.  Charts,  letters, 
reports,  and  documents  relating  to  the  great  discovery  were  for 
the  first  time  in  four  centuries  revealed  to  the  common  eye.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  documents  in  this  department  was  the 
letter  of  Pope  Nicholas  V.  which  settles  the  fact  that  the  Church 
had  been  established  in  Greenland  before  September  20,  1448. 
The  Pope  appoints  the  Irish  Bishops  Skahlolh  and  Holar  for 
the  diocese  of  Greenland,  and  confirms  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Drontheim  over  this  new  Bishop's  See.  This  was 
the  re-establishment  of  a  hierarchy  that  robber  vandalism  had 
destroyed.  There  were  also  on  exhibition  two  other  letters  of 
Popes,  and  four  Papal  Bulls.  All  but  the  first-named  document 
were  occasioned  by  the  exploit  of  Columbus.  One  of  these 
Bulls  was  that  of  Alexander  VI.,  dated  Rome,  June  25th,  1493, 
confirming  the  first  missionary  priest  to  America,  who  accom- 
panied Columbus  on  his  second  voyage.  The  Bull  confers  on 
the  priest  ample  powers  to  manage  matters  ecclesiastical  in  the 
New  World. 

Here,  too,  were  many  documents  relating  to  the  great  Catholic 
Discoverer,  embracing  many  of  his  private  papers,  and  two  huu- 


124 


THE   VATICAN   AND   THE   CATHOLIC    EXHIBIT.  125 

drecl  and  seventeen  letters  addressed  to  him  by  his  sovereigns 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  This  treasury  of  documents  also  con- 
tained eighteen  letters  from  the  pen  of  Columbus,  ten  of  which 
are  addressed  to  his  sou  Diego.  In  this  department,  too,  was 
the  interesting  autographic  copy  of  the  letter  iu  which  Columbus 
relates  his  claims  against  the  Crown  of  Spain.  On  the  back  of 
this  document,  as  also  on  a  scrap  of  an  envelope  in  the  same 
collection,  was  written  the  beautiful  ejaculation  betraying  the 
sweet  Catholic  piety  of  the  hero-mariner,  "  May  Jesus  and  Mary 
be  with  us  in  life  !  " 

Throughout  tlie  length  and  breadth  of  this  part  of  the  Co- 
lumbian Exposition,  Catholicity  was  emphasized  by  the  silent 
eloquence  of  every  one  of  the  1,067  objects  exhibited.  It  was 
Catholic  Spain  and  Catholic  Columbus,  Catholic  Isabella  and 
Catholic  Ferdinand,  Catholic  monks  and  a  Catholic  monastery, 
the  Blessed  Virgin's  name  on  the  flagship  of  the  squadron, 
Catholic  sailors  and  Catholic  prayers  on  shipboard.  Catholic 
services  the  first  in  the  New  World,  the  names  of  the  Catholic 
Saints  given  to  the  Catholic  churches,  to  the  bays,  the  islands, 
the  streams,  the  cities.  Quaint  pictures  of  our  Lady  on  worm- 
eaten  wood,  centuries  old,  and  beautiful  mosaics  that  to  the 
unaccustomed  eye  seemed  to  be  oil  paintings. 

The  numerous  objects  of  this  portion  of  the  Catholic  exhibit 
in  the  La  Rabida  building  were  grouped  as  follows :  I.  Man's 
knowledge  of  the  earth  at  the  time  of  Columbus.  II.  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  their  courts  and  cities.  III.  Birtb  and  early  life 
of  Columbus.  IV.  His  career  iu  Spain.  V.  Scenes  associated 
with  his  voyage.  VI.  His  last  days,  death  and  burial.  VII. 
Kelics  of  the  hero,  and  the  various  early  publications  of  the 
discovery.  VIII.  How  America  was  named.  IX.  Conquests  in 
the  New  World. 

Among  the  many  interesting  objects  presented  were  two  of 
peculiar  interest  to  American  Catholics:  the  one,  a  heap  of 
stones,  the  remains  of  the  first  Church  built  in  the  New  World  ; 
and  "the  Bell  of  the  Fig  Tree."  This  was  the  first  bell  that 
ever  sounded  on  American  shores.  It  is  about  eight  inches  high, 
and  some  six  inches  in  diameter  at  its  lip.  It  was  removed  from 
the  Church  of  St.  Michael,  where  it  first  hung,  to  the  chapel  at 


126  TIIK    VATICAN    AM>   TUE   CATHOLIC    EXHIBIT. 

La  Vega,  where  it  remained  till  the  place  was  destroyed  by  an 
earthquake.  For  300  years  it  remained  covered  with  rubbish 
and  forgotten,  until  an  ambitious  fig  tree  thrust  up  its  head 
amid  the  ruins,  aud  picking  u})  the  little  bell  earned  it  upward 
with  it.  One  day  came  a  curious  shepherd,  who,  poking  around 
and  among  the  ruins,  found  the  bell.  Then  it  was  taken  to  a 
place  of  honor  in  the  church  at  Santo  Domingo,  and  to-day  is 
considered  one  of  the  most  precious  of  Columbian  relics.  It  is 
of  bronze,  and  was  presented  by  King  Ferdinand,  whose  initial 
it  bears,  to  the  Church  of  Isabella. 

THE  CATHOLIC    EDUCATIONAL    EXHIBIT. 

The  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit  was  in  every  way  worthy 
of  the  event  commemorated,  and  of  Catholic  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
Christian  Education.  It  placed,  as  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria, 
to  whom  much  of  the  credit  of  the  enterprise  was  due,  predicted 
it  would,  before  the  eyes  of  the  millions  w^ho  visited  the  Expo- 
sition, a  clear  demonstration  of  the  great  work  the  Church  in 
the  United  States  is  doing  to  develop  a  civilization  which  is  in 
great  part  the  outgrowth  of  religious  principles,  and  which 
depends  for  its  continued  existence  u^^on  the  morality  which 
religious  faith  alone  can  make  strong  aud  enduring. 

The  executive  direction  of  the  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit 
was  given  to  Brother  Maurelian,  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and,  in  the 
face  of  many  difficulties,  he  performed  his  arduous  task  with 
marked  success. 

The  central  point  of  interest  in  the  exhibit  was  a  beautiful 
statue  of  Archbishop  Feehan,  of  Chicago,  chiselled  from  snowy 
white  Carrara  marble.  It  is  of  life  size,  and  the  prelate  is  in  his 
episcopal  robe.  The  pedestal,  some  six  feet  high,  is  graced  on 
one  side  by  a  ]joy  who  sits  at  ease,  a  book  on  his  knee,  his  hand 
supi)orting  his  head.  On  the  other  side  rests  a  girl,  w^ho  seems 
interested  in  the  work  of  some  problem  before  her.  On  the 
])edestal  is  insci-ibed :  "The  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Feehan,  D.D., 
Diocese  of  Chicago.  Friend  of  Our  Schools."  The  statue  was 
sculptured  in  Rome;  it  cost  $15,000,  and  was  paid  for  by  the 
Catholic  clergy  of  Chicago. 

SuTTounding  the  statue  to  the  right,  the  left,  arid  in  front,  were 


THE   VATICAN   AND   THE   CATHOLIC   EXHIBIT.  127 

the  various  little  booths,  which  displayed  the  work  of  the  pupils 
in  the  Catholic  schools  of  the  country.  Many  of  thera  contained 
marvelous  exhibits,  both  historical  and  industrial.  There  paint- 
ings, textile  w^ork,  mechanical  drawings,  water  coloring,  and  an 
endless  variety  of  other  things  that  are  taught  children  under  the 
auspices  of  the  sisters  of  the  teaching  orders,  were  displayed.  The 
booths  were  divided  up  by  dioceses,  and  each  diocese  was  repre- 
sented in  the  exhibit  by  some  resident  member.  The  headquar- 
ters of  each  diocese  was  adorned  with  a  picture  of  the  Bishop 
thereof,  and  each  diocese  was  represented  by  the  exhibits  of  the 
industrial  schools  therein.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  space  and  other 
causes,  not  more  than  twenty  dioceses  and  seventeen  religious 
teaching  orders  participated  in  the  exhibit ;  but  the  display  was 
more  than  adequate  to  the  purpose  intended. 

All  kinds  of  Catholic  institutions  of  learning,  from  the  kinder- 
garten to  the  university,  presented  an  exhibit  of  their  educational 
work.  Between  eleven  and  twelve  hundred  institutions  were 
represented.  Universities,  colleges,  academies,  normal  schools, 
art  schools,  schools  of  science  and  technology,  kindei'garten 
schools,  schools  for  Indians,  negroes,  deaf,  blind,  and  dumb,  com- 
mercial schools — all  had  specimens  of  their  work.  Almost  every 
species  of  art  and  industry  was  represented  in  the  various  estab- 
lishments. If  to  these  the  various  subjects  and  things  taught  to 
girls  be  added,  one  may  form  an  idea  of  the  splendid  showing 
made  at  the  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit.  The  teachers,  too,  in 
many  instances,  displayed  their  methods.  Of  the  excellence  of 
the  work  in  the  industrial  departments  of  the  Exhibit,  a  non- 
Catholic  newspaper  correspondent  wrote :  "  In  this  booth  [that 
of  a  Catholic  reform  school  for  boys]  are  shown  samples  of  work 
in  every  branch  of  industry  known  to  the  human  race.  The  boys 
not  only  work  in  steel,  and  produce  marvelous  effects  in  heavy  ma- 
chinery, but  they  make  musical  instruments  of  the  highest  type; 
they  do  decorative  work  and  gilding.  They  work  in  bronze  and 
copper.  In  the  latter  metals  they  make  things  that  the  French 
exhibit  might  be  glad  to  have  on  show.  They  produce  tapes- 
tries, weave  gorgeous  laces  and  draperies,  hammer  brasses,  and 
some  of  their  silver-plated  work  will  rival  anything  in  the  Gor- 
ham  exhibit."     And  of  the  work  of  the  boys  of  a  Catholic  Pro- 


128  THE   YATICAX   AT^^D    THE    CATHOLIC    EXHIBIT. 

tectoiy  institute,  the  writer  adds :  "  Wood  carving,  mechanical 
drawings,  work  in  steel  and  bronze  and  copper,  brush-making, 
rope-making.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  indus- 
trial art  which,  under  the  patient  guidance  of  their  instructors, 
these  little  waifs  have  not  been  capable  of.  They  seem  to  be 
able  to  do  anything — from  building  a  sewing-machine  to  a  steam- 
ship." 

That  the  Catholic  Educational  Exhibit,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Columbian  Exposition,  was  productive  of  great  good  is  beyond 
doubt.  It  caused  non-Catholics,  who  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  give  serious  consideration  to  the  principles  on  which  Catholic 
education  rests,  or  the  ends  which  it  aims  to  reach,  to  modify 
their  opinions  on  the  subject;  it  enabled  a  large  number  of 
Catholics  to  take  a  general  survey  of  the  educational  work  which 
the  Church  is  accomplishing  in  the  United  States ;  and  by  bring- 
ing into  juxtapositioi;  the  methods  and  systems  of  the  various 
teaching  orders,  made  it  possible  for  all  to  adopt  whatever  may 
be  found  excellent  in  any  of  them. 


The  Defenders  of  Our  Faith 


IX    THE 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS 

AKD 

THE  GREAT  COLUMBIAN  CATHOLIC  CONGRESS. 


On  September  11,  1893,  there  convened  at  Chicago,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  Columbian  Exposition,  the  most  extraordinary  re- 
ligious assembly  ever  known.  It  was  a  Convention,  or  Congress, 
or  Convocation  without  precedent  in  history.  It  was,  in  short,  a 
representative  Convention  of  all  the  great  religions  of  the  world, 
a  Convention  of  men  of  all  the  great  races,  representing  not  only 
the  leading  religions  of  the  human  family,  but  also  all  the  im- 
portant subdivisions  of  each.  It  was  a  conception  of  which 
great  men  had  dreamed  for  centuries,  and  which,  not  long  ago, 
would  have  been  deemed  impossible  to  carry  to  a  successful  com- 
pletion. 

The  Parliament  was  held  in  the  Hall  of  Columbus,  and  more 
than  four  thousand  persons  thronged  the  edifice  to  witness  the 
opening  ceremonies.  The  processional  entry  of  the  delegates 
was  as  imposing  as  it  was  significant.  Catholic  marched  side  by 
side  with  Protestant,  Jew  with  Gentile,  Parsee  Priest  with 
Hindoo  teacher,  and  the  follower  of  Mohammed  with  the  adher- 
ent of  Confucius.  All  appeared  in  gorgeous  oflicial  garb ;  and 
altogether  there  were  more  than  a  hundred  different  schools  of 
religious  thought  represented. 

The  Congress  lasted  seventeen  days,  and  religion  in  its  various 
phases  was  discussed  from  day  to  day.  The  different  creeds  and 
churches  were  represented  by  some  of  their  foremost  scholars 
and  thinkers,  who  expounded  their  dogmas  and  theology.     The 


129 


130  THE   PARLIAMENT   OF   EELIGIONS   AND 

sessions  excited  lively  popular  interest.  Perfect  harmony  and 
the  best  of  good  feeling  prevailed  from  the  opening  to  the  close 
of  the  Congress.  The  delegates  met  as  members  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  Keligions,  not  as  factionists :  there  was  to  be  no  discus- 
sion, or  approach  to  controversy.  Each  form  of  faith  was  ex- 
pounded by  its  representative,  showing  what  it  had  to  offer  for 
man's  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare. 

The  invitation  extended  to  the  Catholic  Church  to  take  part 
in  the  Congress  was  accepted  by  the  Archbishops  of  the  United 
States  at  their  meeting  in  New  York,  October,  1892.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  request  of  the  organizers  of  the  Parliament,  a 
Catholic  representative  each  day  set  forth  the  attitude  of  the 
Church  on  the  question  to  be  treated  at  the  session.  Thus, 
writes  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Keane,  D.D.,  during  seventeen  days  the 
Church  stood  in  the  midst  of  this  unique  assembly,  as  St.  Paul 
stood  amid  the  questioners  in  the  Areopagus ;  and  it  may  w^ell 
be  doubted  whether,  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  she  has  ever 
had  such  a  gathering  of  God's  scattered  children  to  hear  her 
voice.  And  they  heard  it  always  with  a  respect,  and  frequently 
with  an  enthusiasm  of  applause,  which  formed  a  delightful  con- 
trast to  the  sectarian  suspiciousness  and  rancor  which  have  run 
so  sadly  through  all  the  history  of  religion  for  centuries  past. 

His  Eminence  Cardinal  Gibbons,  at  the  request  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Parliament,  opened  the  proceedings  wath  the  recita- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  was  the  only  form  of  Prayer 
used  at  the  opening  of  the  sessions.  Archbishop  Feehan,  of 
Chicago,  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents,  delivered  an  address  of  wel- 
come after  the  addresses  of  the  officials,  and  His  Grace  the  Arch- 
bishop of  New  Zealand  made  the  first  response.  As  Cardinal 
Gibbons  had  to  leave  early,  his  response  to  the  addresses  of  w^el- 
come  was  called  for  out  of  order.  He  said  that  although  all 
did  not  agree  on  matters  of  faith,  there  was  one  platform  on 
which  all  were  united.  That  w^as  Charity,  Humanity,  and 
Benevolence.  He  spoke  of  the  Good  Samaritan  who  bound  up 
the  wounds  of  a  man  who  was  his  enemy  in  religion  and  social 
life,  and  declared  that  was'  the  example  that  all  men  ought  to 
follow.  He  added  that  he  could  not  too  strongly  impress  on 
every  one  that    each  was   his   brother's   keeper.     That  was   the 


THE   GREAT   COLUMBIAN   CATHOLIC   CONGRESS.  131 

whole  theory  of  humanity.  If  Christ  had  cried  with  Cain, 
"Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ?  "  we  would  still  be  walking  in  dark- 
ness. 

On  the  fourth  day  an  admirable  paper  by  His  Eminence,  on 
the  important  theme,  "The  Needs  of  Humanity  Supplied  by 
the  Catholic  Religion,"  was  read,  and  received  with  much  appre- 
ciation and  praise.  His  Eminence  showed  in  how  many  ways 
the  Faith  that  he  so  ably  upholds  had  benefited  the  world.  "  We 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being,"  he  said,  "in  the  midst  of  a 
civilization,  which  is  the  legitimate  offspring  of  the  Catholic 
religion.  All  other  religious  systems  prior  to  the  advent  of 
Christ  were  national,  like  Judaism ;  or  State  religions,  like  Pagan- 
ism. The  Catholic  religion  is  world-wide  and  cosmopolitan,  em- 
bracing all  races  and  nations,  and  peoples  and  tongues." 

His  Eminence  outlined  the  idea  of  the  great  gathering  in  a 
brief  and  clear  manner.  "The  object  of  this  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions is  to  present  to  thoughtful  and  inquiring  minds  the  re- 
spective claims  of  the  various  religious  with  the  view  that  they 
would  '  prove  all  things  and  hold  that  which  is  good,'  by  em- 
bracing that  religion  which  above  others  commends  itself  to  their 
judgment  and  conscience.  I  am  not  engaged  in  this  search  for 
truth,  for,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  conscious  that  I  have  found 
it,  and,  instead  of  hiding  this  treasure  in  my  own  breast,  I  long 
to  share  it  with  others,  especially  as  I  am  none  the  poorer  in  mak- 
ing others  richer. 

"The  Catholic  Church  has  taught  man  the  knowledge  of  God 
and  of  himself;  it  has  brought  comfort  to  his  heart  by  instruct- 
ing him  to  bear  the  ills  of  life  with  Christian  philosophy;  it  has 
sanctified  the  marriage  bond ;  it  has  proclaimed  the  sanctity  and 
inviolability  of  human  life  from  the  moment  the  body  is  animated 
by  the  spark  of  human  life  till  its  extinction ;  it  has  founded 
asylums  for  the  training  of  children  of  both  sexes,  and  for  the 
support  of  the  aged  and  poor;  it  has  established  hospitals  for 
the  sick,  and  homes  for  the  redemption  of  fallen  women ;  it  has 
exerted  its  influence  toward  the  mitigation  of  human  slavery ;  it 
has  been  the  unvarying  friend  of  the  sons  of  toil.  These  are 
some  of  the  blessings  which  the  Catholic  Church  has  conferred 
on  society.     I  will  not  deny — on  the  contrary,  1  am   happy  to 


132  THE  PARLIAMENT   OF  EELIGIONS   AND 

avow — that  the  various  Christian  bodies  outside  the  Catholic 
Church  have  been  and  are  to-day  zealous  promoters  of  the  most 
of  the  works  of  Christian  benefit.  But  will  not  our  brethren 
have  the  candor  to  acknowledge  that  we  had  first  possession  of 
the  field  ;  that  these  beneficent  movements  have  been  inaugurated 
by  us,  and  that  the  other  Christian  communities,  in  their  noble 
efforts  for  the  moral  and  social  regeneration  of  mankind,  have  in 
no  small  measure  been  stimulated  by  the  example  and  emulation 
of  the  ancient  Church?  To  borrow  the  words  of  the  Pagan 
Cicero,  *  there  is  no  way  by  whicb  men  can  approach  nearer  to 
the  gods  than  by  contributing  to  the  welfare  of  their  fellow- 
creatures.'  " 

Among  those  who  contributed  papers  on  Catholic  topics  were 
Very  Rev.  A.  F.  Hewitt,  Superior  General  of  the  Paulists,  New 
York;  Very  Rev.  William  Byrne,  D.D.,  V.G.,  Boston;  Rev. 
Thomas  O'Gorman,  Catholic  University,  Washington ;  Rt.  Rev. 
John  J.  Keane,  D.D.,  rector  Catholic  University;  Mgr.  d'Harlez, 
University  of  Louvain,  Belgium ;  Mgr.  Seton,  Newark,  N.  J. ; 
Archbishop  Ireland,  of  St.  Paul;  Prof.  Dwight,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
Harvard  University ;  Hon.  Charles  J.  Donnelly,  Boston ;  Prof.  T. 
J.  Semmes,  University  of  Louisiana;  Rev.  John  Gmeiner,  of  St. 
Paul,  and  other  learned  men. 

In  addition,  more  than  18,000  Catholic  books  and  pamphlets 
were  distributed  to  earnest  inquirers  after  Catholic  truth,  and 
daily  conferences  were  held,  when  explanations  were  given  on 
points- of  Catholic  teaching,  history,  and  practice. 

At  the  close  all  left  with  words  of  love  and  peace  toward 
each  other.  They  held  that  the  Parliament  had  accomplished 
great  good ;  that  it  had  sent  good  tidings  of  toleration  to  all 
parts  of  the  world;  and  shown  that  there  was  good  in  all  re- 
ligions, and  a  large  measure  of  truth  in  most  of  them.  Especially 
did  the  full  expositions  of  Catholic  faith,  doctrine,  teaching,  and 
practice  serve  to  show,  not  to  Catholics  and  Christians  only,  but 
to  those  wandering  outside  the  pale  of  Christianity,  the  divine 
orifcin  of  the  Church,  and  the  divine  commission  which  she  has 
received  to  teach  all  men  the  doctrines  of  eternal  truth,  and  "se- 
cure for  them  eternal  happiness. 

The  Catholic  Church  was  recognized  as  the  Church  of  all  the 


THE   GREAT   COLUMBIAN   CATHOLIC   CONGRESS.  133 

ages  by  those  who  were  instrumental  in  inaugurating  and  direct- 
ing the  Parliament  of  Religions ;  and  from  the  first  she  was  as- 
signed a  position  and  a  part  in  this  remarkable  assemblage  worthy 
of  her  greatness  and  dignity. 

As  to  the  results  of  this  unique  Parliament  we  can  only  say 
with  Kt.  Rev.  Bishop  Keane,  who  so  ably  represented  the  Church 
on  that  memorable  occasion : 

"Who  can  tell,  save  the  good  God  who  alone  *giveth  the  in- 
crease '  ?  Some  gentle  critics,  who  can  see  no  good  except  in  old 
stereotyped  lines  of  action,  will  doubtless  forebode  only  evil 
from  such  a  'new  departure.'  They  will  consider  the  Church 
degraded,  because  she  stood  there  in  the  midst  not  only  of  her 
own  truant  children,  but  even  of  heathens.  But  the  dear  Lord, 
who  has  said  that  His  Church  must  bring  forth  from  her  treasures 
'  new  things  and  old,'  and  who  has  made  her,  as  St.  Paul  says,  '  a 
debtor '  to  all  the  outside  wanderers  and  gropers,  will  be  sure  to 
view  the  matter  differently.  For  Him  alone  was  the  work  under- 
taken and  carried  on ;  to  His  honor  and  glory  may  all  its  results 
redound." 

THE    COLUMBIAN    CATHOLIC    CONGRESS. 

Concomitantly  with  the  Parliament  of  Religions  held  during 
the  Columbian  Exposition,  the  principal  Christian  denominations 
also  held  a  series  of  religious  congresses.  Among  these  the  most 
notable  in  scope  and  importance  was  the  Catholic  Congress,  the 
second  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States.  The  first  Catholic  Con- 
gress took  place  in  Baltimore,  November,  1889.  The  Catholic 
Congress  of  1893  was  organized  as  the  successor  of  the  first,  and 
would  have  been  held,  even  though  none  of  the  other  religious 
denominations  had  adopted  a  similar  idea.  Its  first  session 
opened  on  the  4th  of  September,  and  its  last  closed  on  the  9th 
following.  The  meeting,  in  point  of  number  of  delegates  in  at- 
tendance, was  up  to  the  expectations  indulged  in  when  the  call 
was  issued;  and  the  representatives  of  the  faith  had  in  their 
ranks  some  of  the  foremost  Catholics  in  America,  and  by  their 
multitudes,  their  intelligence,  and  their  demeanor  were  worthy  of 
the  high  and  honorable  office  that  they  held.  The  papers  read 
also  were  of  a  character  to  set  the  Church  in  its  true  light  before 


134  THE   PARLIAMENT   OF   RELIGIONS   AND 

its  own  members  and  before  the  millions  of  non^Catbolics  by  whom 
we  are  surrounded.  The  letter  from  the  Holy  Father,  the  ad- 
dresses delivered  by  the  eminent  ecclesiastics  and  distinguished 
laymen  who  participated  in  it,  the  presence  of  the  Apostolic 
Delegate,  the  greetings  fi'om  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
and  Westminster,  and  the  many  other  features  of  the  Congress 
were  fitted  to  forward  the  great  cause  for  which  the  Convention 
had  assembled.  And  best  of  all,  in  one  respect,  were  the  resolu- 
tions, for  they  were  the  promise  and  plan  of  work  to  be  done — 
of  that  action  for  which  all  the  written  and  the  spoken  words 
that  had  gone  before  were  merely  the  preliminaries,  the  pioneers 
and  the  stimulants;  of  that  action  for  which  there  is  such  im- 
mense and  pressing  need ;  of  that  action  in  which  the  laity  could 
take  such  a  helpful  part.  If  those  resolutions  be  reabzed  in 
deeds,  the  harvest  reaped  and  garnered  shall  be  beyond  measure 
and  above  price. 

The  sessions  were  held  in  the  Art  Institute,  and  the  hall  was 
always  thronged  with  an  appreciative  and  distinguished  gather- 
ing. Delegates  representing  every  State  in  the  Union  were 
present.  After  the  celebration  of  Mass  on  the  morning  of  the 
4th,  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Gibbons,  accompanied  by  many 
prelates  and  clergy,  entered  on  the  platform,  and  after  the  formal 
opening  ceremonies  were  concluded.  His  Eminence  delivered  an 
appropriate  address. 

Mousignor  Satolli,  the  Papal  Delegate,  appeared  on  the  second 
day,  and  delivered  an  eloquent  discourse  to  the  large  and  de- 
lighted assemblage.  "You  have  met,"  he  said,  "to  show  that 
the  Church,  w^hile  opening  to  men  the  treasures  of  heaven, 
offers  also  felicity  on  earth.  Your  object  is  to  consider  the  social 
forces  that  God  has  provided,  and  to  apply  as  far  as  you  can  to 
the  special  circumstances  of  your  own  time  and  country  these 
great  principles.  Bear  in  mind,"  he  continued,  "  that  there  was 
a  first  great  social  Congress  wdiich  is  to  be  the  model  of  yours, 
which  gave  out  the  principles  which  must  underlie  your  delibera- 
tions. The  great  social  Congress,  the  ideal  and  model  of  all 
others,  was  held  when  Christ,  surrounded  by  the  thousands  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  delivered  His  great  discourse  on  the  moun- 
tain." 


I 


THE  GREAT   COLUMBIAN  CATHOLIC    CONGRESS.  135 

The  subjects  treated  at  the  first  day's  session  were  of  a  most 
interesting  character.  Dr.  Richard  H.  Clarke,  the  distinguished 
Catholic  historian  and  author,  read  the  first  paper,  an  admirable 
essay  on  "  Columbus,"  in  which  the  character  and  motives  of  the 
illustrious  discoverer  were  truly  and  strikingly  portrayed.  The 
following  papers  were  also  read :  "  Queen  Isabella,  the  Catho- 
lic," by  Miss  Mary  Onaban ;  "  The  Results  and  Consequences  to 
Religion  of  the  Discovery  of  the  New  World,"  by  George  Par- 
sons Lathrop;  "The  Relations  of  the  Catholic  Church  to  the 
Social,  Civil,  and  Political  Institutions  of  the  United  States,"  by 
E.  H.  Gans ;  "  The  Influence  of  the  Catholic  Citizen,"  by  Walter 
George  Smith,  and  "The  Independence  of  the  Holy  See,"  by  the 
Hon.  Martin  F.  Morris.  The  reading  of  these  appropriate  topics 
brought  the  first  day's  work  to  a  close. 

On  the  second  day,  after  an  eloquent  introductory  address  by 
the  Chairman,  Judge  Morgan  J.  O'Brien,  of  New  York,  papers  on 
the  following  themes  were  read  :  "  The  Encyclical  of  Pope  Leo 
XIII.  on  the  Condition  of  Labor,"  H.  C.  Semple;  "The  Rights  of 
Labor — The  Duties  of  Capital  "  (three  papers).  Rev.  W.  Barry, 
D.D-,  E.  O.  Brown,  John  Gibbon;  "Poverty — The  Cause  and 
the  Remedy  "  (three  papers),  Thomas  Dwight,  M.  T.  Bryan,  M. 
T.  Elder;  "Public  and  Private  Charities"  (three  papers),  C.  A. 
Wingerter,  T.  F.  Ring,  R.  R.  Elliott ;  "  Worklngmen's  Organiza- 
tions and  Societies  for  Young  Men,"  Rev.  F.  Maguire ;  "  The 
Apostolate  of  Home  and  Society,"  Katherine  E.  Conway. 

The  papers  read  on  the  third  day  embraced  these  practical 
subjects:  "The  Combination,  Strike  and  Arbitration"  (two 
papers),  Colonel  R.  M.  Douglass,  F.  J.  Sharon;  "Intemperance — 
The  Evil  and  the  Remedy,"  Rev.  J.  M.  Cleary ;  "  Religious  Orders 
of  Women  and  Their  Work,"  F.  M.  Edselas ;  "  Women  in  the 
Middle  Ages,"  Anna  T.  Sadlier ;  "  Life  Insurance  and  Pension 
Funds  for  Wage- Workers  "  (two  papers),  Prof.  J.  P.  Lauth,  E.  M. 
Sharon;  "Immigration  and  Colonisation"  (four  papers).  Rev.  M. 
Callaghan,  Dr.  Kaiser,  Rev.  J.  S.  Andreis,  M.  J.  Elder;  while 
Conventions  of  the  Catholic  Youns:  Men's  National  Union,  the 
German  Catholic  Young  Men's  Guilds,  the  C.  B.  L,  and  the 
Students  of  the  American  College  of  Louvain  were  also  held. 

The  fourth  day  was  chiefly  devoted  to  the  work  of  Woman, 


13C  THE   PARLIAMENT   OF   RELIGIONS— CATHOLIC   CONGRESS. 

the  work  of  the  Catholic  Societies,  and  the  condition  and  future 
of  the  Negroes  and  the  Indians.  Among  the  most  notable  papers 
of  the  session  were  those  by  Eliza  Allen  Starr,  on  "  Woman's 
Work  in  Art";  Eleanor  P.  Donnelly,  on  "Woman's  Work  in 
Literature ";  and  Rose  Hawthorne  Lathrop,  on  "  Woman  and 
Mammon."  The  Negro  and  Indian  subjects  were  discussed  re- 
spectively by  Rev.  John  R.  Slattery,  of  Baltimore,  and  Rt.  Rev. 
James  McGoldrick,  of  Duluth,  both  of  whom  are  widely  known 
for  their  missionary  labors  among  these  races.  William  F.  Mar- 
koe,  of  St.  Paul ;  Joseph  A.  Kernan,  of  New  York ;  and  the  Rev. 
F.  G.  Lant,  of  Belmont,  111.,  contributed  able  and  instructive 
papers. 

Education  formed  the  topic  of  the  last  day's  session.  A  paper 
on  "  Catholic  Higher  Education,"  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  Keane, 
Rector  of  the  Catholic  University,  inaugurated  the  proceedings 
of  the  day.  The  other  essays  read  were:  "The  Needs  of  Cath- 
olic Colleges,"  Prof  Maurice  F.  Egan,  of  Notre  Dame  University; 
"The  Catholic  School  System,"  Brother  Azarias;  "Catholic  High 
Schools,"  Rev.  John  T.  Murphy;  "Alumnae  Associations  in  Con- 
vent Schools,"  Elizabeth  A.  Cronyon ;  "  The  Catholic  Educational 
Exhibit,"  Brother  Ambrose. 

Plis  Grace  Archbishop  Corrigan,  of  New  York,  visited  the  Hall, 
and  was  presented  to  the  audience  in  words  of  graceful  welcome 
by  the  chaiiman,  Judge  O'Brien. 

The  Archbishop  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  pro- 
nounced a  felicitous  address,  in  which  he  described  the  dominat- 
ing principles  of  Columbus, — the  love  of  scientific  knowledge,  the 
love  of  his  adopted  country,  and  most  of  all,  the  love  of  holy  faith ; 
and  showed  that  kindred  motives  should  inspire  and  animate  the 
members  of  the  Congress. 

A  Peace  Memorial,  printed  in  twenty-five  different  languages, 
was  adoi^ted  before  the  close  of  the  Congress  and  sent  to  the 
rulers  of  the  principal  nations  of  civilization,  inviting  them  to 
settle  all  international  difficulties  on  the  principle  of  arbitration. 

The  Congress  was  in  every  respect  a  success,  and  great  good 
will  doubtless  result  from  its  deliberations,  both  for  the  Catholic 
people  themselves  and  the  progress  of  the  Church  in  the 
Republic. 


POPE  LEO  XIII. 

ON  THE 

STUDY  OF  HOLY  SCRIPTURE. 


FOR   THE   PURPOSE  OF   DEFENDING   THE   SACRED 

WRITINGS  AND  THE  PROMOTION  OF 

CATHOLIC    TRUTH. 


From  an  official  translation  of  the  Encyclical  Letter  of  His  Holiness 
furnished  the  i^ublishers  hy  His  Grace 

THE  MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  A.  CORRIGAN, 

ARCHBISHOP    OF    NEW    YORK. 


TO  OUR  VENERABLE  BRETHREN",  ALL  PATRIARCHS,  PRIMATES,  ARCH- 
BISHOPS, AND  BISHOPS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  WORLD,  IN  GRACE 
AND    COMMUNION    WITH    THE    APOSTOLIC    SEE. 

POPE   LEO    XIII. 

Venerable  Brethren — Health  and  Apostolic  Benediction. 

The  God  of  all  Providence,  Who  in  the  adorable  designs  of 
His  love  at  first  elevated  the  human  race  to  the  participation  of 
the  Divine  nature,  and  afterwards  delivered  it  from  universal 
guilt  and  ruin,  restoring  it  to  its  primitive  dignity,  has,  in  conse- 
quence, bestowed  upon  man  a  splendid  gift  and  safeguard — - 
making  known  to  him,  by  supernatural  means,  the  hidden  mys- 
teries of  His  Divinity,  His  wisdom  and  His  mercy.  For  although 
in  Divine  revelation  there  are  contained  some  things  which  are 
not  beyond  the  reach  of  unassisted  reason,  and  which  are  made 
the  objects  of  such  revelation  in  order  "  that  all  may  come  to 

137 


138  POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY    OF   HOLY   SCEIPTUEE. 

know  them  with  facility,  certainty,  and  safety  from  error,  yet  not 
on  this  account  can  supernatural  Revelation  be  said  to  be  abso- 
lutely necessary;  it  is  only  necessary  because  God  has  ordinated 
man  to  a  supernatural  end." '  This  supernatural  revelation,  ac- 
cordino-  to  the  belief  of  the  universal  Church,  is  contained  both 
in  unwritten  Tradition,  and  in  written  Books,  which  are,  there- 
fore, called  sacred  and  canonical  because,  "  being  written  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  have  God  for  their  author, 
and  as  such  have  been  delivered  to  the  Church."*  This  belief  has 
been  perpetually  held  and  professed  by  the  Church  in  regard  to 
the  Books  of  both  Testaments;  and  there  are  well-known  docu- 
ments of  the  gravest  kind,  coming  down  to  us  from  the  earliest 
times,  which  proclaim  that  God,  Who  spoke  first  by  the  Prophets, 
then  by  His  own  mouth,  and  lastly  by  the  Apostles,  composed 
also  the  Canonical  Scriptures,'  and  that  these  are  His  own  oracles 
and  words  * — a  Letter  written  by  our  Heavenly  Father,  and  trans- 
mitted by  the  sacred  writers  to  the  human  race  in  its  pilgrimage 
so  far  from  its  heavenly  country.'  If,  then,  such  and  so  great 
is  the  excellence  and  the  dignrjy  f  ;he  Scriptures,  that  God 
Himself  has  composed  them,  and  that  they  treat  of  God's  marvel- 
lous mysteries,  counsels,  and  works,  it  follows  that  the  branch  of 
sacred  Theology,  which  is  concerned  with  the  defence  and  eluci- 
dation of  these  divine  Books,  must  be  excellent  and  useful  in  the 
highest  degree. 

Now  We,  who  by  the  help  of  God,  and  not  without  fruit,  have 
by  frequent  Letters  and  exhortation,  endeavored  to  promote  other 
branches  of  study  which  seemed  capable  of  advancing  the  glory 
of  God  and  contributing  to  the  salvation  of  souls,  have  for  a  long 
time  cherished  the  desire  to  give  an  impulse  to  the  noble  science 
of  Holy  Scripture,  and  to  impart  to  Scripture  study  a  direction 
suitable  to  the  needs  of  the  present  day.  The  solicitude  of  the 
Apostolic  office  naturally  urges,  and  even  compels  us,  not  only  to 
desire  that  this  grand  source  of  Catholic  revelation  should  be 


'  Cone.  Vat.  «<?««.  iii.  ctip.  ii.  dc  revel.  '  Ibid. 

*  8.  Aug.  de  civ.  Dei  xi.  3. 

*  S.  Clem.  Rom.  1  ad.  Cor.  45 ;  S.  Polycarp.  ad.  Phil.  7 ;  S.  Iren.  c.  haer.  ii.  28,  2. 

*  8.  Chrys.  in  Gen.  horn.  2,  2 ;  S.  Aug.  in  Ps.  xxx.  aerm.,  2,  1 ;  S.  Greg.  M.  ad  Theod. 
ep.  iv.  31. 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON  THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  139 

made  safely  and  abundantly  accessible  to  tbe  flock  of  Jesus  Christ, 
but  also  not  to  suffer  any  attemj^t  to  defile  or  corrupt  it,  either 
on  the  part  of  those  who  impiously  and  openly  assail  tlie  Scrip- 
tures, or  of  those  who  are  led  astray  into  fallacious  and  impru- 
dent novelties.  We  are  not  ignorant,  indeed.  Venerable  Brethren, 
that  there  are  not  a  few  Catholics,  men  of  talent  and  learning, 
who  do  devote  themselves  with  ardor  to  the  defence  of  the  sacred 
writings  and  to  making  them  better  known  and  understood. 
But  whilst  giving  to  these  the  commendation  they  deserve.  We 
cannot  but  earnestly  exhort  others  also,  from  whose  skill  and 
piety  and  learning  we  have  a  right  to  expect  good  results,  to  give 
themselves  to  the  same  most  praiseworthy  work.  It  is  Our  wish 
and  fervent  desire  to  see  an  increase  in  the  number  of  the  ap- 
proved and  persevering  laboi'ers  in  the  cause  of  Holy  Scripture ; 
and  more  especially  that  those  whom  Divine  Grace  has  called  to 
Holy  Orders,  should,  day  by  day,  as  their  state  demands,  display 
greater  diligence  and  industry  in  reading,  meditating,  and  ex- 
plaining it. 

HOLY   SCRIPTURE    MOST    PROFITABLE   TO    DOCTRINE   AND    MORALITY. 

Among  the  reasons  for  which  the  Holy  Scripture  is  so  worthy 
of  commendation — in  addition  to  its  own  excellence  and  to  the 
homage  which  we  owe  to  God's  Word — the  chief  of  all  is,  the 
innumerable  benefits  of  which  it  is  the  source ;  according  to  the 
infallible  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself,  who  says :  "  All 
Scripture,  inspired  of  God,  is  profitable  to  teach,  to  reprove,  to 
correct,  to  instruct  in  justice,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
furnished  to  every  good  work." '  That  such  was  the  purpose  of 
God  in  giving  the  Scrijoture  to  men  is  shown  by  the  example  of 
Chinst  our  Lord  and  of  His  Apostles.  For  He  Himself  Who 
"  obtained  authority  by  miracles,  merited  belief  by  authority,  and 
by  belief  drew  to  Himself  the  multitude,"  *  was  accustomed  in 
the  exercise  of  His  Divine  Mission,  to  appeal  to  the  Scriptures. 
He  uses  them  at  times  to  prove  that  He  is  sent  by  God,  and  is 
God  Himself.     From  them  He  cites  instructions  for  His  disciples 

and  confirmation  of  His  doctrine.     He  vindicates  them  from  the 

. < 

•  II  Tim.  iii.  16-17.  « ,S.  Aug.  de  util.  ered.  xiv.  32. 


140  POPE   LEO   XIII.    OT^  THE   STUDY   OF  HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

calumnies  of  objectors ;  He  quotes  them  against  Sadducees  and 
Pharisees,  and  retorts  from  them  upon  Satan  himself  when  he 
dares  to  tempt  Him.  At  the  close  of  His  life  His  utterances  are 
from  the  Holy  Scripture,  and  it  is  the  Scripture  that  He  expounds 
to  His"  disciples  after  His  resurrection,  until  He  ascends  to  the 
glory  of  His  Father.  Faithful  to  His  precepts,  the  Apostles, 
although  He  Himself  granted  "signs  and  wonders  to  be  done  by 
their  hands,"  ^  nevertheless  used  with  the  greatest  eflfect  the 
sacred  writings,  in  order  to  persuade  the  nations  everywhere  of 
the  wisdom  of  Christianity,  to  conquer  the  obstinacy  of  the  Jews, 
and  to  suppress  the  outbreak  of  heresy.  This  is  plainly  seen  in 
their  discourses,  especially  in  those  of  St.  Peter :  these  were  often 
little  less  than  a  series  of  citations  from  the  Old  Testament  mak- 
ino-  in  the  strongest  manner  for  the  new  dispensation.  We  find 
the  same  thing  in  the  Gospels  of  St.  Matthew  and  St.  John  and 
in  the  Catholic  Epistles ;  and  most  remarkably  of  all  in  the  words 
of  him  who  "  boasts  that  he  learned  the  law  at  the  feet  of  Gam- 
aliel, in  order  that,  being  armed  with  spiritual  weapons,  he  might 
afterwards  say  with  confidence,  '  the  arms  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal  but  mighty  unto  God.'"'  Let  all,  therefore,  especially  the 
novices  of  the  ecclesiastical  army,  understand  how  deeply  the 
sacred  books  should  be  esteemed,  and  with  what  eagerness  and 
reverence  they  should  approach  this  great  arsenal  of  heavenly 
arms.  For  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  handle  Catholic  doctrine 
before  the  learned  or  the  unlearned  will  nowhere  find  more  amj^le 
matter  or  more  abundant  exhortation,  whether  on  the  subject  of 
God,  the  supreme  Good  and  the  all-perfect  Being,  or  of  the  works 
which  display  His  Glory  and  His  love.  Nowhere  is  there  any- 
thing more  full  or  more  express  on  the  subject  of  the  Saviour  of 
the  world  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Bible. 
As  St.  Jerome  says,  "to  be  ignorant  of  the  Scripture  is  not  to 
know  Christ." '  In  its  pages  His  Image  stands  out  living  and 
breathing;  diffusing  everywhere  around  consolation  in  trouble, 
encouragement  to  virtue  and  attraction  to  the  love  of  God.  And 
as  to  the  Church,  her  institutions,  her  nature,  her  office,  and  her 


'  Acts  xiv.  3.  '  St.  Hieror.  de  stud.  Script,  ad  Paulin.  ep.  liii.  3. 

*  In  Isaiam  Prol. 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  141 

gifts,  we  find  in  Holy  Scripture  so  many  references  and  so  many 
ready  and  convincing  arguments,  tliat  as  St.  Jerome  again  ii.ost 
truly  says :  "  a  man  who  is  well  grounded  in  the  testimonies  of 
the  Scripture  is  the  bulwark  of  the  Church."  '  And  if  we  come 
to  morality  and  discipline,  an  apostolic  man  finds  in  the  sacred 
writings  abundant  and  excellent  assistance;  most  holy  precepts, 
gentle  and  strong  exhortation,  splendid  examples  of  every  virtue, 
and  finally  the  promise  of  eternal  reward  and  the  threat  of  eternal 
punishment,  uttered  in  terms  of  solemn  import,  in  God's  name 
and  in  God's  own  words. 

And  it  is  this  peculiar  and  singular  power  of  Holy  Scripture, 
arising  from  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  gives 
authority  to  the  sacred  orator,  fills  him  with  apostolic  liberty  of 
speech,  and  communicates  force  and  power  to  his  eloquence.  For 
those  who  infuse  into  their  efforts  the  spirit  and  strength  of  the 
Word  of  God,  speak  "  not  in  word  only  but  in  power  also,  and 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  fulness."  *  Hence,  those  preach- 
ers are  foolish  and  improvident  who,  in  speaking  of  religion  and 
proclaiming  the  things  of  God,  use  no  words  but  those  of  human 
science  and  human  prudence,  trusting  to  their  own  reasonings 
rather  than  to  those  of  God.  Their  discourses  may  be  brilliant 
and  fine,  but  they  must  be  feeble  and  they  must  be  cold,  for  they 
are  without  the  fire  of  the  utterance  of  God,'  and  they  must  fall 
far  short  of  that  mighty  power  which  the  speech  of  God  possesses  : 
"  for  the  Word  of  God  is  living  and  effectual,  and  more  piercing 
than  any  two-edged  sword ;  and  reaching  unto  the  division  of  the 
soul  and  the  spirit."'  But,  indeed,  all  those  who  have  a  right  to 
speak  are  agreed  that  there  is  in  the  Holy  Scripture  an  eloquence 
that  is  wonderfully  varied  and  rich,  and  worthy  of  great  themes. 
This  St.  Augustine  thoroughly  understood  and  has  abundantly 
set  forth.'  This,  also,  is  confirmed  by  the  best  preachers  of  all  ages, 
who  have  gratefully  acknowledged  that  they  owed  their  repute 
chiefly  to  the  assiduous  use  of  the  Bible,  and  to  devout  meditation 
on  its  pages. 

The  Holy  Fathers  well  knew  all  this  by  practical  experience, 


'  In  Isaiam  liv.,  12.  ^  I  Thess.  i.  5.  ^  Jcrem.  xxiii.  29. 

•»  Hebr.  iv.  12.  «  Be  doctr.  Ghr.  iv.,  6,  7. 


142  POPE  LEO   XIII.    OX   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCEIPTUEE. 

and  they  never  cease  to  extol  the  Sacred  Scripture  and  its  fruits. 
In  innumerable  passages  of  their  wi'itings  we  find  them  applying 
to  it  such  phrases  as  "  an  inexhaustible  treasury  of  heavenly  doc- 
trine," '  or  "  an  ovei*flowing  fountain  of  salvation,"  -  or  putting  it 
before  us  as  fertile  pastures  and  beautiful  gardens  in  which  the 
flock  of  the  Lord  is  marvellously  refreshed  and  delighted.'  Let 
us  listen  to  the  words  of  St.  Jerome,  in  his  Epistle  to  Nepotian : 
"  often  read  the  divine  Scriptures ;  yea,  let  holy  reading  be 
always  in  thy  hand;  study  that  which  thou  thyself  must  preach. 
....  Let  the  speech  of  the  priest  be  ever  seasoned  with  Scrip- 
tural reading." '  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  than  whom  no  one  has 
more  admirably  described  the  pastoral  office,  writes  in  the  same 
sense:  "  those,"  he  says,  "who  are  zealous  in  the  work  of  preach- 
ing must  never  cease  the  study  of  the  written  word  of  God." ' 
St.  Augustine,  however,  warns  us  that  "  vainly  does  the  preacher 
utter  the  Word  of  God  exteriorly  unless  he  listens  to  it  inte- 
riorly";'  ^^^  St.  Gregory  instructs  sacred  orators  "first  to  find  in. 
Holy  Scripture  the  knowledge  of  themselves,  and  then  to  carry  it 
to  others,  lest  in  reproving  others  they  forget  themselves."  '  Ad 
monitions  such  as  these  had,  indeed,  been  uttered  long  before  by 
the  Apostolic  voice  which  had  learnt  its  lesson  fi'om  Christ  Him- 
self, Who  "began  to  do  and  teach."  It  was  not  to  Timothy 
alone,  but  to  the  whole  order  of  the  clergy,  that  the  command 
was  addressed :  "  take  heed  to  thyself  and  to  doctrine ;  be  earnest 
in  them.  For  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and 
them  that  hear  thee."  For'  the  saving  and  for  the  perfection  of 
ourselves  and  of  others  there  is  at  hand  the  very  best  of  help  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  the  Book  of  Psalms,  among  others,  so  con- 
stantly insists;  but  those  only  will  find  it  who  bring  to  this 
divine  reading  not  only  docility  and  attention,  but  also  piety  and 
an  innocent  life.  For  the  Sacred  Scripture  is  not  like  other  books. 
Dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  contains  things  of  the   deepest 

'  S.  Chrys.  in  Gen.  IJom.  xxi.,  2 ;  Horn.  ix.   3;  S.  Aug.  de  Disc.  Christ,  ii. 

'  S.  Atban.  ep.  /est.  xxxix. 

2  S.  Aug.  serm.  xxvi.,  24 ;  S.  Ambr.  in  Ps.  cxviii.,  serm.  xix.,  3. 

*  S.  Hier.  de  viU'i  cleric,  ad  Nepot. 

5  8.  Greg.  M.,  Regul.  past,  ii.,  11  (al.  22) ;  Moral,  xvii.,  26  {al.  14). 

*  8.  Aug.  serm.  clxxix.,  1.  '  8.  Greg.  M.,  Regul.  past.,  iii.,  24  {al.  48). 
*>  I  Tim.  iv.  16. 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON  THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCKIPTUEE.  143 

importance,  which,  in  many  instances,  are  most  difficult  and  ob- 
scure. To  understand  and  explain  such  things  there  is  always 
required  the  "  coming  " '  of  the  same  Holy  Spirit ;  that  is  to  say, 
His  light  and  His  grace ;  and  these,  as  the  Royal  Psalmist  so  fre- 
quently insists,  are  to  be  sought  by  humble  prayer  and  guarded 
by  holiness  of  life. 

WHAT   THE   BIBLE   OWES    TO   THE   CATHOLIC    CHUECH. 

It  is  in  this  that  the  watchful  care  of  the  Church  shines  forth 
conspicuously.  By  admirable  laws  and  regulations,  she  has 
always  shown  herself  solicitous  that  "  the  celestial  treasure  of  the 
Sacred  Books,  so  bountifully  bestowed  upon  man  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  should  not  lie  neglected."  -  She  has  prescribed  that  a  con- 
siderable j^ortion  of  them  shall  be  read  and  piously  reflected  upon 
by  all  her  ministers  in  the  daily  office  of  the  sacred  psalmody. 
She  has  ordered  that  in  cathedral  churches,  in  monasteries,  and  in 
other  convents  in  which  study  can  conveniently  be  pursued,  they 
shall  be  expounded  and  interpreted  by  capable  men ;  and  she  has 
strictly  commanded  that  her  children  shall  be  fed  with  the  saving 
words  of  the  Gospel  at  least  on  Sundays  and  solemn  feasts.^ 
Moreover,  it  is  owing  to  the  wisdom  and  exertions  of  the  Church 
that  there  has  always  been  continued,  from  century  to  century, 
that  cultivation  of  Holy  Scripture  which  has  been  so  remarkable 
and  has  borne  such  ample  fl'uit. 

And  here,  in  order  to  strengthen  Our  teaching  and  Our  exhor- 
tations, it  is  well  to  recall  how,  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity, 
all  who  have  been  renowned  for  holiness  of  life  and  sacred  learn- 
ing, have  given  their  deep  and  constant  attention  to  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. If  we  consider  the  immediate  disciples  of  the  Apostles, 
St.  Clement  of  Rome,  St.  Ignatius  of  Antioch,  St.  Polycarp — or 
the  apologists,  such  as  St.  Justin  and  St.  IrensBus,  we  find  that  in 
their  letters  and  their  books,  whether  in  defence  of  the  Catholic 
Faith  or  in  its  commendation,  they  drew  faith,  strength,  and 
unction  from  the  Word  of  God.  When  there  arose,  in  various 
Sees,  catechetical  aud  theological  schools,  of  which  the  most  cele- 

'  S.  Hier,  ia  Mic.  i.  10.  *  Coac.  Trid.  sesa.  v.  decret.  de  reform.  1. 

« Ibid.  1-2 


144  POPE  LEO  XIII.   ON  THE  STUDY  OF  HOLY  SCEIPTUEE. 

brated  were  those  of  Alexandria  and  of  Antioch,  there  was  little 
taught  in  those  schools  but  what  was  contained  in  the  reading, 
the  interpretation  and  the  defence  of  the  divine  written  word. 
From  them  came  forth  numbers  of  Fathers  and  writers  whose 
laborious  studies  and  admirable  writings  have  justly  merited  for 
the  three  following  centuries  the  appellation  of  the  golden  age  of 
Biblical  exegesis.  In  the  Eastern  Church,  the  greatest  name  of  all 
is  Origen — a  man  remarkable  alike  for  penetration  of  genius  and 
for  persevering  labor  ;  from  whose  numerous  works  and  his  great 
Hexapla  almost  all  have  drawn  that  came  after  him.  Others  who 
have  widened  the  field  of  this  science  may  also  be  named,  as 
especially  eminent ;  thus,  Alexandria  could  boast  of  St.  Clement 
and  St.  Cyril ;  Palestine,  of  Eusebius  and  the  other  St.  Cyril ; 
Cappadocia,  of  St.  Basil  the  Great  and  the  two  St.  Gregories,  of 
Nazianzus  and  Nyssa ;  Antioch,  of  St.  John  Chrysostom,  in  whom 
the  science  of  Scripture  was  rivalled  by  the  splendor  of  his  elo- 
quence. In  the  Western  Church  there  were  many  names  as  great : 
Tertullian,  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Hilary,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Leo  the 
Great,  St.  Gregory  the  Great ;  most  famous  of  all,  St.  Augustine 
and  St.  Jerome,  of  whom  the  former  was  so  marvellously  acute  in 
penetrating  the  sense  of  God's  Word  and  so  fertile  in  the  use  that 
he  made  of  it  for  the  promotion  of  the  Catholic  truth,  and  the 
latter  has  received  from  the  Church,  by  reason  of  his  pre-eminent 
knowledge  of  Scripture  and  his  labors  in  promoting  its  use,  the 
name  of  the  "great  Doctor."^  From  this  period  down  to  the 
eleventh  century,  although  Biblical  studies  did  not  flourish  with 
the  same  vigor  and  the  same  fruitfulness  as  before,  yet  they  did 
flourish,  and  principally  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  clergy.  It 
was  their  care  and  solicitude  that  selected  the  best  and  most  useful 
things  that  the  ancients  had  left,  arranged  them  in  order,  and 
published  them  with  additions  of  their  own — as  did  S.  Isidore  of 
Seville,  Venerable  Bede,  and  Alcum,  among  the  most  prominent ; 
it  was  they  who  illustrated  the  sacred  pages  with  "  glosses  "  or 
short  commentaries,  as  we  see  in  Walafrid  Strabo  and  St.  Anselm 
of  Laon,  or  expended  fresh  labor  in  securing  their  integrity,  as  did 
St.  Peter  Damian  and  Blessed  Lanfranc.     In  the  twelfth  century 

'  See  the  Collect  on  his  feast,  September  30. 


POPE   LEO    XIIT.   ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  145 

many  took  up,  with  great  success,  the  allegorical  exposition  of 
Scripture.  In  this  kind,  St.  Bernard  is  pre-eminent;  and  his 
writings,  it  may  be  said,  are  Scripture  all  through.  With  the 
age  of  the  scholastics  came  fresh  and  welcome  progress  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible.  That  the  scholastics  were  solicitous  about 
the  genuineness  of  the  Latin  version  is  evident  from  the  Correctoria 
Bihlica,  or  lists  of  emendations,  which  they  have  left.  But  they 
expended  their  labors  and  industry  chiefly  on  interpretation  and 
explanation.  To  them  we  owe  the  accurate  and  clear  distinction, 
such  as  had  not  been  given  before,  of  the  various  senses  of  the 
sacred  words ;  the  assignment  of  the  value  of  each  "  sense "  in 
theology;  the  division  of  books  into  parts,  and  the  summaries  of 
the  various  parts;  the  investigation  of  the  objects  of  the  writers; 
the  demonstration  of  the  connection  of  sentence  with  sentence, 
and  clause  with  clause ;  all  of  which  is  calculated  to  throw  much 
light  on  the  more  obscure  passages  of  the  sacred  volume.  The 
valuable  work  of  the  scholastics  in  Holy  Scripture  is  seen  in  their 
theological  treatises  and  in  their  Scripture  commentaries ;  and  in 
this  respect  the  greatest  name  among  them  all  is  St.  Thomas 
Aquin. 

When  Our  predecessor,  Clement  V.,  established  chairs  of 
Oriental  literature  in  the  Roman  College  and  in  the  principal 
Universities  of  Europe,  Catholics  began  to  make  more  accurate 
investigation  on  the  original  text  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  on  the 
Latin  version.  The  revival  amongst  us  of  Greek  learning,  and, 
much  more,  the  happy  invention  of  the  art  of  printing,  gave  a 
strong  impetus  to  Biblical  studies.  In  a  brief  space  of  time,* 
innumerable  editions,  especiall}^  of  the  Vulgate,  poured  from  the 
press  and  were  diffused  throughout  the  Catholic  world;  so 
honored  and  loved  was  Holy  Scripture  during  that  very  period 
against  which  the  enemies  of  the  Church  direct  their  calumnies. 
Nor  must  we  forget  how  many  learned  men  there  were,  chiefly 
among  the  religious  orders,  who  did  excellent  work  for  the  Bible 
between  the  Council  of  Vienna  and  that  of  Trent ;  men  who,  by 
the  employment  of  modern  means  and  appliances,  and  by  the 
tribute  of  their  own  genius  and  learning,  not  only  added  to  the 
rich  stores  of  ancient  times,  but  prepared  the  way  for  the  suc- 
ceeding century,  the  century  which  followed  the  Council  of  Trent; 


146  POPE   LEO   XIII.   ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTUKE. 

when  it  almost  seemed  that  the  great  age  of  the  Fathers  had 
returned.  For  it  is  well  known,  and  We  recall  it  with  pleasure, 
that  Our  predecessors,  from  Pius  IV.  to  Clement  VIII.,  caused 
to  be  prepared  the  celebrated  editions  of  the  Vulgate  and  the 
Se])tuagint,  which,  having  been  published  by  the  command  and 
authority  of  Sixtus  V.,  and  of  the  same  Clement,  are  now  in  com- 
mon use.  At  this  time,  moreover,  were  carefully  brought  out 
various  other  ancient  versions  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Polyglots  of 
Antwerp  and  of  Paris,  most  important  for  the  investigation  of 
the  true  meaning  of  the  text ;  nor  is  there  any  one  Book  of  either 
Testament  which  did  not  find  more  than  one  expositor,  nor  any 
grave  question  which  did  not  j^i'ofitably  exercise  the  ability  of 
many  inquirers,  among  whom  there  are  not  a  few — more  espe- 
cially of  those  who  made  most  use  of  the  Fathers — who  have 
acquired  great  reputation.  From  that  time  downwards  the  labor 
and  solicitude  of  Catholics  has  never  been  wanting ;  for  as  time 
went  on,  eminent  scholars  have  carried  on  Biblical  study  witli 
success,  and  have  defended  Holy  Scriptui-e  against  rationalism 
with  the  same  weapons  of  philology  and  kindred  sciences  with 
which  it  had  been  attacked.  The  calm  and  fair  consideration  of 
what  has  been  said  will  clearly  show  that  the  Church  has  never 
failed  in  taking  due  measures  to  bring  the  Scriptures  within 
reach  of  her  children,  and  that  she  has  ever  held  fast  and  exer- 
cised profitably  that  guardianship  conferred  upon  her  by  Al- 
mighty God  for  the  protection  and  glory  of  His  Holy  Word ; 
so  that  she  has  never  required,  nor  does  she  now  require,  any 
stimulation  from  without. 

HOW    TO    STUDY    HOLY    SCEIPTURE. 

We  must  now,  Venerable  Brethren,  as  our  purpose  demands, 
impart  to  you  such  counsels  as  seem  best  suited  for  carrying  on 
successfully  the  study  of  Biblical  science. 

But  first  it  must  be  clearly  understood  whom  we  have  to 
oppose  and  contend  against,  and  what  are  their  tactics  and  their 
arms.  In  earlier  times  the  contest  was  chiefly  with  those  who, 
relying  on  private  judgment  and  repudiating  the  divine  tradi- 
tions and  teaching  office  of  the  Church,  held  the  Scriptures  to  be 
the  one  source  of  revelation  and  the  final  appeal  in  matters  of 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCPJPTUKE.  147 

Faith.  Now,  we  have  to  meet  the  Kationalists,  true  children 
and  inheritors  of  the  older  heretics,  who,  trusting  in  their  turn 
to  their  own  way  of  thinking,  have  rejected  even  the  scraps  and 
remnants  of  Christian  belief  which  had  been  handed  down  to 
them.  They  deny  that  there  is  any  such  thing  as  revelation  or 
inspiration,  or  Holy  Scripture  at  all ;  they  see,  instead,  only  the 
forgeries  and  the  falsehoods  of  men ;  they  set  down  the  Scrip- 
ture narratives  as  stupid  fables  and  lying  stories:  the  j)rophecies 
and  the  oracles  of  God  are  to  them  either  predictions  made  up 
after  the  event  or  forecasts  formed  by  the  light  of  nature ;  the 
miracles  and  the  wonders  of  God's  power  are  not  wliat  they  are 
said  to  be,  but  the  startling  effects  of  natural  law,  or  else  mere 
tricks  and  myths ;  and  the  Apostolic  Gospels  and  writings  are 
not  the  work  of  the  apostles  at  all.  These  detestable  errors, 
whereby  they  think  they  destroy  the  truth  of  the  divine  books, 
are  obtruded  on  the  world  as  the  peremptory  pronouncements  of 
a  certain  newly-invented  "free  science";  a  science,  however, 
which  is  so  far  from  final  that  they  are  perpetually  modifying 
and  supplementing  it.  And  there  are  some  of  them,  who,  not- 
withstanding their  impious  opinions  and  utterances  about  God, 
and  Christ,  the  Gospels  and  the  rest  of  Holy  Scripture,  would 
fain  be  considered  both  theologians  and  Christians  and  men  of 
the  gospel,  and  who  attempt  to  disguise  by  such  honorable  name 
their  rashness  and  their  pride.  To  them  we  must  add  not  a  few 
professors  of  other  sciences  who  approve  their  views  and  give 
them  assistance^,  and  are  urged  to  attack  the  Bible  by  a  similar 
intolerance  of  revelation.  And  it  is  deplorable  to  see  these 
attacks  growing  every  day  more  numerous  and  more  severe.  It 
is  sometimes  men  of  learning  and  judgment  who  are  assailed ; 
but  these  have  little  difficulty  in  defending  themselves  from  evil 
consequences.  The  efforts  and  the  arts  of  the  enemy  are  chiefly 
directed  against  the  more  ignorant  masses  of  the  people.  They 
diffuse  their  deadly  poison  by  means  of  books,  pamphlets,  and 
newspapers ;  they  spread  it  by  addresses  and  by  conversation ; 
they  are  found  everywhere ;  and  they  are  in  possession  of  numer- 
ous schools,  taken  by  violence  from  the  Church,  in  which,  by 
ridicule  and  scurrilous  jesting,  they  pervert  the  credulous  and 
unformed  minds  of  the  young  to  the  contempt  of  Holy  Scripture. 


148  POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF  HOLY   SCEIPTUEE. 

Should  not  these  things,  Yenerable  Brethren,  stir  up  and  set  on 
fire  the  heart  of  ev^ery  Pastor,  so  that  to  this  "  knowledge,  falsely 
so  called," '  may  be  opposed  the  ancient  and  true  science  which 
the  Church,  through  the  apostles,  has  received  from  Christ,  and 
that  Holy  Scripture  may  find  the  champions  that  are  needed  in 
so  momentous  a  battle  ? 

Let  our  first  care,  then,  be  to  see  that  in  seminaries  and  aca- 
demical institutions  the  study  of  Holy  Scripture  be  placed  on 
such  a  footing  as  its  own  importance  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  time  demand.  /With  this  view,  the  first  thing  which  requires 
attention  is  the  wise  choice  of  Professors.  Teachers  of  Sacred 
Scripture  are  not  to  be  appointed  at  haphazard  out  of  the  crowd ; 
but  they  must  be  men  whose  character  and  fitness  are  proved  by 
their  love  of,  and  their  long  familiarity  with  the  Bible,  and  by 
suitable  learning  and  study. 

It  is  a  matter  of  equal  importance  to  provide  in  time  for  a 
continuous  succession  of  such  teachers;  and  it  will  be  well, 
wherever  this  can  be  done,  to  select  young  men  of  good  promise 
who  have  successfully  accomplished  their  theological  course,  and 
to  set  them  apart  exclusively  for  Holy  Scripture,  affording  them 
facilities  for  full  and  complete  studies.  Professors,  thus  chosen 
and  thus  prepared,  may  enter,  with  confidence,  on  the  task  that 
is  appointed  for  them ;  and  that  they  may  carry  out  theii'  work 
well  and  profitably,  let  them  take  heed  to  the  instructions  We 
now  proceed  to  give. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  course  of  Holy  Scripture  let  the 
Professor  strive  earnestly  to  form  the  judgment  of  the  young 
beginners  so  as  to  train  them  equally  to  defend  the  sacred  writ- 
ings and  to  penetrate  their  meaning.  This  is  the  object  of  the 
treatise  which  is  called  "  Introduction."  Here  the  student  is 
taught  how  to  prove  the  integrity  and  authority  of  the  Bible, 
how  to  investigate  and  ascertain  its  true  sense,  and  how  to  meet 
and  refute  objections.  It  is  needless  to  insist  upon  the  imi:)ort- 
ance  of  making  these  preliminary  studies  in  an  orderly  and  thor- 
ough fashion,  with  the  accompaniment  and  assistance  of  The- 
ology ;  for  the  whole  subsequent  course  must  rest  on  the  founda- 

'  I  Tim.  vi.  20. 


POPE  LEO   :XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  149 

tioii  tlius  laid  aud  make  use  of  the  light  thus  acquired.  Next, 
the  teacher  will  turn  his  earnest  attention  to  that  more  fruitful 
division  of  Scripture  science  which  has  to  do  with  interpretation; 
wherein  is  imparted  the  method  of  using;  the  word  of  God  for 
the  advantage  of  religion  and  piety.  We  recognize,  without 
hesitation,  that  neither  the  extent  of  the  matter  nor  the  time  at 
disposal  allows  each  single  book  of  the  Bible  to  be  separately 
gone  through.  But  the  teaching  should  result  in  a  definite  and 
ascertained  method  of  interpretation — and,  therefore,  the  Profes- 
sor should  equally  avoid  the  mistake  of  giving  a  mere  taste  of 
every  Book,  and  of  dwelling  at  too  great  length  on  a  part  of  one 
Book.  If  most  schools  cannot  do  what  is  done  in  the  large  insti- 
tutions— that  is,  take  the  students  through  the  whole  of  one  or 
two  Books  continuously  and  with  a  certain  development — yet  at 
least  those  parts  which  are  selected  should  be  treated  with  suit- 
able fulness ;  in  such  a  way  that  the  students  may  learn  from 
the  sample  that  is  thus  put  before  them  to  love  and  use  the 
remainder  of  the  sacred  Book  during  the  whole  of  their  lives. 
The  Professor,  following  the  tradition  of  antiquity,  will  make 
use  of  the  Vulgate  as  his  text ;  for  the  Council  of  Trent  decreed 
that  "in  public  lectures,  disputations,  preaching,  and  exposition,"  ' 
the  Vulgate  is  the  "  authentic  "  version  ;  and  this  is  the  existing 
custom  of  the  Church.  At  the  same  time,  the  other  versions, 
which  Christian  antiquity  has  approved,  should  not  be  neglected, 
more  especially  the  more  ancient  MSS.  For,  although  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  is  substantially  rendered  by  the 
Vulgate,  nevertheless,  wherever  there  may  be  ambiguity  or  want 
of  clearness,  the  "  examination  of  older  tongues,"  ^  to  quote  St. 
Augustine,  will  be  useful  and  advantageous.  But  in  this  matter 
we  need  hardly  say  that  the  greatest  prudence  is  required,  for 
the  "  office  of  a  commentator,"  as  St.  Jerome  says,  "  is  to  set  forth 
not  what  he  himself  would  prefer,  but  what  his  author  says."' 
The  question  of  "reading"  having  been,  when  necessary,  care- 
^lly  discussed,  the  next  thins;  is  to  investigate  and  expound  the 
meaning.     And  the  first  counsel  to  be  given  is  this :    that  the 


'  Sess.  iv.,  deer,  de  edit,  et  usu  sacr.  libror.  ^  De  doclr.  chr.  iii.,  4. 

^  Ad  Pammachium. 


150  POPE  LEO   XIII.    OX  THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCEIPTUEE. 

more  our  adversaries  contend  to  tlie  contrary,  so  much  the  more 
solicitously  should  we  adhere  to  the  received  and  approved  can- 
ons of  interpretation.  Hence,  whilst  weighing  the  meanings  of 
words,  the  connection  of  ideas,  the  parallelism  of  passages,  and 
the  like,  we  should  by  all  means  make  use  of  such  illustrations 
as  can  be  drawn  from  opposite  erudition  of  an  external  sort ;  but 
this  should  be  done  with  caution,  so  as  not  to  bestow  on  ques-  U 

tions  of  this  kind  more  labor  and  time  than  are  spent  on  the 
Sacred  Books  themselves,  and  not  to  overload  the  minds  of  the 
students  with  a  mass  of  information  that  will  be  rather  a  hin- 
drance than  a  help. 

HOLT   SCEIPTUEE   AND    THEOLOGY  ;     INTEEPEETATION )    THE 

FATHEES. 

The  Professor  may  now  safely  pass  on  to  the  use  of  Scripture 
in  matters  of  theology.  On  this  head  it  must  be  observed  that 
in  addition  to  the  usual  reasons  which  make  ancient  writings  more 
or  less  difficult  to  understand,  there  are  some  which  are  peculiar 
to  the  Bible.  For  the  language  of  the  Bible  is  employed  to  ex- 
press, under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  many  things 
which  are  beyond  the  power  and  scope  of  the  reason  of  man — 
that  is  to  say,  divine  mysteries  and  all  that  is  related  to  them. 
There  is  sometimes  in  such  passages  a  fulness  and  a  hidden  depth 
of  meaning  which  the  letter  hardly  expresses  and  which  the  laws 
of  interpretation  hardly  warrant.  Moreover,  the  literal  sense 
itself  frequently  admits  other  senses,  adapted  to  illustrate  dogma 
or  to  confirm  morality.  Wherefore,  it  must  be  recognized  that 
the  sacred  writings  are  wraj)t  in  a  certain  religious  obscurity,  and 
that  no  one  can  enter  into  their  interior  without  a  guide;'  God 
so  disposing,  as  the  holy  Fathers  commonly  teach,  in  order  that 
men  may  investigate  them  with  greater  ardor  and  earnestness, 
and  that  what  is  attained  with  difficulty  may  sink  more  deeply 
into  the  mind  and  heart ;  and,  most  of  all,  that  they  may  under- 
stand that  God  has  delivered  the  Holy  Scripture  to  the  Church, 
and  that  in  reading  and  making  use  of  His  Word,  they  must  fol- 
low the  Church  as  their  guide  and  their  teacher.     St.  Irenseus 

'  S.  Hier.  ad  Paulin.  de  studio  Script,  ep.  lili.,  4. 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY   OF  HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  151 

long  since  laid  down,  that  where  the  charismata  of  God  were, 
there  the  truth  was  to  be  learnt,  and  the  Holy  Scripture  was 
safely  interpreted  by  those  who  had  the  Apostolic  succession.^ 
His  teaching,  and  that  of  other  holy  Fathers,  is  taken  up  by  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican,  which,  in  renewing  the  decree  of  Trent, 
declares  its  "mind"  to  be  this — that  "in  things  of  faith  and 
morals,  belonging  to  the  building  up  of  Christian  doctrine,  that 
is  to  be  considered  the  true  sense  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  has 
been  held  and  is  held  by  Our  Holy  Mother  the  Church,  whose 
place  it  is  to  judge  of  the  true  sense  and  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures ;  and,  therefore,  that  it  is  permitted  to  no  one  to  inter- 
pret Holy  Scripture  against  such  sense  or  also  against  the  unani- 
mous agreement  of  the  Fathers."*  By  this  most  wise  decree  the 
Church  by  no  means  prevents  or  restrains  the  pursuit  of  Biblical 
science,  but  rather  protects  it  from  error,  and  largely  assists  its 
real  progress.  A  wide  field  is  still  left  open  to  the  private 
student,  in  which  his  hermeneutical  skill  may  display  itself  with 
signal  effect  and  to  the  advantage  of  the  Church.  On  the  one 
band,  in  those  passages  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  have  not  as  yet 
received  a  certain  and  definite  interpretation,  such  labors  may,  in 
the  benignant  providence  of  God,  prepare  for  and  bring  to 
maturity  the  judgment  of  the  Church ;  on  the  other,  in  passages 
already  defined,  the  priv^ate  student  may  do  work  equally  valuable, 
either  by  setting  them  forth  more  clearly  to  the  flock  and  more 
skilfully  to  scholars,  or  by  defending  them  more  powerfully  from 
hostile  attack.  Wherefore  the  first  and  dearest  object  of  the 
Catholic  commentator  should  be  to  interpret  those  passages  which 
have  received  an  authentic  interpretation  either  from  the  sacred 
writers  themselves,  under  the  insi^iration  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (as 
in  many  places  of  the  New  Testament),  or  from  the  Church,  under 
the  assistance  of  the  same  Holy  Spirit,  whether  by  her  solemn 
judgment  or  her  ordinary  and  universal  maglsterium' — to  inter- 
pret these  passages  in  that  identical  sense,  and  to  prove,  by  all 
the  resources  of  science,  that  sound  hermeneutical  laws  admit  of 
no  other  interpretation.     In  the  other  passages,  the  analogy  of 

•  C.  haer.  iv.,  26,  5. 

■^  8es8.  iii.,  cap.  ii.,  de  revel. ;  cf.  Cone.  Trid.  seas.  iv.  decretde  edit,  et  usu  sacr.  lihror. 

^  Cone,  vat,  sess.  iii.,  cap.  ii.,  defide. 


152  POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY    OF  HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

faith  sLould  be  followed,  and  Catholic  doctrine,  as  authoritatively 
proposed  by  the  Church,  should  be  held  as  the  supreme  law;  for, 
seeiuo-  that  the  same  God  is  the  author  both  of  the  Sacred  Books 
and  of  the  doctrine  committed  to  the  Church,  it  is  clearly  impos- 
sible that  any  teaching  can,  by  legitimate  means,  be  extracted 
from  the  former,  which  shall,  in  any  respect,  be  at  variance  with 
the  latter.  Hence  it  follows  that  all  interpretation  is  foolish  and 
false  which  either  makes  the  sacred  writers  disagree  one  with 
another,  or  is  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church.  The  Pro- 
fessor of  Holy  Scripture,  therefore,  amongst  other  recommenda- 
tions, must  be  well  acquainted  with  the  whole  circle  of  Theology 
and  deeply  read  in  the  commentaries  of  the  Holy  Fathers  and 
Doctors,  and  other  interpreters  of  mark.'  This  is  inculcated  by 
St.  Jerome,  and  still  more  ft-equently  by  St.  Augustine,  who  thus 
justly  complains:  "If  there  is  no  branch  of  teaching,  however 
humble  and  easy  to  learn,  which  does  not  require  a  master,  what 
can  be  a  greater  sign  of  rashness  and  pride  than  to  refuse  to  study 
the  Books  of  the  divine  mysteries  by  the  help  of  those  who  have 
interpreted  them  ? " '  The  other  Fathers  have  said  the  same,  and 
have  confirmed  it  by  their  example,  for  they  "endeavored  to  ac- 
quire the  understanding  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  not  by  their  own 
lights  and  ideas,  but  from  the  writings  and  authority  of  the 
ancients,  who,  in  their  turn,  as  we  know,  received  the  rule  of 
interpretation  in  direct  line  from  the  Apostles." '  The  Holy  Fa- 
thers "to  whom,  after  the  Apostles,  the  Church  owes  its  growth — ■ 
who  have  planted,  watered,  built,  governed,  and  cherished  it,"^ 
the  Holy  Fathers,  We  say,  are  of  supreme  authority,  whenever 
they  all  interpret  in  one  and  the  same  manner  any  text  of  the 
Bible,  as  pertaining  to  the  doctrine  of  faith  or  morals ;  for  their 
unanimity  clearly  evinces  that  such  interpretation  has  come  down 
from  the  Apostles  as  a  matter  of  Catholic  faith.  The  opinion  of 
the  Fathers  is  also  of  very  great  weight  when  they  treat  of  these 
matters  in  their  capacity  of  doctors,  unofficially ;  not  only  be- 
cause they  excel  in  their  knowledge  of  revealed  doctrine  and  in 
their  acquaintance  with  many  things  which  are  useful  in  under- 


•  Ibid. 

^  Rufinus  Hist.  eccl.  ii.,  9, 


*  Ad  Honorat  de  util.  cred.  xvii.,  35. 
••  S.  Aug.  c.  Julian.  11.,  10,  37. 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCEIPTUEE.  153 

standing  the  apostolic  Books,  but  because  they  are  men  of  emi- 
nent sanctity  and  of  ardent  zeal  for  the  truth,  on  whom  God  has 
bestowed  a  more  ample  measure  of  His  light.  Wherefore  the  ex- 
positor should  make  it  his  duty  to  follow  their  footsteps  with  all 
reverence,  and  to  use  their  labors  with  intelligent  appreciation. 

But  he  must  not  on  that  account  consider  that  it  is  forbidden, 
when  just  cause  exists,  to  push  inquiry  and  exposition  beyond 
what  the  Fathers  have  done;  provided  he  carefully  observes  the 
rule  so  wisely  laid  down  by  St.  Augustine — not  to  depart  from 
the  literal  and  obvious  sense,  except  only  where  reason  makes  it 
untenable  or  necessity  requires ;  ^  a  rule  to  which  it  is  the  more 
necessary  to  adhere  strictly  in  these  times,  when  the  thirst  for 
novelty  and  unrestrained  freedom  of  thought  make  the  danger  of 
error  most  real  and  proximate.  Neither  should  those  passages  be 
neglected  which  the  Fathers  have  understood  in  an  allegorical  or 
figurative  sense,  more  especially  when  such  interpretation  is 
justified  by  the  literal,  and  when  it  rests  on  the  authority  of 
many.  For  this  method  of  interpretation  has  been  received  by 
the  Church  from  the  Apostles,  and  has  been  approved  by  her 
own  practice,  as  the  holy  Liturgy  attests ;  although  it  is  true  that 
the  holy  Fathers  did  not  thereby  pretend  directly  to  demonstrate 
dogmas  of  faith,  but  used  it  as  a  means  of  promoting  virtue  and 
piety,  such  as,  by  their  own  experience,  they  knew  to  be  most 
valuable.  The  authority  of  other  Catholic  interpreters  is  not  so 
great ;  but  the  study  of  Scripture  has  always  continued  to  ad- 
vance in  the  Church,  and,  therefore,  these  commentaries  also  have 
their  own  honorable  place,  and  are  serviceable  in  many  ways  for 
the  refutation  of  assailants  and  the  explanation  of  difficulties. 
But  it  is  most  unbecoming  to  pass  by,  in  ignorance  or  contempt, 
the  excellent  work  which  Catholics  have  left  in  abundance,  and 
to  have  recourse  to  the  works  of  non-Catholics — and  to  seek  in 
them,  to  the  detriment  of  sound  doctrine  and  often  to  the  peril  of 
faith,  the  explanation  of  passages  on  which  Catholics  long  ago 
have  successfully  employed  their  talent  and  their  labor.  For 
although  the  studies  of  non-Catholics,  used  with  prudence,  may 
sometimes  be  of  use  to  the  Catholic  student,  he  should,  neverthe- 


»  De  Oen.  ad  Hit.  Iviii..  c.  7,  13. 


154  POPE   LEO   XI  n.    ON    THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

less,  bear  well  in  mind — as  the  Fathers  also  teach  in  numerous 
passages ' — that  the  sense  of  Holy  Scripture  can  nowhere  be  found 
incorrupt  outside  the  Church,  and  cannot  be  expected  to  be  found 
in  writers  who,  being  without  the  true  faith,  only  gnaw  the  bark 
of  the  Sacred  Scripture,  and  never  attain  its  pith. 

Most  desirable  is  it,  and  most  essential,  that  the  whole  teach- 
ing of  Theology  should  be  pervaded  and  animated  by  the  use  of 
the  divine  Word  of  God.  This  is  what  the  Fathers  and  the 
greatest  theologians  of  all  ages  have  desired  and  reduced  to  prac- 
tice. It  was  chiefly  out  of  the  Sacred  Writings  that  they  endeav- 
ored to  proclaim  and  establish  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  the  truths 
therewith  connected,  and  it  was  in  them,  together  with  divine 
Tradition,  that  they  found  the  refutation  of  heretical  error,  and 
the  reasonableness,  the  true  meaning,  and  the  mutual  relation  of 
the  truths  of  Catholicism.  Nor  will  any  one  w^onder  at  this  who 
considers  that  the  Sacred  Books  hold  such  an  eminent  position 
among  the  sources  of  revelation  that  without  their  assiduous 
study  and  use.  Theology  cannot  be  placed  on  its  true  footing,  or 
treated  as  its  dignity  demands.  For  although  it  is  right  and 
proper  that  students  in  academies  and  schools  should  be  chiefly 
exercised  in  acquiring  a  scientific  knowledge  of  dogma,  by  means 
of  reasoning  from  the  Articles  of  Faith  to  their  consequences, 
according  to  the  rules  of  approved  and  sound  philosophy — never- 
theless the  judicious  and  instructed  theologian  will  by  no  means 
pass  by  that  method  of  doctrinal  demonstration  which  draws  its 
proof  from  the  authority  of  the  Bible ;  "  for  (Theology)  does  not 
receive  her  first  principles  from  any  other  science,  but  immedi- 
ately from  God  by  revelation.  And,  therefore,  she  does  not 
receive  of  other  sciences  as  from  a  superior,  but  uses  them  as  her 
inferiors  or  handmaids." '  It  is  this  view  of  doctrinal  teaching 
which  is  laid  down  and  recommended  by  the  prince  of  theolo- 
gians, St.  Thomas  of  Aquin  ; '  who,  moreover,  shows — such  being 
the  essential  character  of  Christian  Theology — how  she  can  de- 
fend her  own  principles  against  attack :  "  If  the  adversary,"  he 
says,  "  do  but  grant  any  portion  of  the  divine  revelation,  we  have 

'  Cfr.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  vii.,  16  ;  Orig.  de  princ.  iv.,  8 ;  in  Levit.  horn.  4,  8  ;  Tertull. 
de  praescr.  15,  seqg.;  S.  Hilar.  Pict.  in  Matth.  13,  1. 

^  S.  Greg.  M.  Moral  xx.  9  (al.  11).  ^  Summ.  theol.  p.  i.,  q.  i.,  a.  5  ad  2 


POPE   LEO   Xlir.    ox   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  155 

an  arguineDt  against  him;  thus,  against  a  heretic  we  can  employ 
Scripture  authority,  and  against  those  who  deny  one  article,  we 
can  use  another.  But  if  our  opponent  reject  divine  revelation 
entirely,  there  is  then  no  way  left  to  prove  the  Articles  of  Faith 
by  reasoning ;  we  can  only  solve  the  difficulties  which  are  raised 
against  them." '  Care  must  be  taken,  then,  that  beginners  ap- 
proach the  study  of  the  Bible  well  prepared  and  furnished  ;  other- 
wise, just  hopes  will  be  frustrated,  or,  perchance,  what  is  worse, 
they  will  unthinkingly  risk  the  danger  of  error,  falling  an  easy  prey 
to  the  sophisms  and  labored  erudition  of  the  Rationalists.  The 
best  preparation  will  be  a  conscientious  application  to  philosophy 
and  theology  under  the  guidance  of  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin,  and  a 
thorough  training  therein — as  We  ourselves  have  elsewhere 
pointed  out  and  directed.  By  this  means,  both  in  Biblical  studies 
and  in  that  part  of  Theology  which  is  called  positive^  they  will 
pursue  the  right  path  and  make  satisfactory  progress. 

THE    AUTHORITY    OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE;     MODERN"    CRITICISM; 
PHYSICAL    SCIENCE. 

To  prove,  to  expound,  to  illustrate  Catholic  doctrine  by  the 
legitimate  and  skilful  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  is  much ;  but 
there  is  a  second  part  of  the  subject  of  equal  importance  and 
equal  difficulty — the  maintenance  in  the  strongest  possible  way 
of  its  full  authority.  This  cannot  be  done  completely  or  satis- 
factorily except  by  means  of  the  living  and  proper  magisterium  of 
the  Church.  The  Church,  "  by  reason  of  her  wonderful  propa- 
gation, her  distinguished  sanctity  and  inexhaustible  fecundity  in 
good,  her  Catholic  unity,  and  her  unshaken  stability,  is  herself  a 
great  and  perpetual  motive  of  credibility,  and  an  unassailable 
testimony  to  her  own  Divine  mission." '  But  since  the  divine  and 
infallible  magisterium  of  the  Church  rests  also  on  the  authority 
of  Holy  Scripture,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  vindicate  the 
trustworthiness  of  the  sacred  records,  at  least  as  human  docu- 
ments, from  which  can  be  clearly  proved,  as  from  primitive  and 
authentic  testimony,  the  Divinity  and  the  mission  of  Christ  our 
Lord,  the  institution  of  a  hierarchical  Church  and  the  primacy  of 

'  Ibid.  a.  8.  *  Cone.  Vat.  seas,  iii.,  c.  iii.  defide. 


156  POPE   LEO   XIII.    OX  THE   STUDY   OF  HOLY   SCEIPTUEE. 

Peter  and  his  successors.  It  is  most  desirable,  therefore,  that 
there  should  be  numerous  members  of  the  clergy  well  prepared 
to  enter  upon  a  contest  of  this  nature,  and  to  repulse  hostile 
assaults,  chiefly  trusting  in  that  armor  of  God  recommended  by 
the  Apostle/  but  also  not  unaccustomed  to  modern  methods  of 
attack.  This  is  beautifully  alluded  to  by  St.  John  Chrysostom, 
when  describing  the  duties  of  priests:  "We  must  use  every  en- 
deavor that  the  '  Word  of  God  may  dwell  in  us  abundantly,' " 
and  not  merely  for  one  kind  ot  fight  must  we  be  prepared — for 
the  contest  is  many-sided  and  the  enemy  is  of  every  sort;  and 
they  do  not  all  use  the  same  weapons  nor  make  their  onset  in  the 
same  Avay.  Wherefore  it  is  needful  that  the  man  who  has  to 
contend  against  all  should  be  acquainted  with  the  engines  and 
the  arts  of  all — that  he  should  be  at  once  archer  and  slinger, 
commandant  and  officer,  general  and  private  soldier,  foot-soldier 
and  horseman,  skilled  in  sea-fight  and  in  siege;  for,  unless  he 
knows  every  trick  and  turn  of  war,  the  devil  is  well  able,  if  only 
a  single  door  be  left  open,  to  get  in  his  fierce  bands  and  carry  oQ 
the  sheep."'  The  sophisms  of  the  enemy  and  his  manifold  arts  of 
attack  we  have  already  touched  upon.  Let  us  now  say  a  word 
of  advice  on  the  means  of  defence.  The  first  means  is  the  study 
of  the  Oriental  languages  and  of  the  art  of  criticism.  These  two 
acquirements  are  in  these  days  held  in  high  estimation,  and,  there- 
fore, the  clergy,  by  making  themselves  more  or  less  fully  acquainted 
with  them  as  time  and  place  may  demand,  will  the  better  be  able 
to  discharge  their  office  with  becoming  credit ;  for  they  must  make 
themselves  "all  to  all,"'  always  "ready  to  satisfy  every  one  that 
asketh  them  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  them."  *  Hence  it  is 
most  proper  that  Professors  of  Sacred  Scripture  and  theologians 
should  master  those  tongues  in  which  the  Sacred  Books  were 
originally  written ;  and  it  would  be  well  that  Church  students 
also  should  cultivate  them,  more  especially  those  who  aspire  to 
academic  degrees.  And  endeavors  should  be  made  to  establish 
in  all  academic  institutions — as  has  already  been  laudibly  done 
in  many — chairs  of  the  other  ancient  languages,  especially  the 


'  Eph.  vi.  13,  seqg.  ^  Cfr.  Coloss.  iii.  16.  ^  j)g  Sarerdotio  iv.  4. 

*  1  Cor.  ix.  22.  6  j  pgter  iii.  15. 


POPE   LEO    XIII.    OlSr   THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  157 

Semitic,  and  of  subjects  connected  therewith,  for  the  benefit, 
principally,  of  those  who  are  intended  to  profess  sacred  literature. 
These  latter,  with  a  similar  object  in  view,  should  make  them- 
s'elves  well  and  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  art  of  true  criti- 
cism. There  has  arisen,  to  the  great  detriment  of  religion,  an 
inept  method,  dignified  by  the  name  of  the  "  higher  criticism," 
which  pretends  to  judge  of  tlie  origin,  integrity,  and  authority 
of  each  Book  from  internal  indications  alone.  It  is  clear,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  in  historical  questions,  such  as  the  origin  and 
the  handing  down  of  writings,  the  witness  of  history  is  of  pri- 
mary importance,  and  that  historical  investigation  should  be  made 
with  the  utmost  care;  and  that  in  this  matter  internal  evidence 
is  seldom  of  great  value,  except  as  confirmation.  To  look  upon 
it  in  any  other  light  will  be  to  open  the  door  to  many  evil  con- 
sequences. It  will  make  the  enemies  of  religion  much  more  bold 
and  confident  in  attacking  and  mangling  the  Sacred  Books ;  and 
this  vaunted  "  higher  criticism  "  will  resolve  itself  into  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  bias  and  the  prejudice  of  the  critics.  It  will  not 
throw  on  the  Scripture  the  light  whicli  is  sought,  or  prove  of  any 
advantage  to  doctrine ;  it  will  only  give  rise  to  disagreement  and 
dissension,  those  sure  notes  of  error,  which  the  critics  in  question 
so  plentifully  exhibit  in  their  own  persons ;  and  seeing  that  most 
of  them  are  tainted  with  false  philosophy  and  rationalism,  it  must 
lead  to  the  elimination  from  the  sacred  wi^i tings  of  all  prophecy 
and  miracle,  and  of  everything  else  that  is  outside  the  natural 
order. 

In  the  second  place,  we  have  to  contend  against  those  who, 
making  an  evil  use  of  physical  science,  minutely  scrutinize  the 
Sacred  Book  in  order  to  detect  the  writers  in  a  mistake,  and  to 
take  occasion  to  vilify  its  contents.  Attacks  of  this  kind,  bearing 
as  they  do  on  matters  of  sensible  experience,  are  peculiarly  dan- 
gerous to  the  masses,  and  also  to  the  young  who  are  beginning 
their  literary  studies;  for  the  young,  if  they  lose  their  reverence 
for  the  Holy  Scripture  on  one  or  more  points,  are  easily  led  to 
give  up  believing  in  it  altogether.  It  need  not  be  pointed  out 
how  the  nature  of  science,  just  as  it  is  so  admirably  adapted  to 
show  forth  the  glory  of  the  Great  Creator,  provided  it  be  taught 
as  it  should  be,  so,  if  it  be  perversely  imparted  to  the  youthful 


ir>8  VOVd   LEO   XIII.   ON   THE   STCJDY   OF   HOLY    SCEIPTLRE. 

intellio'ence,  it  may  prove  most  fatal  in  destroying  the  principles 
of  true  philosophy  and  in  the  corruption  of  morality.  Hence  to 
tlie  Professor  of  Sacred  Scripture  a  knowledge  of  natural  science 
will  be  of  very  great  assistance  in  detecting  such  attacks  on  tlfe 
Sacred  Books,  and  in  refuting  them.  There  can  never,  indeed,  be 
any  real  discrepancy  l3etween  the  theologian  and  the  physicist,  as 
lonf  as  each  confines  himself  within  his  own  lines,  and  both  are 
careful,  as  St.  Augustine  warns  us,  "not  to  make  rash  assertions,  or 
to  assert  what  is  not  known  as  known."  ^  If  dissension  should  arise 
between  them,  here  is  the  rule  also  laid  down  by  St.  Augustine, 
for  the  theologian :  "  Whatever  they  can  really  demonstrate  to  be 
true  of  physical  nature,  we  must  show  to  be  capable  of  recon- 
ciliation with  our  Scriptures ;  and  whatever  they  assert  in  their 
treatises,  which  is  contrary  to  these  Scriptures  of  ours,  that  is  to 
Catholic  faitb,  we  must  either  prove  it  as  well  as  we  can  to  be 
entirely  false,  or  at  all  events  we  must,  without  the  smallest  hesi- 
tation, believe  it  to  be  so."'  To  understand  how  just  is  the  rule 
'here  formulated  we  must  remember,  first,  that  the  sacred  writers, 
or  to  speak  more  accurately,  the  Holy  Ghost  "  Who  spoke  by 
them,  did  not  intend  to  teach  men  these  things  (that  is  to  say, 
the  essential  nature  of  the  things  of  the  visible  universe),  things 
in  no  way  profitable  unto  salvation,"'  Hence  they  did  not  seek 
to  penetrate  the  secrets  of  nature,  but  rather  described  and  dealt 
with  thino-s  in  more  or  less  fimirative  lano^uao^e,  or  in  terms  which 
were  commonly  used  at  the  time,  and  which  in  many  instances 
are  in  daily  use  at  this  day,  even  by  the  most  eminent  men  of 
science.  Ordinary  speech  primarily  and  properly  describes  what 
comes  under  the  senses ;  and  somewhat  in  the  same  way  the 
sacred  writers — as  the  Angelic  Doctor  also  reminds  us — ^^  went 
by  what  sensibly  appeared,"'  or  put  down  what  God,  speaking 
+0  men,  signified,  in  the  way  men  could  understand  and  were  ac- 
customed to. 

The  unshrinking  defence  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  however,  does 
not  require  that  we  should  equally  uphold  all  the  opinions  which 
each  of  the  Fathers  or  the  more  recent  interpreters  have  put  forth 


In.  Oen.  op.  imperf.  ix.  30.  *  Be  Gen.  ad  litt.,  i.  21,  41. 

S.  Aug.  ib.  ii.  9,  20.  *  Summa  theol.  p.  i.,  q.  Ixxx.,  a.  1  ad  3. 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    OlSr   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCEIPTUEE.  159 

in  explaining  it ;  for  it  may  be  that,  in  commenting  on  passages 
where  physical  matters  occur,  they  have  sometimes  expressed  the 
ideas  of  their  own  times,  and  thus  made  statements  which  in 
these  days  have  been  abandoned  as  incorrect.  Hence,  in  their 
interpretations,  we  must  carefully  note  what  they  lay  down  as 
belonging  to  faith,  or  as  intimately  connected  with  faith — what 
they  are  unanimous  in.  For  "  in  those  things  which  do  not 
come  under  the  obligation  of  faith,  the  Saints  were  at  liberty  to 
hold  divergent  opinions,  just  as  we  ourselves  are," '  according  to 
the  saying  of  St.  Thoma's.  And  in  another  place  he  says  most 
admirably :  "  When  philosophers  are  agreed  upon  a  point,  and 
it  is  not  contrary  to  our  faith,  it  is  safer,  in  my  opinion,  neither 
to  lay  down  such  a  point  as  a  dogma  of  faith,  even  though  it  is 
perhaps  so  presented  by  the  philosophers,  nor  to  reject  it  as 
against  faith,  lest  we  thus  give  to  the  wise  of  this  world  an  occa- 
sion of  despising  our  faith."  ^  The  Catholic  interpreter,  although 
he  should  show  that  those  facts  of  natural  science  which  investi- 
gators affirm  to  be  now  quite  certain  are  not  contrary  to  the 
Scripture  rightly  explained,  must,  nevertheless,  always  bear  in 
mind,  that  much  which  has  been  held  and  proved  as  certain  has 
afterwards  been  called  in  question  and  rejected.  And  if  writers 
on  physics  travel  outside  the  boundaries  of  their  own  branch, 
and  carry  their  erroneous  teaching  into  the  domain  of  philosophy, 
let  them  be  handed  over  to  philosophers  for  refutation. 

INSPIRATIOlSr    INCOMPATIBLE    WITH    ERROE. 

The  principles  here  laid  down  will  apply  to  cognate  sciences, 
and  especially  to  history.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  there  are 
many  who  with  great  labor  carry  out  and  publish  investigations 
on  the  monuments  of  antiquity,  the  manners  and  institutions  of 
nations  and  other  illustrative  subjects,  and  whose  chief  purpose 
in  all  this  is  too  often  to  find  mistakes  in  the  sacred  writings  and 
so  to  shake  and  weaken  their  authority.  Some  of  these  writers 
display  not  only  extreme  hostility,  but  the  greatest  unfairness; 
in  their  eyes  a  profane  book  or  ancient  document  is  accepted 
without  hesitation,  whilst  the  Scripture,  if  they  only  find  in  it  a 

'  In  Sent,  ii.,  Dist.  q.  i.,  a.  3.  *  Opusc.  x. 


160  POPE  LEO   XIII.   ON   THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

suspicion  of  error,  is  set  down  with  the  slightest  possible  discus- 
sion as  quite  untrustworthy.  It  is  true,  no  doubt,  that  copyists 
have  made  mistakes  in  the  text  of  the  Bible ;  this  question,  when 
it  arises,  should  be  carefully  considered  on  its  merits,  and  the 
fact  not  too  easily  admitted,  but  only  in  those  passages  where 
the  proof  is  clear.  It  may  also  happen  that  the  sense  of  a  passage 
remains  ambiguous,  and  in  this  case  good  hermeneutical  methods 
will  greatly  assist  in  clearing  up  the  obscurity.  But  it  is  abso- 
lutely wrong  and  forbidden,  either  to  narrow  inspiration  to  cer- 
tain parts  only  of  Holy  Scripture,  or  to  admit  that  the  sacred 
writer  has  erred.  For  the  system  of  those  w^ho,  in  order  to  rid 
themselves  of  these  difficulties,  do  not  hesitate  to  concede  that 
divine  inspiration  regards  the  things  of  faith  and  morals,  and 
nothing  beyond,  because  (as  they  wrongly  think)  in  a  ques- 
tion of  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  a  passage,  we  should  consider 
not  so  much  what  God  has  said  as  the  reason  and  purpose  which 
He  had  in  mind  in  saying  it — this  system  cannot  be  tolerated. 
For  all  the  books  which  the  Church  receives  as  sacred  and  can- 
onical, are  written  wholly  and  entirely,  with  all  their  parts,  at 
the  dictation  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  so  far  is  it  from  being  pos- 
sible that  any  error  can  co-exist  with  inspiration,  that  inspiration 
not  only  is  essentially  incompatible  with  error,  but  excludes  and 
rejects  it  as  absolutely  and  necessarily,  as  it  is  impossible  that 
God  Himself,  the  supreme  Truth,  can  utter  that  which  is  not 
true.  This  is  the  ancient  and  unchanging  faith  of  the  Church, 
solemnly  defined  in  the  Councils  of  Florence  and  of  Trent,  and 
finally  confirmed  and  more  expressly  formulated  by  the  Council 
of  the  Vatican.  These  are  the  words  of  the  last :  "  The  Books 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  whole  and  entire,  with  all  their 
parts,  as  enumerated  in  the  decree  of  the  same  Council  (Trent) 
and  in  the  ancient  Latin  Vulgate,  are  to  be  received  as  sacred 
and  canonical.  And  the  Church  holds  them  as  sacred  and  can- 
onical, not  because,  having  been  composed  by  human  industry, 
they  were  afterwards  approved  by  her  authority;  nor  only 
because  they  contain  revelation  without  error ;  but  because,  hav- 
ing been  written  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they 
have  God  for  their  Author."  '     Hence,  because  the  Holy  Ghost 

'  Ses8.  iii.,  c.  ii.,  de  Rev. 


POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTCEE.  161 

employed  men  as  His  instruments,  we  cannot,  therefore,  say  that 
it  was  these  inspired  instruments  who,  perchance,  have  fallen 
into  eri'or,  and  not  the  primary  author.  For,  by  supernatural 
power,  He  so  moved  and  impelled  them  to  write — He  was  so  pres- 
ent to  them — that  the  things  which  He  ordered,  and  those  only, 
they,  first,  rightly  understood,  then  willed  faithfully  to  write 
down,  and  finally  expressed  in  apt  words  and  with  infallible 
truth.  Otherwise,  it  could  not  be  said  that  He  was  the  Author 
of  the  entire  Scripture.  Such  has  always  been  the  persuasion  of 
the  Fathers.  "Therefore,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "since  they  wrote 
the  things  which  He  showed  and  uttered  to  them,  it  cannot  be 
pretended  that  He  is  not  the  writer ;  for  His  members  executed 
what  their  Head  dictated."  '  And  St.  Gregory  the  Great  thus 
pronounces  :  "  Most  supei'fluous  it  is  to  inquire  who  wrote  these 
things — we  loyally  believe  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  the  author  of 
the  book.  He  wrote  it  Who  dictated  it  for  writing ;  He  wrote 
it  Who  inspired  its  execution." ' 

It  follows  that  those  who  maintain  that  an  error  is  possible  in 
any  genuine  passage  of  the  sacred  writings,  either  pervert  the 
Catholic  notion  of  inspiration,  or  make  God  the  author  of  such 
error.  And  so  emphatically  were  all  the  Fathers  and  Doctors 
agreed  that  the  Divine  writings,  as  left  by  the  hagiographers, 
are  free  from  all  error,  that  they  labored  earnestly,  with  no  less 
skill  than  reverence,  to  reconcile  with  each  other  those  numerous 
passages  which  seem  at  variance — the  very  passages  which  in 
great  measure  have  been  taken  up  by  tlie  "higher  criticism"; 
for  they  were  unanimous  in  laying  it  down,  that  those  writings, 
in  their  entirety  and  in  all  their  parts,  were  equally  from  the 
afflatus  of  Almighty  God,  and  that  God,  speaking  by  the  sacred 
writers,  could  not  set  down  anything  but  what  was  true.  The 
words  of  St.  Augustine  to  St.  Jerome  may  sum  up  what  they 
taught :  "  On  my  own  part  I  confess  to  your  charity  that  it  is 
only  to  those  Books  of  Scripture  which  are  now  called  canonical 
that  I  have  learned  to  pay  such  honor  and  reverence  as  to  believe 
most  firmly  that  none  of  their  writers  has  fallen  into  any  error. 
And  if  in  these  Books  I  meet  anything  which  seems  contrary  to 

»  Be  consensu  Evangel.  1.  1,  c.  35.  '^  Praef.  in  Job,  n.  2. 


162  POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF  HOLY   SCRIPTrTEE. 

truth,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  conclude  either  that  the  text  is 
faulty,  or  that  the  translator  has  not  expressed  the  meaning  of 
the  passage,  or  that  I  myself  do  not  understand."  ' 

But  to  undertake  fully  and  perfectly,  and  with  all  the  weapons 
of  the  "best  science,  the  defence  of  the  Holy  Bible  is  far  more 
than  can  be  looked  for  from  the  exertions  of  commentators  and 
theologians  alone.  It  is  an  enterprise  in  which  we  have  a  right 
to  expect  the  co-operation  of  all  those  Catholics  who  have 
acquired  reputation  in  any  branch  of  learning  whatever.  As  in 
the  past,  so  at  the  present  time,  the  Church  is  never  without  the 
graceful  support  of  her  accomplished  children ;  may  their  ser- 
vices to  the  Faith  ^row  and  increase !  For  there  is  nothing 
which  We  believe  to  be  more  needful  than  that  truth  should  find 
defenders  more  powerful  and  more  numerous  than  the  enemies  it 
has  to  face ;  nor  is  there  anything  which  is  better  calculated  to 
impress  the  masses  with  respect  for  truth  than  to  see  it  boldly 
proclaimed  by  learned  and  distinguished  men.  Moreover,  the 
bitter  tongues  of  objectors  will  be  silenced,  or  at  least  they  will 
not  dare  to  insist  so  shamelessly  that  faith  is  the  enemy  of  science, 
when  they  see  that  scientific  men  of  eminence  in  their  profession 
show  towards  faith  the  most  marked  honor  and  respect.  Seeing, 
then,  that  those  can  do  so  much  for  the  advantage  of  religion  on 
whom  the  goodness  of  Almighty  God  has  bestowed,  together 
with  the  grace  of  the  faith,  great  natural  talent,  let  such  men,  in 
this  bitter  conflict  of  which  the  Holy  Scripture  is  the  object, 
select  each  of  them  the  branch  of  study  most  suitable  to  his  cir- 
cumstances, and  endeavor  to  excel  therein,  and  thus  be  prepared 
to  repulse  with  credit  and  distinction  the  assaults  on  the  Word 
of  Grod.  And  it  is  Our  pleasing  duty  to  give  deserved  praise  to 
a  work  which  certain  Catholics  have  taken  up — that  is  to  say, 
the  formation  of  societies  and  the  contribution  of  considerable 
sums  of  money,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  studious  and  learned 
men  with  every  kind  of  help  and  assistance  in  carrying  out  com- 
])lete  studies.  Truly  an  excellent  fashion  of  investing  money, 
and  well  suited  to  the  times  in  which  we  live !  The  less  hope  of 
public  patronage  there  is  for  Catholic  study,  the  more  ready  and 

'  Ep.  Ixxvii.  1.  el  erebriua  alibi. 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  163 

the  more  abundant  should  be  the  liberality  of  private  persons — • 
those  to  whom  God  has  given  riches  thus  willingly  making  use 
of  their  means  to  safeguard  the  treasure  of  His  revealed  doctrine. 

SUMMARY. 

In  order  that  all  these  endeavors  and  exertions  may  really 
prove  advantageous  to  the  cause  of  the  Bible,  let  scholars  keep 
steadfastly  to  the  principles  which  We  have  in  this  Letter  laid 
down.  Let  them  loyally  hold  that  God,  the  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  all  things,  is  also  the  Author  of  the  Scriptures — and  that, 
therefore,  nothing  can  be  proved  either  by  physical  science  or 
archaeology  which  can  really  contradict  the  Scriptures.  If,  then, 
apparent  contradiction  be  met  with,  every  effort  should  be  made 
to  remove  it.  Judicious  theologians  and  commentators  should 
be  consulted  as  to  what  is  the  true  or  most  probable  meaning  of 
the  passage  in  discussion,  and  the  hostile  arguments  should  be 
carefully  weighed.  Even  if  the  difficulty  is  after  all  not  cleared 
up  and  the  discrepancy  seems  to  remain,  the  contest  must  not  be 
abandoned ;  truth  cannot  contradict  truth,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  some  mistake  has  been  made  either  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  sacred  words,  or  in  the  polemical  discussion  itself;  and  if  no 
such  mistake  can  be  detected,  we  must  then  suspend  judgment 
for  the  time  being.  There  have  been  objections  without  number 
perseveringly  directed  against  the  Scripture  for  many  a  long 
year,  which  have  been  proved  to  be  futile  and  are  now  never 
heard  of;  and  not  unfrequently  interpretations  have  been  placed 
on  certain  passages  of  Scripture  (not  belonging  to  the  rule  of 
faith  or  morals)  which  have  been  rectified  by  more  careful  investi- 
gations. As  time  goes  on,  mistaken  views  die  and  disappear ;  but 
"  truth  remaineth  and  groweth  stronger  forever  and  ever."  ^ 
Wherefore,  as  no  one  should  be  so  presumptuous  as  to  think  that 
he  understands  the  whole  of  the  Scripture,  in  which  St.  Augustine 
himself  confessed  that  there  was  more  that  he  did  not  know,  than 
that  he  knew,"  so,  if  he  should  come  upon  anything  that  seems 
incapable  of  solution,  he  must  take  to  heart  the  cautious  rule  of 
the  same  holy  Doctor :  "  It  is  better  even  to  be  oppressed  by 

'  3  Esdr.  iT.  38.  ^  Ad  lanuar.  ep.  Iv.  2L 


164  POPE  LEO   XIII.    ON   THE  STUDY    OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE. 

unknown  but  useful  signs,  than  to  interpret  them  uselessly  and 
thus  to  throw  off  the  yoke  only  to  be  caught  in  the  trap  of 


error." ' 


As  to  those  who  pursue  the  subsidiary  studies  of  which  We 
have  spoken,  if  they  honestly  and  modestly  follow  the  counsels 
We  have  o-iven — if  by  their  pen  and  their  voice  they  make  their 
studies  profitable  against  the  enemies  of  truth,  and  useful  in  sav- 
ino-  the  young  from  the  loss  of  their  faith — they  may  justly  con- 
gratulate themselves  on  their  worthy  service  to  the  Sacred  Writ- 
ing's, and  on  affording  to  Catholicism  that  assistance  which  the 
Church  has  a  right  to  expect  from  the  piety  and  learning  of  her 
children. 

Such,  Venerable  Brethren,  are  the  admonitions  and  the  instruc- 
tions which,  by  the  help  of  God,  We  have  thought  it  well,  at 
the  present  moment,  to  offer  to  you  on  the  study  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. It  will  now  be  your  province  to  see  that  what  We  have 
said  be  observed  and  put  in  practice  with  all  due  reverence  and 
exactness ;  that  so.  We  may  prove  our  gratitude  to  God  for  the 
communication  to  man  of  the  Words  of  His  Wisdom,  and  that 
all  the  good  results  so  much  to  be  desired  may  be  realized,  espe- 
cially as  they  affect  the  training  of  the  students  of  the  Church, 
which  is  our  own  great  solicitude  and  the  Church's  hope.  Exert 
yourself  with  willing  alacrity,  and  use  your  authority  and  your 
persuasion  in  order  that  these  studies  may  be  held  in  just  regard 
and  may  flourish,  in  Seminaries  and  in  the  educational  Institu- 
tions which  are  under  your  jurisdiction.  Let  them  flourish  in 
completeness  and  in  happy  success,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Church,  in  accordance  with  the  salutary  teaching  and  example  of 
the  holy  Fathers,  and  the  laudable  traditions  of  antiquity ;  and, 
as  time  goes  on,  let  them  be  widened  and  extended  as  the  inter- 
ests and  glory  of  truth  may  require — the  interest  of  that  Catho- 
lic Truth,  which  comes  from  above,  the  never-failing  source  of 
man's  salvation.  Finally,  We  admonish,  with  paternal  love,  all 
students  and  ministers  of  the  Church  always  to  approach  the 
Sacred  Writings  w-ith  reverence  and  piety ;  for  it  is  impossible 
to  attain  to  the  profitable  understanding  thereof  unless  the  arro- 

'  De  doctr.  chr.  iii.  9,  18. 


POPE   LEO   XIII.    ON   THE   STUDY   OF   HOLY   SCRIPTURE.  165 

gance  of  "  eartlily  "  science  be  laid  aside,  and  there  be  excited  in 
the  heart  the  holy  desire  for  that  wisdom  "which  is  from  abo\'e." 
In  this  way  the  intelligence,  which  is  once  admitted  to  these 
sacred  studies,  and  thereby  illuminated  and  strengthened,  will 
acquire  a  marvellous  facility  in  detecting  and  avoiding  the  fal- 
lacies of  human  science,  and  in  gathering  and  using  for  eternal 
salvation  all  that  is  valuable  and  precious ;  whilst,  at  the  same 
time,  the  heart  will  grow  warm,  and  will  strive,  with  ardent 
longing,  to  advance  in  vii^tue  and  in  divine  love.  "  Blessed  are 
they  who  examine  His  testimonies;  they  shall  seek  Him  with 
their  whole  heart."  ^ 

And  now,  filled  with  hope  in  the  divine  assistance,  and  trust- 
ing to  your  pastoral  solicitude — as  a  pledge  of  heavenly  grace, 
and  a  sign  of  Our  special  good-will — to  you  all,  and  to  the  Clergy, 
and  the  whole  flock  entrusted  to  you.  We  lovingly  impart  in 
Our  Lord  the  Apostolic  Benediction. 

Given  at  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  the  18th  day  of  November,  1893, 
the  eighteenth  year  of  Our  Pontificate. 

POPE  LEO  xm. 


'  Ps.  xviii.  2. 


©JKe  porfraif  Syaffer^ 


OK 


Greal^  Defenders  of  fhe  Faii^h 


11^   -^:m:ei^io-^. 

Monsignor  SatoUi,  the  Apostolic  Delegate,  and  personal  rep- 
resentative of  the  Pope  in  the  United  States,  has  pronounced 
the  present  portrait  as  the  best  that  has  ever  been  made.  The 
Apostolic  Delegate  is  a  man  of  varied  and  profound  learning, 
and  has  enjoyed  since  his  boyhood  the  personal  friendship  of  the 
Holy  Father.  He  had  the  honor  to  represent  the  Vatican  at  the 
great  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago. 

His  Eminence  Cardinal  G-ibbons,  of  Baltimore.  The  present 
portrait  of  Cardinal  Gribbons  has  been  expressly  made  for  this 
work,  and  is  the  most  artistic  in  execution  and  the  most  recent 
tha%  has  been  produced.  As  the  head  of  the  American  hier- 
archy, Cardinal  Gibbons  commands  universal  considei'ation  for 
his  strong,  progressive,  patriotic  sentiments. 

His  Eminence  Cardinal  McCloskey,  the  first  American  ever 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  Cardinalate,  and  the  successor  of 
the  renowned  Archbishop  Hughes  in  the  greatest  of  American 
dioceses,  proved  himself  in  every  way  equal  to  the  distinguished 
position  he  occupied. 

Statue  of  Columbus.  This  is  an  exact  representation  of  the 
new  statue  of  Columbus,  designed  by  Sunol  for  Central  Park, 
New  York  City.  It  exhibits  the  great  Catholic  discoverer  in  his 
true  attitude,  holding  in  his  hand  the  banner  of  his  sovereign  and 
the  Cross  of  his  Kedeemer,  and  his  countenance  displaying  im- 
plicit belief  in  the  sublimity  of  his  mission,  and  an  entire  reliance 
on  Grod,  in  whose  hands  he  felt  himself  an  humble  instrument  for 
the  accomplishment  of  his  noble  purpose. 

Archbishop  Carroll,  of  Baltimore,  will  always  hold  a  unique 
place    as    the    origin   of    the   American    episcopacy,   the    first 


ii      PORTKAIT  GALLERY  OF  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  AMERICA. 

bishop  aud  afterward  the  first  arclibisliop  in  the  United  States. 
His  patriotism  during  the  War  for  Independence  makes  him  as 
well  known  as  an  American  patriot  as  a  Catholic  prelate.  The 
present  portrait  was  furnished  by  the  late  Dr.  Shea  as  an  authen- 
tic one. 

Rt.  Rev.  Peter  R.  Kenrick,  Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  is  the 
oldest  member  of  the  iVmerican  hierarchy,  being  now  (1894) 
nearly  90  years  of  age.  He  has  been  a  bishop  for  nearly  54  years, 
and  the  record  of  his  labors  for  more  than  60  years  forms  one  of 
the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  the 
United  States. 

Most  Rev.  John  J.  WiUiams,  Archbishop  of  Boston,  occupies 
an  eminent  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  American  hierarchy  by 
his  administrative  ability  and  his  zeal  in  the  cause  of  religion. 
He  is  a  learned,  able,  and  dignified  prelate,  and  a  worthy  suc- 
cessor of  the  great  Cheverus,  who  afterward  became  Cardinal. 

Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Corrigan.  The  present  portrait  of 
the  distinguished  Archbishop  of  New  York  was  furnished  by 
himself  expressly  for  this  work,  and  is  not  only  the  best  but  the 
latest  one  of  His  Grace.  Archbishop  Corrigan  was  formerly  Bishop 
of  Newark,  from  whence  he  was  elevated  to  the  greatest  diocese 
in  the  United  States,  while  yet  the  youngest  member  of  the  hier- 
archy. 

Most  Rev.  Patrick  John  Ryan,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia, 
is  recognized  as  the  most  eloquent  pulpit  orator  in  the  United. 
States.  This  portrait  was  taken  in  Rome,  which  the  arch- 
bishop visited  recently,  and  is  the  best  as  well  as  the  latest 
likeness  of  this  eminent  prelate,  being  furnished  the  publishers 
by  His  Grace  for  this  work. 

Rt.  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University 
at  Washington,  and  formerly  Bishop  of  Richmond,  is  one  of 
the  ablest  intellects  in  the  country.  His  abilities  are  admired 
and  praised  by  non-Catholics  as  earnestly  as  by  those  of  his  own 
faith.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  organization  of  Catholic 
societies  throughout  the  country,  and  in  the  cause  of  Catholic 
hisrher  education. 


PORTRAIT  GALLERY  OF  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IIS"  AMERICA.     Ill 

Archbishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati,  holds  a  prominent  place 
in  the  ranks  of  the  American  hierarchy.  During  the  war,  as 
Bishop  of  Natchez,  Miss.,  he  won  a  national  reputation  by  his 
zeal  and  activity  in  succoring  the  wounded,  and  by  his  successful 
resistance  to  the  military  authorities  of  the  district,  who  sought 
to  prescribe  a  certain  prayer  to  be  recited  in  his  diocese. 

Most  Rev.  P.  A.  Feehan,  Archbishop  of  Chicago,  is  noted  as 
one  of  the  most  successful  administrators  in  the  Church  in 
America.  During  the  short  time  he  was  Bishop  of  Nashville, 
that  diocese  more  than  doubled  the  number  of  its  priests  and 
churches.  Under  his  energetic  impulse  the  Church  in  the  arch- 
diocese of  Chicago  is  making  equally  rapid  progress.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  the  Parliament  of  All  Religions. 

Archbishop  Ireland,  of  St.  Paul,  is  justly  regarded  as  not 
only  a  great  Catholic  prelate,  but  a  great  American  reformer.  As 
an  advocate  of  temperance,  education,  colonization,  and  every 
work  of  progress  and  benevolence,  he  is  knowm  and  esteemed  by 
all  classes  of  citizens. 

Most  Rev.  Frederic  X.  Katzer,  Archbishop  of  Milwaukee,  is 
one  of  the  most  energetic  and  zealous  workers  in  the  Church  in 
America.  He  has  been  especially  active  in  the  cause  of  Catholic 
education,  and  in  defending  portions  of  his  flock  from  attempted 
perversion. 

Most  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Gross,  Archbishop  of  Oregon,  is  w^iat 
might  be  termed  a  missionary  bishop.  A  member  of  the  Re- 
demptorist  order,  he  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  missionary 
work,  especially  among  the  colored  population  of  the  South,  and 
he  has  given  a  missionary  impulse  to  the  Church  in  his  archdiocese 
that  has  borne  marked  fruits. 

Most  Rev.  Patrick  W.  Riordan,  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco. 

This  portrait  of  Archbishop  Riordan  was  recently  taken,  and  is 
a  true  likeness  of  that  eminent  prelate.  Previous  to  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  see  of  San  Francisco,  he  contributed  greatly  by  his 
ability  and  zeal  to  the  success  and  progress  of  the  Church  in  the 
diocese  of  Chicago. 


iv     PORTEAIT  GALLERY  OF  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  AMERICA. 

Archbishop  Janssens,  of  New  Orleans,  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  eminent  administrators  in  the  Church  in  America. 
Previous  to  his  appointment  to  New  Orleans,  he  performed  great 
and  lasting^  work  in  the  dioceses  of  Richmond  and  Natchez. 

Most  Rev.  John  B.  Salpointe,  Archbishop  of  Santa  Fe,  has 
been  largely  instrumental  in  restoring  Catholicity  among  the 
Spanish-speaking  population  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  One 
of  his  gi-eat  works  was  to  preserve  the  Catholicity  of  the  Indians 
under  his  jurisdiction,  who  had  been  assigned  by  the  Crovernment 
to  Protestant  sects,  regardless  of  their  faith. 

Cardinal  Taschereau,  Archbishop  of  Quebec,  is  the  first  prel- 
ate of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  ever  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the 
Holy  College.  He  presides  over  the  oldest  see  north  of  Mexico ; 
his  diocese  once  embraced  all  the  territory  of  British  America  and 
the  United  States. 

Archbishop  Lynch,  of  Toronto,  Canada.  This  portrait  rep- 
resents the  late  Archbishop  Lynch,  of  Toronto,  Canada,  in  full 
episcopal  robes,  and  is  a  most  faithful  likeness  of  that  great 
prelate.  Archbishop  Lynch  will  always  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  greatest  of  the  builders  of  the  Church  in  Canada.  He  was 
formerly  a  missionary  priest  in  the  United  States. 

John  Gilmary  Shea,  LL.D.,  the  author  of  Part  II.  of  the  pres- 
ent work,  is  the  recognized  standard  Catholic  historian  of  Amer- 
ica. In  the  knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  this  country, 
whose  discoverers  and  early  explorers  were  Catholics,  Dr.  Shea 
has  no  peer.  He  was  a  member  of  nearly  all  the  historical  so- 
cieties of  this  continent  and  of  many  abroad,  among  others  the 
Royal  Historical  Society  of  Spain,  the  only  American  who  ever 
received  the  honor.  He  was  the  recipient  of  innumerable  honors 
from  Catholic  institutions  of  learning,  and  from  the  bishops  and 
clergy  of  the  United  States.  He  was  held  in  such  high  esteem 
for  his  learning  and  the  invaluable  Catholic  productions  of  his 
pen,  that  our  Holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  hearing  of  his  fatal 
illness,  cabled  him  the  Apostolic  Benediction  through  His  Grace 
Arehl^ishop  Corrigan,  of  New  York.  The  present  work  is  one  of 
Dr.  Shea's  most  widely-read  and^valued  productions. 


THE   MOST   REV.   JOHN   CARROLL.    D.D., 

FIRST  ARCHBISHOP  OP  BALTIMORE. 


Most  Rev.  Peter  R.  Kenrick,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


His  Eminence  James  Cardinal  Gibbons 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  Md. 


Most  Rev.  Patrick.  J.  Rvan,  D.D., 

Archbishop  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  D.D., 
Rector  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America. 


Must  Rev.  John  J.   Willia.u.^,  U.D. 
Archbishop  of  Boston,  Mass. 


Most  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 


Most  Rev.  William  H.  Elder,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 


Most  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Feehan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


Most  Rev.  John  Ireland,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  St.  Paul,  Minn. 


Most  Rev.  Frederic  X.  Katzer,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Milwaukee,  Wis. 


Most  Rev.  Francis  Janssens,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  La. 


CA RDIx\ AL   TASCHEREAU; 
Archbishop  of  Quebec. 


Must  Rev.  William  H.  Gross,  D.U. 
Archbishop  of  Oregon  City,  Ore. 


Mosi    Rev.  Patrick  W.  Riordan,  D.D. 
Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


Right  Rev.  Stephen  Vincent  Ryan,  CM., 
Bishop  of  Buffalo,  New  York. 


Right  Rev.  Francis  S.  McNeirny, 
Bishop  of  Albany,  New  York. 


Most  Rev.  John  B.  Salpointe,  D.D., 
Archbishop  of  Santa  Fe,  N.  M. 


Most  Rev.  John  Jos.  Lynch,  D.D., 
Late  Archbishop  of  Toronto. 


Right  Rev.  Thomas  M.  A.  Burke,  d.  d., 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Albany, 

Born  1840,     Ordained  June  20,  1864,     Consecrated  Bishop  July  1,  1894. 


JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA,   LL.D. 


The  Catholic  Church 


IN  THE 


UNITED    STATES. 


Even  in  the  territory  now  embracea  in  the  United  States 
this  ancient  Church  preceded  all  other  Christian  denominations. 

As  early  as  1521  Ponce  de  Leon,  seeking  to  plant  civilization 
and  Christianity  on  onr  shores,  landed  in  Florida  with  Catholic 
priests  and  religious,  and  the  liturgy  of  the  Catholic  Church 
was  offered  amid  the  evergreen  glades.  But  while  the  Span- 
iards were  building  their  houses  and  chapel,  the  Indians  kept  up 
such  constant  war  that  the  settlement  was  abandoned  by  the 
wounded  commander.  In  1526  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  commenced 
a  settlement  on  one  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Chesapeake, 
and  the  Dominican  friars  who  attended  him  reared  a  chapel  on 
the  James,  where  for  months  the  rites  of  the  Church  were  of- 
fered; but  the  commander  died  and  the  settlement  was  aban- 
doned. 

The  expeditions  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto  had  clergymen  with 
them,  but  no  settlements  were  formed,  and  the  pioneer  ministers 
of  religion  who  accompanied  the  conquistadores  perished  amid 
the  hardships  of  the  march.  Impelled  by  the  account  of  a 
survivor  of  one  of  these  ill-fated  expeditions,  the  Franciscan 
Father  Mark,  of  Nice,  in  Italy,  penetrated  in  1539  to  New 
Mexico.  Others  followed  and  began  missions,  only  to  be  mur. 
dered  by  the  Indians.  In  1595  the  Spaniards  occupied  the 
country  and  founded  San  Gabriel,  The  Catholic  worship  was 
established,  and  has  continued  almost  uninterruptedly  in  that 
territory  for  nearly  three  centuries.     In  an  outbreak  against  the 

49 


c. 


50  THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Spaniards  at  the  close  of  the  seventeentli  century  many  of  the 
missionaries  perished.  Some  Dominican  priests  were  slain  in 
Florida  in  1549  while  trying  to  convert  the  natives;  and  Tristan 
de  Luna,  in  1559,  had  a  Christian  shrine  at  Pensacola.  When 
St.  Augustive  was  begun,  in  1565,  a  Catholic  chapel  was  erected, 
and  from  that  time  the  services  of  the  Church  were  regularly 
oflPered.  At  St.  Helena,  on  Port  Royal  Sound,  and  later  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rappahannock,  there  were  Catholic  chapels  as 
early  as  1571.  For  many  years  St.  Augustine  had  its  Franciscan 
convent  and  chapels  within  and  without  the  walls.  Missions 
were  established  among  the  Indian  tribes  by  the  Jesuits  and 
then  by  the  Franciscans,  and  the  Timu:][uans,  Apalaches,  and 
other  tribes  embraced  Christianity.  In  1699  Pensacola  was 
founded  and  a  Catholic  church  erected  there;  but  the  Indian 
missions  were  finally  almost  extirpated  by  the  English  colonists 
of  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Many  devoted  missionaries  were  slain 
amid  their  pious  labors  to  I'egenerate  the  aborigines. 
■  ,  Texas  was  settled  by  the  Spaniards,  and  a  town  grew  up 
at  San  Antonio,  with  church  and  convent,  while  missionaries 
planted  the  cross  among  the  Indian  tribes  from  the  Rio  Grande 
to  the  Sabine.  The  Catholic  Church  was  the  only  Christian 
body  here  for  a  century  and  a  quarter. 

Ui^per  California  was  settled  about  the  time  of  our  Revolu- 
tion, and  the  Franciscans  established  a  series  of  Indian  missions 
whose  names  are  still  retained.  They  were  finally  destroyed  by 
the  greed  of  the  Mexican  government,  just  before  our  conquest 
of  the  country.  The  Catholic  Church  in  New  Mexico,  Texas, 
and  California,  like  that  in  Florida,  has  its  lists  of  missionaries 
who  held  life  less  precious  than  the  cause  of  Christ. 

North  of  our  territory  lie  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  settled  at 
an  early  day  by  Catholic  France.  The  worship  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  was  celebrated  beneath  rude  temporary  structures  at 
Boone  Island,  in  Maine,  and  subsequently  at  Mount  Desert,  early 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  And  soon  after  the  Capuchin  Fa- 
thers had  missions  from  the  Kennebec  to  Gaspe.  The  very 
year  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  a  Fran- 
ciscan  priest  in  sandalled  feet  crossed  the  Niagara  River  from 
Canada,  and  preached  Christ,    and    him    crucified,    to    the   In- 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  51 

dians  of  Western  New  York.  A  few  years  later  two  Jesuits 
met  the  Cliippewas  at  Sault  St.  Mary's,  by  the  outlet  of  tlie 
most  remote  of  the  Western  lakes,  and  one  of  them,  the  gentle 
yet  intrepid  Father  Jogues,  returned  to  die  by  the  tomahawk 
while  endeavorino;  to  imbue  the  minds  of  the  Mohawks  with  the 
sweet  spirit  of  Christ.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  there  were  Catholic  chapels  on  the  Kennebec  and  coast 
of  Maine,  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  Niagara,  at  Mackinaw,  Sault 
St.  Mary's,  Green  Bay,  and  Kaskaskia.  Early  in  the  last  cen- 
tury Detroit  had  a  church.  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and  Yiucennes 
were  the  next  seats  of  Catholicity.  At  the  South  New  Orleans 
and  Mobile  were  founded  and  Catholic  churches  were  estab- 
lished, Capuchins  laboring  in  the  settlements,  and  Jesuits  and 
missionary  priests  among  the  Indian  tribes.  The  Ursuline  nuns 
at  New  Orleans  began  to  labor  as  teachei's  and  nurses.  These 
churches  and  institutions,  from  Maine  to  Louisiana,  were  subject 
to  the  bishops  of  Quebec. 

In  the  English  colonies  Catholicity  began  its  life  in  Mary- 
land coeval  with  the  settlement,  two  Jesuit  priests  having 
formed  part  of  the  first  body  of  colonists,  taking  up  lands  and 
bringing  over  men  to  cultivate  them.  By  the  leader  of  this 
mission.  Father  Andrew  White,  Catholic  worship  was  first  of- 
fered on  St.  Clement's  Isle,  in  the  Potomac,  on  the  25th  of 
March,  1634.  Catholic  clergymen  were  for  many  years  the  only 
ministers  of  religion  in  Maryland,  and  most  of  the  settlers 
attended  their  church.  The  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  im- 
mediately undertaken,  and  the  Piscataways  and  Potopacos,  with 
their  rulers,  became  Christians. 

Maryland  was  founded  on  the  broad  principles  of  religious 
freedom,  and  Puritans  expelled  from  Virginia  found  shelter 
there.  During  the  period  of  the  Commonwealth,  however,  the 
very  men  ^\'ho  had  sought  an  asylum  in  Maryland  overthrew  the 
authority  of  Lord  Baltimore  and  passed  severe  peiial  laws 
against  the  Catholics,  sending  all  the  priests  as  prisoners  to 
England.  In  a  few  years  they  returned  and  resumed  their 
labors  under  o^reat  disadvantas^es.  Thoucjh  a  law  of  toleration 
was  passed  in  16-49,  it  was  of  brief  duration.  In  1654  Catholics 
were  deprived  of  civil  rights,  and,  though  there  was  a  lull  during 


52  THE   CATHOLIC   CHURCH   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.,  the  storm  broke  out  with 
renewed  fury  on  the  accession  of  William  III.  The  Catholic 
worship  was  forbidden  by  law,  and  could  be  offered  only  in 
secrecy ;  Catholics  were  loaded  with  double  taxes,  deprived  of 
all  power  of  voting  or  bearing  arms.  Yet  most  of  the  Catholics 
persevered,  the  Jesuits  and  Franciscans  having  chapels  in  houses, 
which  were  attended  by  the  people.  A  school  was  even  estab- 
lished where  boys  were  fitted  for  a  college  training  in  Europe. 

During  the  control  of  James  as  duke  and  king  over  New 
York  liberty  of  conscience  prevailed  and  Catholics  began  to 
settle  there.  Several  clergymen  of  that  faith  came  over,  and  the 
settlers  who  adhered  to  it  w^ere  thus  enabled  to  enjoy  the  con- 
solations of  religion.  A  Latin  school  was  also  opened,  the  first 
one  in  the  colony.  Leisler,  on  the  fall  of  James,  drove  nearly 
all  Catholics  out  of  New  York,  and  penal  laws  were  passed  to 
punish  any  Catholic  priest  who  entered  the  colony. 

When  Pennsylvania  began  to  be  settled  under  the  liberal 
policy  of  Penn,  Catholics  gradually  entered,  and  as  the  German 
immigration  began  a  considerable  number  adhered  to  the  faith 
planted  in  their  fatherland  by  St.  Boniface.  As  early  as  1708 
the  Mass  was  regularly  offered  in  Philadelphia,  and  after  a  time 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  on  Willing's  Alley,  was  begun  by  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  when  they  assumed  the  care  of  the  mission.  A 
church  was  erected  at  an  early  period  at  Lancaster,  and  there 
were  mission-houses  at  Conewago  and  Groshenhoppen. 

In  other  colonies  there  were  a  few  scattered  Catholics,  but 
nowhere  in  numbers  sufficient  to  establish  a  church.  The 
Acadians,  carried  off  by  the  British  government  from  Nova 
Scotia  in  1755  and  scattered  on  the  coast,  were  Catholics,  but 
only  at  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  did  they  find  a  welcome. 
At  Baltimore  they  were  attended  by  a  priest  and  founded  the 
jrst  Catholic  church. 

The  Catholics  in  the  British  colonies  were  subject  to  a 
bishop  in  England,  known  as  the  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  London 
District. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  there  was  a  strong  feel- 
ing against  the  adherents  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Catholics 
however,  without  exception,   rallied   to   the   cause  of   freedom. 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  53 

The  Catholic  Indians  in  Maine,  under  their  chief,  Orono,  took  up 
the  cause  of  the  colonies ;  the  St.  Regis  Indians,  on  the  New 
York  border,  did  the  same ;  and  the  French  settlers  in  Illinois, 
with  the  Indians  around  them,  joined  Colonel  Clarke  and  gained 
the  AVest  for  the  United  States.  Two  regiments  of  Canadian 
Catholics  fought  on  the  American  side  during  the  whole  war, 
attended  by  their  chaplain,  a  priest  commissioned  by  the  Con- 
tinental Cono^ress. 

The  Continental  Congress  itself  and  the  Constitutional  Con- 
rention  had  Catholic  members,  who  were  honored  by  all. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  Catholics  in  the  United 
States  could  no  longer  be  subject  to  the  London  vicar-apostolic. 
Some  desired  a  bishop;  others  thought  that  the  time  had  not 
yet  come.  Pope  Pius  VI.,  in  1784,  appointed  as  prefect-apostolic 
the  Rev.  John  Carroll,  a  Maryland  patriot-priest,  who  had,  at  the 
desire  of  Congress,  gone  to  Canada  during  the  Revolution  to  tiy 
and  win  over  the  inhabitants  of  that  province. 

The  new  prefect  set  to  Avoi'k  to  ascertain  what  scattered 
Catholics  there  were  in  the  country.  More  were  found  in  all 
parts  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  priests  in  Pennsylvania 
had  before  the  war  visited  Catholics  at  the  Iron- Works  and  at 
Macopin,  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  Rev.  F.  Steenmeier  (Farmer), 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  and  a  distinguished  mathema- 
tician, quietly  visited  New  York  and  gathered  a  little  congre- 
gation. 

These  flocks  had  now  increased.  There  were  a  few  Catho- 
lics even  in  Boston,  at  points  on  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk,  near 
Pittsburgh,  and  in  Kentucky.  Other  priests  came  over  from 
Europe,  and  these  scattered  bodies  began  to  organize  and  as- 
semble for  worship.  The  total  number  of  Catholics  in  the 
United  States  at  this  time  could  not  have  been  much  under 
forty  thousand,  including  the  French  and  Indians. 

The  reports  of  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  to  the  Pope  satisfied 
him  that  a  bishop  was  needed,  and  he  left  to  the  clergy  in  the 
country  the  nomination  of  a  suitable  candidate  and  the  selection 
of  his  see.  The  choice  fell  on  Dr.  Carroll,  who  was  apjwinted 
Bishop  of  Baltimore  November  6,  1789,  and  his  diocese  embraced 
the  whole  United  States. 


54  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Bishop  Carroll  proceeded  to  England,  and  was  consecrated  in 
the  chapel  of  Lul worth  Castle,  August  15,  1790.  The  founder 
of  the  American  hierarchy  is  a  grand  figure  worthy  of  his  time. 
His  wisdom,  learuiiig,  ability,  and  moderation  were  all  I'equired 
to  build  up  the  Church.  Soon  after  his  return  to  the  United 
States  the  Revolution  in  France  drove  into  exile  many  worthy 
and  learned  priests,  not  a  few  of  whom  came  to  America  and 
aided  Bishop  Carroll  in  his  work.  Churches  were  begun  or 
completed  at  Boston,  New  York,  Albany,  Charleston,  Greens- 
burg,  and  other  points.  Carmelite  nuns  came  to  found  a  con- 
vent of  their  order  in  Maryland ;  the  Sulpitians  established 
a  seminary  in  Baltimore ;  a  college  was  begun  at  Georgetown, 
soon  followed  by  one  at  Emmittsburg. 

In  1791  Bishop  Carroll  gathered  twenty  priests  in  a  synod  at 
Baltimore,  and  rules  were  adopted  suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  ;  but  the  duties  of  bishop  were  too  heavy  for  one  man. 
The  Kev.  Leonard  Neale  was  appointed  his  coadjutor  and  con- 
secrated  bishop  in  1800. 

This  was,  however,  but  a  temporary  relief,  and  in  1808 
bishops  were  appointed  for  Boston,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
Bardstown,  Ky.  At  this  time  his  diocese  contained  sixty-eight 
priests  and  eighty  churches.  Bishop  Cheverus,  appointed  Bishop 
of  Boston,  a  man  of  zeal,  charity,  and  gentleness,  had  all  New 
England  as  his  diocese,  and  won  the  affection  of  persons  of  every 
creed.  As  the  Bishop  of  New  York  died  at  Naples,  his  diocese 
languished,  and  many  important  works,  a  college,  and  a  convent- 
academy  were  abandoned.  Bishop  Egan,  of  Philadelphia,  had  as 
his  diocese  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and  part  of  New  Jersey. 
He  met  with  difficulties  in  Philadelphia,  which  increased  under 
his  successor  and  were  detrimental  to  all  real  reliofious  life ;  but 
in  other  parts  of  the  diocese  religion  j^rogressed.  The  diocese  of 
Bardstown  embraced  Kentucky,  with  Ohio  and  all  the  Northwest. 
Here  much  was  to  be  done ;  but  the  saintly  Flaget,  with  coad- 
jutors like  Nerinckx,  Badin,  Richard,  Salmon,  and  the  English 
Dominicans,  soon  revived  religion  in  places  where  it  seemed 
dying  out. 

The  United  States  were  then  bounded  by  the  Mississippi. 
Louisiana,  which  embraced  the  country  west  of  that  river,  had,  at 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  55 

tlie  request  of  the  Spanish  government,  been  formed  into  a  dio- 
cese by  Pope  Pius  YI.,  who  in  1793  appointed  a  learned  and 
charitable  Cuban,  Rev.  Dr.  Penalver,  Bishop  of  Louisiana.  When 
Louisiana  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  in  1803,  the  bishopric 
was  vacant,  and  the  administration  of  the  Church  in  that  vast 
province  was  also  confided  to  Bishop  Carroll.  The  Church  there 
was  in  a  peculiar  condition,  organized  originall}^  under  the  Span- 
ish system,  but  long  neglected.  Great  troubles  ensued,  but  the 
elevation  of  Rt.  Rev.  William  Louis  Dubourg  to  the  episcopate, 
and  the  establishing  of  sees  at  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis,  gave  a 
new  impulse  to  religion. 

The  rapidly-increasing  immigration  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon 
added  greatly  to  the  number  of  Catholics,  and  priests  were  called 
for  at  many  points.  The  first  effort  of  the  Catholic  priest  is  to 
erect  a  church  or  churches  in  the  district  assigned  to  him,  and  in 
time  to  add  schools.  As  a  diocese  is  formed  the  bishop  aids  his 
cleigy  in  this  work,  and  endeavors  to  establish  seminaries  for 
young  ladies,  orphan  asylums,  hospitals  under  the  care  of  Sisters 
belonging  to  some  religious  order  fitted  to  the  work,  and  colleges, 
high-schools,  and  a  theological  seminary.  The  religious  orders  of 
men  come  as  auxiliaries  to  the  secular  clergy  and  conduct  many 
of  the  colleges.  Each  diocese  thus  becomes  a  centre  of  such  in- 
stitutions. The  rapid  increase  of  Catholics  and  their  comparative 
poverty  have  made  this  work  difiicult  and  onerous,  and  aid  has 
been  derived  from  organizations  like  the  Association  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Faith  in  France,  which  was  organized  originally 
to  aid  the  struggling  churches  in  i\merica. 

The  original  dioceses,  ^vith  the  growth  of  the  country,  soon 
required  division.  Out  of  that  of  Baltimore  have  grown  those  of 
Richmond  (1821),  Charleston  (1820),  Savannah  (1850),  AVheeling 
(1850),  and  Wilmington  (1868),  and  North  Carolina  has  been 
formed  into  a  vicariate.  The  original  diocese  of  Philadelphia 
has  been  divided  into  those  of  Philadelphia,  Scranton  (1808), 
Harrisburg  (1868),  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny  (1843-76),  and 
Erie  (1853).  The  diocese  of  Newark  has  been  formed  to  embrace 
New  Jersey  (1853),  and  Trenton  ( 1 881)  has  since  been  set  off 
from  it.  New  York  contains  the  dioceses  of  New  York,  Albany 
(1847),  Brooklyn  (1853),  Buffalo  (1847),  Rochester  (1868),  Og- 


56  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

densburg  (1872).  Besides  the  see  of  Boston  there  are  in  New 
England  sees  at  PortLand  (1855),  Manchester  (1884),  Burlington 
(1853),  Springfield  (1870),  Providence  (1872),  and  Hartford 
(1844).  In  the  West,  Kentucky  has  bishops  at  Louisville  and 
Covington  (1853) ;  Ohio  an  archbishop  at  Cincinnati  (1822),  and 
bishops  at  Cleveland  (1847)  and  Columbus  (1868)  ;  Indiana  com- 
prises two  dioceses,  Vincennes  (1834)  and  Fort  Wayne  (1857); 
Michigan  those  of  Detroit  (1832),  Marquette  (1857),  and  Grand 
Rapids  (1882)  ;  Illinois  has  an  archbishop  at  Chicago  (1844), 
and  bishops  at  Alton  (1857)  and  Peoria  (1877);  Wisconsin 
an  archbishop  at  Milwaukee  (1844),  and  bishops  at  La  Crosse 
and  Green  Bay  (1868);  in  Missouri  there  is  an  archbishop  at  St. 
Louis,  and  bishop  at  Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph  (1868-80);  in 
Arkansas  a  bishop  at  Little  Rock  (1843) ;  in  Iowa  bishops  at 
Dubuque  (1837)  and  Davenport  (1881),  in  Minnesota  at  St.  Paul 
(1850)  and  St.  Cloud  (1875),  in  Kansas  at  Leavenworth  (1877), 
in  Montana  at  Helena  (1884)  ;  Nebraska,  Idaho,  Dakota,  and 
Colorado  are  vicariates-apostolic,  each  under  a  bishop.  In  the 
South  there  is  an  archbishop  at  New  Orleans ;  bishops  at  Nash- 
ville (1837),  at  Natchitoches  (1853),  Natchez  (1837),  Mobile 
(1824),  St.  Augustine  (1870),  Galveston  (1847),  San  Antonio 
(1874),  and  a  vicar-apostolic  on  the  Rio  Grande.  Ancient  New 
Mexico  has  its  archbishoj)  at  Santa  Fe  (1850);  Arizona  a  vicar- 
apostolic.  California  has  an  archbishop  at  San  Francisco  (1853), 
and  bishops  at  Monterey  (1850)  and  Grass  Valley  (1868).  Ore- 
gon has  its  archbishop  (1846),  Washington  Territory  a  bishop 
(1850),  and  Indian  Territory  a  prefect-apostolic. 

The  diocese  of  an  archbishop  and  those  of  his  suffragans  form 
a  province.  In  each  province  from  time  to  time  Provincial 
Councils  are  held,  in  which  the  archbishop  presides  and  his  suf- 
fragans take  part,  with  their  theologians  and  the  heads  of  the 
religious  orders.  In  these  assemblies  decrees  are  adopted  for  the 
]>etter  government  of  the  Church  in  the  province.  The  first 
council  was  that  of  Baltimore  in  1829,  held  by  Archbishop  Whit- 
field ;  a  number  of  councils  were  subsequently  held  there,  and 
when  other  archbishoprics  were  erected  councils  were  held  at 
New  York,  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco, 
and  in   Oregon.     Besides  these  there  have  been  three  Plenary 


THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  57 

Councils,  imposing  assemblages  held  at  Baltimore,  attended  by 
all  the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  the  country. 

The  wonderful  growth  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  not  been 
without  opposition.  Many  saw  in  it  a  danger  to  republican  in- 
stitutions, and  violence  has  not  been  confined  merely  to  words  or 
publications.  Catholic  institutions  and  churches  have  been  de- 
stroyed by  mobs. 

To  advocate  and  defend  their  doctrines  and  polity  the  Catho- 
lics have  a  quarterly  review,  several  monthlies,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  weekly  papers  in  English,  German,  French,  and  Spanish. 
Their  publishing  houses  issue  in  great  numbers  Bibles,  Testa- 
ments, Prayer-books,  doctrinal  and  controversial  as  well  as  de- 
votional works,  and  books  of  a  lighter  character  chiefly  for  the 
young. 

The  Catholic  body  is  composed  of  the  descendants  of  the 
colonial  settlers  and  more  recent  immigrants  and  their  offspring, 
with  members  joining  them  from  other  religious  bodies;  but 
they  have  no  missionary  societies  and  no  direct  machinery  for 
extending  their  doctrine  among  those  imacquainted  with  it. 
Many  of  its  prominent  men  have,  however,  been  converts — Arch- 
bishops Whitfield,  Eccleston,  Bayley,  Wood;  Bishops  Tyler, 
Wadhams,  Young,  Gilmour,  Eosecrans ;  Orestes  A.  Brownson,  the 
philosopher ;  Haldeman,  the  philologist ;  Dr.  L.  Silliman  Ives, 
formerly  bishop  in  the  Protestant  Ej^iscopal  Church;  Father 
Hecker,  founder  of  the  Paulists;  Mother  Seton,  founder  of  the 
Sisters  of  Charity. 

Among  other  distinguished  men  of  the  Catholic  body  must  be 
named  Cardinal  McCloskey,  the  first  American  member  of  the 
Sacred  College ;  Archbishop  Hughes  ;  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of 
Baltimore,  a  great  theologian  and  Biblical  scholar ;  Bishop  Eng- 
land, of  Charleston  ;  Bishop  Baraga,  Father  De  Sraet ;  the  Abbe 
Rouquette  and  Rev.  A.  J.  Ryan,  gifted  poets ;  Bishop  Du  Bois, 
founder  of  Mount  St.  Mary's ;  Bishop  Brute,  of  Vincennes  ;  Prince 
Galitzin,  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  Commodore  Barry,  Colonels  Moy. 
Ian  and  Vigo,  Generals  Rosecrans,  Stone,  and  Newton. 

Religious  orders  are  numerous  :  the  ancient  Benedictine  and 
Cistercian  monks;  the  Franciscan,  Dominican,  Carmelite,  and 
Augustinian   friars;    Jesuits,   Redemptorists,  Servites,   Oblates; 


58  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross,  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost,  of  the  Kesurrec- 
tion ;  Sulpitians,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Brothers  of 
Mary ;  Xaverian,  Alexian,  and  Franciscan  Brothers ;  Benedictine, 
Carmelite,  Ursuline,  Visitation,  Dominican  nuns;  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart ;  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Mercy,  and  many  others. 

The  statistics  for  the  year  1893  afford  striking  evidence  of  the 
marvelous  growth  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
beginning  of  that  year,  the  numbers  had  increased  to  14  arch- 
bishops, 73  bishops,  9,338  priests,  more  than  2,500  young  men 
studying  for  the  priesthood,  8,431  churches,  nearly  4,000  chapels 
and  stations,  117  colleges,  644  academies,  3,585  parochial  schools 
with  731,385  pupils,  647  charitable  institutions,  and  about  tea 
million  adherents. 


THE  YICARS-APOSTOLIC  OF  LONDON. 


The  Catholic  Church  throughout  the  world  is,  under  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  governed  by  bishops  or  archbishops,  so  that 
almost  every  part  of  the  earth  is  under  the  spiritual  care  of  one 
of  the  consecrated  succsssors  of  the  Apostles.  There  are  dioceses, 
governed  by  archbishops  and  bishops ;  vicariates-apostolic,  under 
the  charge  of  bishops  assigned  to  the  task ;  some  places  where 
the  faith  has  developed  less  are  committed  to  prefects-apostolic 
till  the  number  of  Catholics  requires  a  bishop's  care. 

The  British  colonies  which  were  formed  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  North  America  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  ex- 
tending from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia,  were,  in  regard  to  the 
Catholics  dwelling  in  them,  under  the  charge  of  the  vicars-apos- 
tolic in  England.  The  first  of  these  was  Right  Rev.  William 
Bishop,  Bishop  of  Chalcedon,  Vicar- Apostolic  of  England  and 
Scotland,  consecrated  in  1623.  His  successor.  Right  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Smith,  a  native  of  Lincolnshire,  who  had  studied  at  Oxford, 
Rome,  and  Valladolid,  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Chalcedon  and 
vicar-apostolic  January  12,  1625.  He  was  in  office  when  a  com- 
munity of  Catholics  settled  in  Maryland,  but  he  was  a  fugitive 
in  France  and  seems  to  have  taken  no  part  in  regulatino-  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  in  America.  After  his  death  no  appoin- 
ment  of  a  bishop  as  vicar-apostolic  for  England  was  made  till 
1685,  when  the  Right  Rev.  John  Leyburne  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Adrumetum  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  England  on  September 
9,  1685.  He  had  been  president  of  Douay  College  and  vicar- 
general  to  Bishop  Smith.  He  suffered  imprisonment  under 
William  IH.,  and  died  piously  June  9,  1702. 

In  1688  England  was  divided  into  four  vicariates,  and  Bishop 
Leyburne  retained  that  of  the  London  District.  He  was  succeed- 
ed by  Right  Rev.  Bonaventure  Giffard,  consecrated  April  22, 1688, 
Bishop  of  Madaura  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Midland  District. 
He  was  a  native  of  Wolverhampton.  Under  William  HL  he, 
too,  was  imprisoned  for  a  year  in  Newgate.  He  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  American  mission,  where  the  superior  of  the  Jesuit 

59 


gQ  THE  VICARS- APOSTOLIC  OF  LONDON. 

Toissions  was  his  vlcar-general.  His  regulations  in  regard  to  the 
holidays  and  fast-days  of  obligation  to  be  observed  in  the  colonies 
were  followed  till  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Baltimore.  Bishop 
Gift'ard  died  at  Hammersmith,  March  12,  1734.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Right  Rev.  Benjamin  Petre,  Bishoj)  of  Prusa,  who  gov- 
erned the  vicariate  till  1758.  For  many  years,  however,  the 
great  burden  fell  on  his  coadjutor,  the  zealous  Dr.  Richard  Chal- 
loner,  Bishop  of  Debra,  consecrated  January  29,  1741.  This 
great  prelate,  who  prepared  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  for 
English  Catholics,  gave  them  the  "  Catholic  Christian  Instructed," 
"Meditations,"  and  other  works  still  prized,  presided  as  vicar-apos- 
tolic for  forty  years,  and  his  care  extended  to  this  country  down 
to  the- Revolution.  In  his  later  years  he  had  as  coadjutor  Right 
Rev.  James  Talbot,  consecrated  Bishop  of  Birtha,  August  ^4, 1759. 
Bishop  Challoner  died  in  January,  1781,  aged  nearly  ninety. 

When  the  Revolution  broke  out  Bishop  Talbot  ceased  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  Catholic  priests  and  people  in  the  thirteen 
colonies.  Accordingly,  when  -pesLce  was  made  and  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  acknowledged,  the  clergy  in  America 
applied  to  the  Pope  for  the  appointment  of  a  prefect-apostolic. 
The  attempt  of  the  Anglicans  to  obtain  a  bishop  in  colonial  days 
had  made  the  very  name  so  objectionable  that  Catholics  were 
afi'aid  to  ask  that  one  should  be  appointed  for  America. 

The  Rev.  John  Carroll  was  appointed  prefect-apostolic  in  1784. 
His  jurisdiction  did  not  extend  over  the  w^hole  territory  of  the 
United  States,  the  settlements  in  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois,  as 
well  as  Indian  missions  in  Maine,  Ohio,  and  New  York,  being 
still  under  the  charge  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec.  At  this  time 
Florida  and  Louisiana,  embracing  all  west  of  the  Mississippi,  be- 
longed to  the  diocese  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Texas  was  part  of 
the  diocese  of  Guadalajara,  New  Mexico  of  that  of  Durango, 
while  California  was  governed  by  a  prefect-apostolic.  In  1789 
Pope  Pius  VI.  erected  the  see  of  Baltimore,  and  appointed  as  its 
first  bishop  the  Right  Rev.  John  Carroll,  who  had  been  selected 
by  the  American  clergy,  his  diocese  embracing  the  whole  territory 
of  the  republic  at  that  time — that  is  to  say,  the  portion  of  the 
United  States  of  our  day  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi,  with  the 
exception  of  Florida. 


THE    CATHOLIC    HMARCHY 


THE   UNITED    STATES. 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE. 


MOST    REV.    JOHN    CARROLL,   D.D., 

First  Bishop  and  first  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

The  Most  Rev.  Jolin  Carroll  is  the  oricrin  of  the  American 
episcopate,  as  first  bisliop  and  subsequently  first  archbishop 
of  Baltimore,  all  dioceses  east  of  the  Mississippi  having  been 
formed  from  that  confided  to  his  care,  and  all  archbishops  and 
bishops  succeeding  to  some  part  of  his  authority.  He  was  emi- 
nently worthy  of  the  high  position,  and  stands  in  history  as  a 
noble  character,  maintaining  in  all  his  acts  the  greatest  episcopal 
dignity. 

John  Carroll  was  born  at  Upper  Marlborough,  Maryland, 
Januarys,  1735,  son  of  Daniel  Carroll,  a  native  of  L'eland,  and 
Eleanor  Darnall.  He  began  his  studies  at  a  school  established  at 
Bohemia,  in  Maryland,  but  was  sent  ere  Ions:  to  the  srreat  college 
at  St.  Omer,  in  Flanders.  During  his  stay  at  that  seat  of  learning 
he  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  a  religious  life,  and  entered  the 
Society  of  Jesus  at  AVatton  September  17,  1753.  After  passing 
some  years  as  professor  he  made  his  divinity  course  and  was  or- 
dained in  1769.  AVhile  at  the  Collesre  of  Brusres  in  1773  tlie  es- 
tablishment  was  seized  by  the  Austro-Belgian  government  and  the 
Fathers  expelled.  On  becoming  a  professed  Father  he  had  given 
up  all  his"2^i'operty  to  his  brother,  and  was  now  thrown  on  the 
world  in  a  foreign  land.     He  returned  to  America  in  June,  1774, 


62  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  began  his  labors  as  a  secular  priest  among  tbe  Catholics 
in  Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  claims  of  the  colonists  for  their 
just  rights  were  ignored  by  the  English  king  and  parliament,  and 
war  was  imminent.  Carroll  had  from  the  outset  supported  the 
rights  of  America,  and  when  Congress  sent  delegates  to  Canada 
to  win  the  co-operation,  or  at  least  neutrality,  of  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple of  that  province,  the  Rev,  John  Carroll  accompanied  Frank- 
lin, Chase,  and  Carroll  to  aid  their  mission  by  his  influence  as  a 
priest.  Bigotry  in  Congress  defeated  the  mission,  and  the  Kev. 
Mr.  Carroll  resumed  his  labors  at  Rock  Creek. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  clergy  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylva- 
nia were  anxious  to  be  independent  of  the  authorities  of  England, 
fearing  to  give  offence  to  their  fellow-citizens.  Accordingly  in 
1783  they  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Holy  Father,  not  asking 
for  a  bishop,  but  for  a  superior  independent  of  the  Vicar- Apostolic 
of  London.  Benjamin  Franklin  at  Paris  strongly  recommended 
to  the  Nuncio  the  reverend  gentleman  whom  he  knew  so  well, 
and,  as  he  was  the  choice  of  the  American  clergy.  Pope  Pius  VI. 
in  June,  1784,  appointed  the  Rev.  John  Carroll  prefect-aposto- 
lic in  the  United  States.  Before  the  tidings  of  the  appointment 
or  the  documents  imparting  authority  had  reached  him,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Carroll  stood  forth  as  the  champion  of  the  Catholic  cause 
in  America  by  a  convincing  and  learned  reply  to  the  pamphlet  of 
an  apostate  priest  which  was  widely  circulated. 

As  prefect-apostolic  he  had  all  to  organize  and  supply ;  Catho- 
lics were  beginning  to  arrive  and  settle  in  the  country,  who  were 
anxious  for  priests  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice  for  them.  Churches 
were  to  be  erected,  but  the  prefect  had  no  clergymen  and  no 
funds  at  his  disposal.  The  old  missionaries  in  the  country  were 
sinkiuo:  under  a2:e  and  infirmities.  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll  visited  the 
missions,  laboring  earnestly  himself  and  doing  all  in  his  23ower  to 
supply  the  wants  of  a  flock  scattered  over  the  country.  He  began 
the  erection  of  a  college  at  Georgetown,  now  the  oldest  Cath- 
olic institution  of  learning,  A  Jubilee  was  for  the  first  time  pro- 
claimed and  the  sacrament  of  Confirmation  administered.  After 
visiting  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York  he 
made  a  report  to  the  Congregation  de  Propaganda  Fide  on  the 
condition  of  the  Church  in  the  United  States.     It  was  soon  p' '- 


D]OCESE  OF  BALTIMORE.  63 

dent  tliat  a  bishop  with  full  powers  was  needed,  and  in  1788  the 
clergy  again  addressed  the  Pope  and  solicited  the  erection  of  an 
episcopal  see,  asking  to  be  permitted  to  propose  a  candidate.  The 
Holy  See,  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  looked  far  into  the  future ; 
the  see  of  Baltimore  was  erected  by  the  bull  of  Pope  Pius  VI., 
dated  November  6,  1789,  and  the  Sov^ereign  Pontiff  with  great  joy 
confirmed  the  choice  of  the  American  clergy  and  appointed  as 
first  bishop  the  E,ev.  John  Carroll,  whose  virtue,  wisdom,  and  pru- 
dence had  become  so  well  known. 

On  receiving  his  bulls  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll  proceeded  to  Eng- 
land and  was  consecrated  bishop  by  the  learned  Benedictine, 
the  Right  Rev.  Charles  Walmesley,  then  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the 
London  District.  The  ceremony  took  place  in  the  chapel  of  LuL 
worth  Castle,  August  15, 1790.  Before  he  returned  to  America  he 
was  gladdened  by  a  proposal  from  the  superior  of  the  Sulpitians,  a 
body  devoted  to  educating  young  men  for  the  priesthood,  to  send 
some  of  their  members  to  America.  On  his  return  he  visited  the 
cities  and  towns  where  Catholic  congregations  had  risen  up,  ex- 
tending his  episcopal  journey  as  far  as  Boston,  where  he  received 
an  appeal  from  the  Catholic  Indians  of  Maine.  His  bulls  made 
his  diocese  co-extensive  with  the  United  States,  and  the  French 
settlements  in  the  AVest,  heretofore  dependent  on  the  Bishop  of 
Quebec,  now  appealed  to  him  for  aid.  Yet  in  all  his  vast  dio- 
cese he  had  few  priests  and  not  a  single  institution  of  learning  or 
charity.  God,  who  in  his  providence  allowed  vice  and  irreligion 
to  scourge  France,  made  the  time  of  trial  beneficial  to  England 
and  the  United  States.  Bishop  Carroll  received  a  body  of  Sul- 
pitians, many  pious  and  devoted  secular  priests  from  France,  a 
colony  of  English  Dominican  Fathers,  a  community  of  Carme- 
lite nuns,  another  of  Poor  Clares.  He  was  thus  enabled  to  give 
priests  to  New  England,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Illinois.  A 
seminary  was  opened,  and  one  of  the  first  ordained  from  it  was 
the  Russian  Prince  Dmitri  Galitzin,  who  became  tlie  apostle  of 
the  Alleghanies.  On  the  7th  of  November,  1791,  he  convened 
his  clergy  in  a  diocesan  synod  at  Baltimore.  Twenty-two  priests, 
American,  English,  French,  Ii'isli,  German,  met  to  concei-t 
plans  for  a  uniform  discipline  in  the  services  of  religion,  for  the 
support  of  the  clergy,  and  the  establishment  of  new  churches. 


64      THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  statutes  drawn  up  by  Bishop  Carroll  and  adopted  in  this 
synod  have  ever  since  won  admiration.  The  impulse  given  to 
religion  by  the  appointment  of  a  bishop  was  marked ;  but  in  th« 
rapid  growth  of  the  Church  came  some  sore  trials  to  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  Carroll.  At  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  German  congrega- 
tions defied  his  authority ;  in  other  parts  priests  without  faculties 
usurped  churches,  and  some  gave  scandal  instead  of  edification. 
It  was  evident  that  so  vast  a  diocese  was  beyond  the  power  of 
any  one.  Bishop  Carroll  soon  solicited  the  appointment  of  a 
coadjutor  and  the  division  of  the  diocese ;  but  the  priest  first 
selected  as  coadjutor  died  in  Philadelphia  of  yellow-fever,  a  vic- 
tim to  charity,  and  Bishop  Carroll  received  new  responsibilities 
in  the  charge  of  some  West  India  islands,  and  a  few  years  later 
in  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of  Louisiana.  In  1800  the 
Right  Rev.  Leonard  Neale  was  consecrated  coadjutor-bishop,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  founder  of  the  American  hierarchy.  Guid- 
ed by  this  pious  director,  Miss  Alice  Lalor  soon  after  founded 
at  Georgetown  the  first  monastery  in  the  United  States  of  Visi- 
tation Nuns.  In  1809  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Seton,  a  convert  to  the  faith, 
founded  at  Emmittsburs;  the  first  American  house  of  Sisters  of 
Charity.  The  religious  communities  thus  begun  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  great  Bishop  Carroll  flourish  to  this  day,  the  Sis- 
ters of  Charity  numbering  more  than  a  thousand.  In  1^09  the 
Rev.  John  Du  Bois  began  in  a.  log-cabin  at  Emmittsburg  a  new  in- 
stitution of  learning,  Mount  St.  Mary's,  which  as  a  theological 
seminary  and  a  college  has  sent  forth  for  more  than  three-quar- 
ters of  a  century  well-trained  priests  and  accomplished  laymen. 
In  1>06  Bishop  Carroll  was  so  encouraged  that  he  laid  the  foun- 
datio'is  of  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore. 

Great  as  was  the  assistance  rendered  by  Bishop  Neale,  Bishop 
Carroll  was  sensible  that  the  interest  of  relisrion  demanded  a 
division  of  his  diocese.  Wherever  a  priest  could  be  sent  Catho- 
lics before  unheard  of  gathered  around  the  altar  he  reared.  On 
his  appointment  as  prefect  Dr.  Carroll  estimated  the  Catholics 
in  the  country  at  24,500,  with  twenty-four  jiriests,  some  of  them 
superannuated.  In  1808  he  could  count  sixty-eight  priests,  eighty 
churches,  several  religious  orders,  and  three  colleges.  Pope  Pius 
VII.,  by  his  brief  of  April  8,  1808,  raised  Baltimore  to  the  rank 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE.  65 

of  a  metropolitan  see,  and,  dividing  tlie  diocese,  founded  new 
sees  at  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bardstown,  appoint- 
ing to  New  York  Father  Richard  Luke  Concanen,  a  Dominican 
highly  esteemed  at  Bome,  and  to  the  other  sees  priests  already- 
known  by  their  zealous  labors  in  America.  Unable  at  once  to 
hold  a  provincial  council.  Archbishop  Carroll  with  his  suffragans 
adopted  a  series  of  wise  regulations  which  for  years  guided  the 
bishops  of  the  United  States. 

The  diocese  of  Baltimore,  as  reduced,  embraced  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  the  Southern  States  to  the  Gulf  and  the  Mississippi. 
Devoting  his  remaining  strength  and  energy  to  build  up  the  house 
of  the  Lord  in  this  field.  Archbishop  Carroll  lived  to  see  consoling 
fruits.  He  beheld,  too,  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Maryland  reorgan- 
ized Avith  the  approval  of  the  Holy  ^^ee,  and  the  mission  increased 
by  a  number  of  learned  fathers  from  Europe,  and  had  the  joy  of 
living  to  see  Pope  Pius  VI L  formally  restore  the  Society,  to  which 
he  had  so  long  belonged,  by  his  bull  of  August  7, 1814.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  year  1815  the  aged  patriarch  of  the  Church  in 
America  showed  by  his  failing  health  that  death  was  approaching. 
He  calmly  awaited  the  last  struggle,  fortified  by  the  sacraments, 
and  expired  Sunday,  December  3,  1815.  His  pastoral  letters  show 
the  bishop  caring  for  his  flock ;  his  controversies  with  Wharton 
and  others  his  ability  in  defending  the  faith  against  assaults. 


MOST  BEV.    LEONABD   NEALE, 

Second  Arclihisliop  cf  Baltimore. 

Leonaed  Neale  was  born  at  Port  Tobacco,  in  Maryland,  on 
tne  15th  of  October,  1746,  of  a  family  which  had  for  more  than 
a  century  maintained  the  faith  in  that  province.  His  pious 
mother  sent  her  children  to  Europe  to  obtain  an  education,  and 
Leonard,  after  his  course  at  St.  Omer's,  resolved  to  embrace  the 
religious  life,  as  his  brothers  and  sister  had  done.  After  study- 
ing at  Bruges  and  Liege  he  was  ordained,  and  exercised  the  min- 
istry till  the  suppression  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.     He  then  went 


66  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  England,  but,  hearing  that  priests  were  needed  in  Demerara, 
sailed  to  that  province  and  labored  there  as  a  missionary  among 
whites,  negroes,  and  Indians.  Returning  to  Maryland  in  1783,  he 
took  charge  of  a  mission  at  Port  Tobacco  ;  but  when  the  yellow- 
fever  in  1793  carried  off  two  priests  in  Philadelphia — Kev.  Mr., 
Gressel,  who  had  been  named  coadjutor-bishop,  and  the  able  con- 
troversialist, the  Rev.  Father  Fleming,  of  the  order  of  St.  Dominic, 
died  amid  their  apostolic  labors — Rev.  Mr.  Neale  hastened  to  the 
spot,  and  during  that  and  subsequent  visitations  of  the  terrible 
disease  labored  with  zeal  and  courage.  He  was  not  only  pastor  in 
Pennsylvania,  but  also  vicar-general  for  that  and  the  other  Northern 
States.  At  Philadelphia  Miss  Alice  Lalor  became  his  penitent, 
and,  under  his  direction  and  advice,  in  time  founded  the  first  com- 
munity of  Visitation  Nuns  in  America.  In  1798  Bishop  Carroll 
appointed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Neale  president  of  Georgetown  College. 
His  experience  in  colleges  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Europe  en- 
abled him  to  give  the  new  institution  a  solid  and  tried  system. 
He  was  at  last  selected  as  the  coadjutor  of  Bishop  Carroll,  and 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Gortyna,  December  7,  1800.  Retain- 
ing the  position  of  president  of  Georgetown  College,  he  was  also 
director  of  the  Visitation  Nuns  and  of  the  Poor  Clares. 

He  took  part  in  the  meeting  of  the  suffragans  after  the 
division  of  the  diocese,  and  in  the  wise  statutes  framed  on  that 
occasion.  On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  December  3, 
1815,  he  succeeded  to  the  metropolitan  see  of  Baltimore,  and 
received  the  pallium  from  Pope  Pius  VII.  in  the  following 
year.  One  of  his  first  steps  was  to  solicit  from  the  Holy  See  a 
formal  approval  of  tlie  Visitation  community  founded  under  his 
direction. 

The  aged  archbishop  was  not  free  from  trials.  The  con- 
dition of  the  Church  in  Philadelphia  and  in  South  Carolina  in- 
volved him  in  troubles  that  weighed  heavily  on  him.  Anxious 
to  secure  a  successor,  who  migrht  be  better  able  to  bear  the  bur- 
den  of  the  archiepiscopate,  he  earnestly  besought  Bishop  Cheverus, 
of  Boston,  to  become  his  coadjutor ;  but,  yielding  to  the  advice 
of  that  great  bishop,  finally  selected  a  Sulpitian  of  learning  and 
ability,  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Marechal,  who  was  appointed  Bishop 
of    Stauropolis,  July  24,   1817.     Before  the  bulls  arrived  from 


DIOCESS  OF  BALTIMORE.  67 

flome  the  venerable  arclibisliop  had  expired  in  liis  residence 
adjoining  tlie  Visitation  Convent  at  Georgetown,  June  15,  1817. 
Tlie  Sisters  claimed  his  body  as  a  sacred  deposit,  and  it  was  in- 
terred beneath  the  altar  of  their  convent  chapel,  where  it  re- 
mains to  this  day. 


MOST  REV.  AMBROSE  MARECHAL, 

TJiird  Archhisliop  of  Baltimore. 

Ambrose  Maei^chal  was  born  in  1768  at  a  place  called 
Ingre,  near  Orleans,  France.  His  family  were  able  to  give  him 
the  highest  education,  but,  while  all  was  tending  to  irreligion 
and  impiety,  young  Marechal  resolved  to  enter  the  ecclesiastical 
state.  He  had  studied  his  theology  under  the  Sulpitians  and 
was  ready  for  ordination  when  the  blow  fell  on  the  Church. 
He,  however,  contrived  to  be  ordained  secretly  at  Bordeaux,  and 
the  same  day  embarked  for  America,  reaching  Baltimore  June 
24,  1792.  He  entered  on  his  priestly  career  by  missionary 
labors  in  St.  Mary's  County  and  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  but  on 
the  organization  of  St.  Mary's  College  in  1799  became  profes- 
sor of  theology.  In  1803  the  superior  of  St.  Sulpice  recalled 
him  to  France,  where  he  filled  the  chair  of  theology  in  several 
seminaries.  In  1812,  to  his  own  joy,  he  was  assigned  to  his  old 
position  in  Baltimore.  He  refused  the  see  of  Philadelphia,  to 
which  he  had  been  nominated ;  but  when,  at  the  urgent  request 
of  Archbishop  Neale  and  Bishop  Cheverus,  he  was  appointed 
coadjutor  of  Baltimore,  he  yielded.  The  bulls  arrived  after  the 
death  of  the  venerable  Doctor  Neale,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Marechal 
was  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  by  Bishop  Cheverus, 
December  14,  1817. 

His  great  predecessors  had  suffered  much  from  unworthy 
priests,  accej^ted  fi-om  abroad  without  full  knowledge  of  their 
character.  Archbishop  Marechal  had  a  body  of  priests  many  of 
whom  had  been  trained  for  the  American  mission,  but  he  encoun- 
tered opposition  from    lay  trustees,  who  in  not   a   few  places, 


68  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

misled  by  intriguing  men,  claimed  tlie  right  to  appoint  priests, 
and  who  wished  to  make  the  pastors  of  God's  Church  their 
hired  servants.  The  adjusting  of  questions  as  to  the  legal  title 
of  property  belonging  to  the  old  Jesuit  missions  also  involved 
difficulties  of  no  slight  moment. 

In  1820  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  was  again  divided,  and  an 
episcopal  see  was  erected  at  Charleston,  the  diocese  embracing 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  another  see  at  Richmond,  with 
Virginia  for  its  diocese.  The  newly-appointed  Bishop  of  Rich- 
mond  found  such  scanty  resources  in  Virginia  that,  after  a  year's 
struggle,  he  was  translated  to  a  see  in  Ireland.  Archbishop  Ma- 
rechal  then  cjoverned  the  diocese  of  Richmond  as  administrator- 
apostolic. 

He  completed  and  dedicated  his  cathedral  in  May,  1821,  the 
fine  altar  being  a  gift  from  priests  who  had  been  his  pupils  in 
Frencli  seminaries.  One  of  his  great  objects  was  to  convene  a 
Provincial  Council  in  the  United  States,  that  by  united  counsel 
the  bishoj^s  might  give  stability  to  the  house  of  God.  He 
drew  up  the  plans  for  one,  and,  proceeding  to  Rome  in  1821, 
took  steps  to  secure  so  desirable  a  synod.  Briefs  regarding  the 
future  council  were  issued  by  Pope  Pius  VII.  in  1823  and  by 
Pope  Leo  XII.  in  1828,  but  Archbishop  Marechal  did  not  live  to 
see  the  council  assemble. 

A  community  of  colored  Sisters  had  been  founded  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Joubert,  known  as  Sisters  of  Providence,  and  in  1825 
their  association  was  approved  by  Archbishop  Marechal.  In 
1826  he  visited  Canada  in  the  interest  of  religion,  and  on  his 
return,  while  at  Emmittsburg,  began  to  disclose  symptoms  of 
dropsy  of  the  chest.  He  at  once  forwarded  to  Rome  the  names 
of  three  whom  he  recommended  for  the  position  of  coadjutor. 
The  Pope,  by  Imlls  of  January  8,  1828,  appointed  the  Rev. 
James  Whitfield  Bishop  of  Apollonia  and  coadjutor  with  the 
risrht  of  succession. 

Archbishop  Marechal,  feeling  that  the  work  of  the  diocese 
would  be  ably  continued,  dismissed  all  care  and  prepared  for 
death.  Fortified  by  all  the  consolations  of  religion,  he  ex23ired 
calmly  on  the  29th  of  January,  1828. 


DIOCESE  OP  BALTIMORE.  69 


MOST  REV.  JAMES  WHITFIELD, 

Fourth  Arclthisliop  of  Baltimore. 

James  Whitfield  was  born  in  Liverpool  November  3,  1770, 
and  on  tlie  death  of  Lis  father  set  out  with  his  mother  for  Italy, 
in  hope  that  the  climate  would  benefit  her  health.  While  re- 
turning to  England  they  were  detained  at  Lyons  by  one  of 
Napoleon's  decrees  against  the  English  government.  Here  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Marechal,  and, 
entering  the  seminary,  was  ordained  priest  in  1809,  his  good 
mother  living  to  see  her  son  minister  at  the  altar.  Keturning 
to  England,  he  served  for  some  years  as  parish  priest  at  Crosby, 
but,  on  the  pressing  invitation  of  Archbishop  Marechal,  came  to 
America  in  the  autumn  of  1817.  As  one  of  the  pastors  of  the 
cathedral  he  showed  great  zeal,  prudence,  and  ability.  In  the 
care  of  the  negroes  he  was  especially  interested. 

He  was  appointed,  by  bull  of  January  8,  1828,  Bishop  of 
Apollonia  and  coadjutor  of  Baltimore ;  but  as  the  document  did 
not  arrive  during  the  lifetime  of  Archbishop  Marechal,  he  was 
consecrated  Archbishop  of  Baltiinore  by  succession  on  Whit- 
sunday, May  25,  1828,  the  venerable  Bishop  Flaget  officiating. 
The  pallium  reached  him  the  next  year. 

Archbishop  Whitfield  made  a  careful  and  strict  ^  Isitation  in 
the  diocese  of  Baltimore  and  in  that  of  Richmond,  of  whicli  he 
was  administrator.  He  submitted  to  the  Holy  See  his  learned 
predecessor's  plan  for  a  Provincial  Council,  and,  on  its  aj)proval, 
proceeded,  in  compliance  with  the  instructions,  to  summon  his 
suffragans  to  meet  him  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore. 

The  first  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  forms  an  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  It 
was  held  a  little  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  day  which, 
by  declaring  the  colonies  free  and  indej)endent  States,  liberated 
the  Catholics  and  their  Church  from  the  oppressive  laws  of  Eng- 
land. During  that  half-century  the  Churcli,  which,  after  the 
Peace  of  Paris,  was  represented  by  Dr.  Carroll  as  having  some 
tAventy-five  thousand  members  and  twenty-five  priests,  had  riser 


70  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  a  body  of  half  a  million  in  a  population  of  twelve  millions. 
In  tlie  limits  of  the  original  diocese  of  Baltimore  there  were 
seven  bishops,  one  hundred  and  sixty  priests,  nearly  as  many 
churches,  three  colleges,  eight  convents,  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  Catholics ;  while  the  dioceses  of  New  Orleans, 
St.  Louis,  and  Mobile  gave  t^vo  more  bishops,  more  than  eighty 
priests,  some  ten  convents,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
of  the  faithful.  It  was  essential  to  adopt  uniform  regulations 
for  the  spiritual  government  of  this  large  and  rapidly  increasing 
body,  which  had  seminaries,  colleges,  schools,  but  could  not  ob- 
tain churches  and  priests  for  all  who  desired  them. 

The  council  opened  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore  on  Sun- 
day, October  4,  1829.  Beside  Archbishop  Whitfield,  who  pre- 
sided, there  sat  in  this  memorable  synod  the  venerable  Bish- 
op Flaget  of  Bardstown  ;  the  able  and  eloquent  Bishop  Eng- 
land, of  Charleston  ;  Bishoj)  Edward  Fenwick,  of  Cincinnati ; 
Bishop  Rosati,  of  St.  Louis,  administrator  of  New  Orleans ;  and 
Bishop  Benedict  Fenwick,  of  Boston.  Bishop  Du  Bois  and 
Bishop  Portier,  of  Mobile,  were  in  Europe,  and  Bishop  David, 
coadjutor  of  BardstoAvn,  was  unable  from  ill  health  to  attend. 
Philadelphia  was  rej)resented  by  the  administrator,  Very  Rev. 
William  Mathews.  The  superior  of  the  Jesuits,  the  visitor  of 
St.  Sulpice,  and  several  theologians  attended.  Eminent  lawyers, 
called  in  to  consult  in  regard  to  the  tenure  of  church  property 
in  the  eye  of  the  civil  law,  were  struck  by  the  grave  and  vene- 
rable assembly  of  the  superiors  of  the  Catholic  Church,  while  to 
the  people  at  large  the  pomp  and  ceremonial  seemed  to  revive 
the  ages  of  faith  and  give  earnest  of  future  triumphs  for  the 
Church.  Thirty-eight  decrees  were  adopted  regulating  fli^;  ap- 
pointment of  pastors  and  other  priests,  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  the  holidays  and  fasts  of  obligation,  the  tenure  of 
Church  proj^erty,  the  establishment  of  schools,  and  the  diffusion 
of  Catholic  books  and  periodicals.  The  decrees  were  trans- 
mitted to  his  Holiness  Pope  Pius  VIII.  and  formally  approved — 
the  basis  of  the  law  for  the  Church  in  the  United  States. 

The  council  was  followed  by  consoling  results.  Archbishop 
Whitfield  wrote  in  1832:  "The  wonders,  if  I  dare  so  express 
nijT^self,  that  have  been  operated  and  are  daily  operated  in  my 


I 


DIOCESE   OF   BALTIMORE.  71 

diocese  are  a  source  of  consolation  to  me  amid  the  difficulties 
against  which  I  have  still  often  to  struggle."     "  A  truly  Catholic 

spirit  distinguishes  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia 

Conversions  of  Protestants  in  health  are  also  numerous,  and  not 
a  week,  in  some  seasons  not  a  day,  passes  without  our  priests  be- 
ing called  to  the  bedside  of  some  invalid  who  wishes  to  abjure 
error  and  die  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church." 

The  terrible  Asiatic  cholera  in  that  year  visited  the  United 
States.  Archbishop  Whitfield,  with  his  priests  and  Sisters,  was 
untiring  in  devotion  to  the  afflicted.  The  diocese  lost  two  priests 
by  death,  and  two  Sisters  died  of  cholera  while  attending  the 
sick  in  the  hospital,  and  a  colored  Oblate  Sister  of  Providence 
was  another  victim  of  charity. 

The  next  year  the  archbishop  obtained  of  the  Holy  See  a 
dispensation  for  the  United  States  from  the  usual  abstinence 
on  Saturdays  and  Rogation  Days,  many  of  the  poorer  Catho- 
lics at  service  finding  it  difficult  to  obtain  necessary  food  on 
those  days. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1833,  Archbishop  Whitfield  opened 
the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  which  was  attended 
by  Bishop  David,  coadjutor  of  Bardstown,  representing  the  aged 
Bishop  Flaget ;  and  also  by  Bishops  England  of  Charleston, 
Rosati  of  St.  Louis,  Du  Bois  of  New  York,  Portier  of  Mobile, 
Kenrick,  administrator  of  Philadelphia,  Rese  of  Detroit,  and 
Purcell  of  Cincinnati.  The  two  last  were  consecrated  a  few 
days  before  the  session  of  the  council.  Dr.  Purcell  succeeding 
Bishop  Fenwick,  who  had  died  of  cholera  while  visiting  his 
diocese.  The  see  of  New  Orleans  was  vacant.  Bishop  de  Neck- 
ere  having  died  in  September.  In  this  council  a  plan  was 
adopted  for  the  future  appointments  to  the  episcopate,  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  dioceses  definitely  fixed.  The  council  also 
took  steps  in  regard  to  missions  among  the  Indian  tribes  and 
among  the  negroes  in  Liberia.  The  establishment  of  a  theo- 
logical  Seminary  in  each  diocese  was  advised,  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  revise  books  used  in  Catholic  schools.  The  de- 
crees of  the  council  were  duly  approved  at  Rome,  and  a  see 
established  at  Vincennes,  as  requested  by  the  fathers  of  the 
council. 


72  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Arclibishop  Whitfield  devoted  his  large  private  fortune  to 
the  good  of  his  diocese,  completing  the  tower  of  the  cathedral 
and  the  archiepiscojial  residence.  He  built  at  his  own  cost  the 
church  of  St.  James,  laying  the  corner-stone  May  1,  1833,  and 
consecrating  it  on  the  first  of  May,  1834.  His  health  was  then 
rapidly  failing.  Visits  to  medicinal  springs  proved  of  no  avail, 
and  he  returned  to  his  episcopal  city  to  prepare  for  the  close  of 
his  well-spent  life.  Fortified  by  the  sacraments  and  surrounded 
by  his  coadjutor  and  clei-gy,  to  whom  he  had  been  a  father  and  a 
model,  he  died  piously  October  19,  1834. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  the  dioceses  of  Baltimore  and  Rich- 
mond contained  sixty-eight  priests,  about  sixty-four  churches  or 
chapels,  three  colleges,  four  academies  or  boarding-schools  for 
girls,  an  orphan  asylum,  an  infii-mary,  and  several  schools. 


MOST  EEV.  SAMUEL  ECCLESTON, 

Fiftli  Archhisliop  of  Baltimore. 

Sajitjel  Eccleston  was  born  in  Kent  County,  Maryland,  on 
the  27th  of  June,  1801,  of  parents  belonging  to  the  Ej)iscopal 
Church,  but,  his  widowed  mother  marrying  a  Catholic,  he  was 
led  by  the  examples  he  saw  to  embrace  the  faith  while  a  jxipil 
of  St.  Mary's  College.  He  resolved,  too,  to  devote  his  life  to 
the  ministry,  and,  having  made  his  divinity  studies  in  the  semi- 
nar}^, was  ordained  April  24,  1825.  To  ground  himself  still 
more  in  sacred  learning  he  spent  some  time  at  Issy,  and,  after 
visiting  England  and  Ireland,  returned  to  his  native  country. 
He  was  appointed  vice-president  and  soon  became  president  of 
St.  Mary's  College,  and  in  1834  was  elected  Bishop  of  Ther- 
mia  and  coadjutor  to  Archbishop  Whitfield,  by  whom  he  was 
consecrated  on  the  14th  day  of  September.  In  little  more  than 
a  month  he  had  the  sad  task  of  chanting  the  requiem  for  his 
metroj^olitan.  Archbishop  Eccleston  came  to  his  high  duties 
in  the  vigor  of  early  manhood,  and  gave  them  the  energy  of  his 
life.      Under  his  encouragement  the  Visitation  nuns  increased 


lOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE.  73 

the  number  of  their  academies,  Brothers  of  St.  Patrick  came 
to  direct  parochial  schools  for  boys,  and  the  German  Catholics 
were  confided  to  the  care  of  the  sons  of  St.  Alphonsus,  the  Re- 
demptorist  Fathers ;  the  preparatory  college  of  St.  Charles  for 
young  levites  was  founded;  soon  after  the  Lazarists,  in  1850, 
began  their  labors  in  the  diocese  of  Baltimore,  and  the  Brotheis 
of  the  Christian  Schools  established  a  novitiate  of '  their  order  ; 
so  that  the  diocese  has  ever  since  been  the  hive  for  the  great 
missionary  body  of  Bedemptorists  and  that  excellent  teaching 
body,  the  sons  of  the  Venerable  La  Salle. 

Nor  was  it  only  in  his  own  diocese  that  his  influence  was 
felt.  It  was  the  ]3i'ivilege  of  Archbishop  Eccleston  to  preside 
in  no  fewer  than  five  provincial  councils  as  metropolitan  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States.  In  the  third  council,  which  met 
April  16,  1837,  eight  bishops  sat  with  the  metropolitan  ;  in 
the  fourth,  which  opened  May  17,  1840,  the  number,  by  the 
increase  of  sees,  had  risen  to  twelve.  This  council  addressed 
letters  of  sympathy  to  the  Bishop  of  Cologne  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Posen,  who  were  suffering  under  the  merciless  iron  hand 
of  Prussian  intolerance.  This  council  provided  for  the  trans- 
mission of  property  held  by  a  bishop  to  his  successor,  the  laws 
of  the  several  States  not  recognizing  the  bishop  as  a  corporation 
sole.  One  of  the  important  decrees  of  the  fifth  council,  which 
opened  May  14.  1843,  was  that  which  cut  off  from  the  sacra- 
ments any  Catholic  who  dared  remarry  after  obtaining  a  divorce 
under  State  laws.  The  memorable  act  of  the  sixth  council 
was  the  decree  by  which  the  twenty-three  bishops  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  in  this  country  chose  "  The  Blessed  Virgin  conceived 
without  sin  "  as  the  patroness  of  the  United  States. 

When  the  revolutionary  storms  drove  Pope  Pius  IX.  from 
his  sacred  city.  Archbishop  Eccleston,  in  January,  1849,  invited 
him  to  Baltimore  to  preside  in  the  Seventh  Provincial  Council. 
That  synod  met  May  6,  1849,  and  was  attended  by  twenty-five 
bishops.  It  urged  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Innna- 
€ulate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Vii'gin  Mary.  By  this  time 
the  number  of  sees  made  a  division  of  the  province  desirable. 
Archbishoprics  were  created  at  New  York  and  Cincinnati. 

Archbishop  Eccleston  was  stricken  with  a  fatal  illness  in 


74  THE  CATEOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Ai^ril,  1851,  while  residing  at  Georgetown,  in  a  house  adjoining 
the  monastery  of  the  Visitation.  Here  he  died  piously  April 
22,  1851,  His  body  was  removed  to  his  episcopal  city,  honored 
by  obsequies  of  an  imposing  character,  at  which  even  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  attended. 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  KENRICK, 

IJiird  Bishop  of  Philadelphia^  Sixth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

The  successor  of  Archbishop  Eccleston  was  a  bishop  already 
world-renowned  for  learning  and  ability.  Francis  Patrick  Ken- 
rick,  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  December  3,  1796,  received  a  sound 
and  pious  education  under  the  care  of  a  learned  uncle,  a  clergy- 
man, and  completed  his  studies  in  the  College  of  the  Propa- 
ganda at  Rome,  where  he  spent  seven  years.  He  was  sent  to 
Kentucky  in  1821  on  the  request  of  Bishop  Flaget  for  a  priest 
fitted  to  occupy  a  chair  in  a  theological  seminary.  He  was  al- 
ready remarked  for  the  depth  and  accuracy  of  his  mind,  and  the 
extent  of  his  studies  in  dogmatic  and  patristic  theology  and  in 
Holy  Scriptures.  As  professor  at  St.  Thomas'  Seminary,  Bards- 
town,  he  trained  many  excellent  priests,  and,  untiring  in  his 
labors,  acted  as  professor  in  the  college  and  discharged  parochial 
duties.  His  health  was  really  injured  by  his  devotion  to  the 
multiform  work  before  him.  Ready  in  disputation,  he  became  an 
acknowledged  champion  of  the  faith.  A  Presbyterian  clergyman 
assailed  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  under  the  title  of 
Omega.  Kenrick's  "  Letters  from  Omicron  to  Omega  "  were  an 
overwhelming  reply  that  silenced  the  impugner  of  the  words  of 
Christ ;  other  discussions  ensued,  in  all  which  the  learned  pro- 
fessor acquired  new  fame.  AVhile  attending  the  first  Provincial 
Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian  of  Bishop  Flaget,  Rev.  Mr. 
Kenrick  was  selected  for  the  difficult  post  of  Bishop-adminis- 
trator of  Philadelphia.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Arath, 
June  6,  1830,  in  the  cathedral  at  Bardstown.  On  assuming  the 
charge  of  the  diocese  he  found  the  trustees  of  St.  Mary's  Church 


DIOCESE  OP  BALTIMORE.  75 

defiant  wheu  he  declared  liimself  pastor  of  that  church ;  but, 
interdicting  it,  he  rented  a  house  and  began  within  its  walls  a 
theological  seminary.  Then  he  entered  the  pulpit  of  St.  Mary's 
and  broke  the  power  of  the  trustees,  permitting  only  the  exer- 
cise of  functions  recognized  by  the  Church.  The  trustees  soon 
attempted  to  renew  their  rebellion ;  but  he  repressed  their  tur- 
bulence and  made  it  a  rule  to  allow  no  church  to  be  organized 
in  the  diocese  under  the  trustee  system.  Having  overcome  that 
gi'eat  obstacle  to  Catholic  progress  and  piety,  Bishop  Kenrick,  by 
constant  visitations  of  his  diocese,  made  himself  acquainted  with 
his  flock.  Few  of  the  parishes  at  first  had  resident  pastors,  but 
his  little  seminary  in  his  own  house  developed  into  the  noble 
theological  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  which  has  given 
Pennsylvania  so  many  excellent  priests.  The  cholera  called 
forth  all  the  zeal  of  the  bishop  and  his  clergy,  and  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  a  community  instituted  in  Phila- 
delphia, were  especially  devoted.  In  1834  Philadelphia  had  five 
churches  and  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics,  and  another  church, 
St  John's,  was  soon  erected  by  Pev.  John  Hughes. 

In  the  ensuing  years  schools  and  charitable  institutions  were 
multiplied  ;  but  a  new  storm  of  persecution  arose  against  the 
Catholics,  and  in  1844  a  blood-thirsty  mob  took  possession  of 
Philadelphia.  St.  Michael's  and  St.  Augustine's  churches,  with 
a  library  of  very  great  value,  houses  of  devoted  Sisters,  and 
many  residences  of  humble  Catholics,  were  given  to  the  flames, 
the  city  authorities  offering  no  protection.  Many  Catholics  were 
butchered.  The  State  authorities  at  last  quelled  the  riot,  but 
it  was  renewed  again  in  July  and  repressed  only  by  decisive 
measures. 

In  1843  the  diocese  of  Philadelphia  was  divided,  that  of 
Pittsburgh  having  been  set  off.  Bishop  Kenrick  retained  east- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  western  New  Jersey.  In  this 
part  had  arisen  the  Jesuit  college  of  St.  Joseph  and  the  Augus- 
tinian  college  of  St.  Thomas  of  Villanova,  the  academies  of  the 
Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Visitation  nuns,  and  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  while  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  their  holy 
work.  The  Redemptorists  and  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
began  to  labor  among  the  Germans.     When  in  1851  Bishop  Kf  n- 


76  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

rick  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  Baltimore  the  diocese  of  Phila- 
delphia contained  one  hundred  and  two  churches  and  chapels, 
one  luindred  and  one  priests,  and  forty-six  seminarians  preparing 
j;o  reinforce  them.  AVhile  Bishop  of  Philadelphia  Dr.  Kenrick 
published  two  works  which  rendered  great  service  to  the  semina- 
rians and  clergy — his  "Theologia  Dogmatica"  and  his  "Theologia 
Moralis."  His  "Primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See,"  "Vindication  of 
the  Catholic  Church,"  and  works  on  baptism  and  justification 
were  able  and  timely. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  1851,  Bishop  Kenrick  was  promoted 
to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  apostolic 
delegate  to  preside  at  a  Plenary  Council.  It  Avas  opened  May 
9,  1852,  and  was  attended  by  six  archbishops  and  twenty-six 
bishops  of  the  United  States.  Its  decrees  aimed  to  give  uni- 
formity to  discipline  throughout  the  whole  country.  They  re- 
cognized the  infallibility  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  re-enacted  the 
decrees  of  the  Provincial  Councils,  regulated  the  Ritual  and 
Manual  of  Ceremonies,  the  absence  of  bishops,  the  establish- 
ment of  consultors  and  a  chancery  in  each  diocese,  the  fixing  of 
limits  to  jiai'ishes,  publication  of  banns,  marriage  and  baptism, 
catechetical  instructions,  the  maintenance  of  theological  semina- 
ries and  parochial  schools,  took  steps  to  prevent  the  reception  of 
wandering  priests,  the  usurpation  of  lay  trustees,  encouraged  the 
Associations  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  for  the  conver- 
sion of  non-Catholics. 

In  1853  Archbishop  Kenrick  convened  a  diocesan  synod, 
promulgating  statutes  in  harmony  with  the  council,  and  a  year 
later  attended  the  gathering  of  the  episcopate  at  Rome  when 
Pope  Pius  IX.  solemnly  defined  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception.  On  his  return  he  held  a  Provincial  Council  and  en- 
couraged the  establishment  of  several  needed  asylums  in  his 
diocese.  Ever  anxious  to  uphold  the  discipline  of  the  Church, 
he  convened  another  synod  in  1857  and  a  Provincial  Council  in 
1858.  He  took  an  active  part  in  placing  on  a  firm  foundation 
the  American  College  at  Rome,  founded  by  Pope  Pius  IX. 

His  life  of  active  zeal  and  study  had  gradually  undermined 
his  health,  and  in  1863  general  anxiety  was  felt,  although  there 
was  no  indication  of  immediate  danger.     Bishop  O'Connor  spent 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE.  77 

the  evening  of  the  5th  of  July  with  him,  leaving  him  in  ap- 
parently his  usual  condition ;  but  during  the  night  he  expired 
calmly  by  a  sudden  but  not  unprovided  death. 

The  last  work  of  this  studious  prelate  was  a  revision  of  the 
Catholic  version  of  the  Bible,  which,  translated  originally  by 
Rev.  Gregory  Martin,  of  Douay  College,  had  been  revised  by 
Bishop  Challoner,  and  had  undergone  so  many  changes  at  the 
hands  of  others  as  to  be  no  longer  creditable  to  the  Catholic 
body  or  safe  as  a  translation.  His  epitaph  says  that  "  he  adorned 
the  archiepiscopal  chair  with  the  greatest  piety  and  learning,  as 
well  as  with  equal  modesty  and  poverty." 


MOST  REV.  MARTIN  JOHN  SPALDING, 

Second  Bishop  of  Louisville,  Seventh  Archbishop  of  Baltimore, 

Martust  JoHisr  Spaldiistg  was  born  May  23,  1810,  on  the  RolL 
ing  Fork,  Kentucky,  where  his  grandfather,  Benedict  Spalding, 
had  settled  in  1790  when  he  came  from  St.  Mary's  County, 
Maryland.  Both  his  parents,  Richard  Spalding  and  Henrietta 
Hamilton,  were  natives  of  that  old  Catholic  county.  After 
studying  the  rudiments  in  the  nearest  log  school  he  entered  St. 
Mary's  College  as  soon  as  it  opened  in  1821,  and  so  distinguished 
himself  that  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  the  professor  of  mathe- 
matics. On  beino:  o-raduated  in  1826  he  resolv^ed  to  become  a 
priest,  and  entered  the  seminary  at  Bardstown.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  was  sent  to  Rome,  and,  though  stricken  down  by  a 
dangerous  illness,  won  his  doctor's  cap  by  an  able  defence  of  his 
theses  against  some  of  the  greatest  men  in  the  Catholic  capital. 
Returning  to  his  own  diocese,  he  became  pastor  of  the  cathedra] 
and  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  diocesan  seminary.  He  aided 
in  establishing  the  Minerva,  and  contributed  to  periodical  lite* 
rature.  The  college  journal  soon  gave  way  to  the  Catholic  Ad- 
vocate, of  which  he  was  chief  editor,  as  he  soon  became  of  the 
United  States   Catholic  Magazine.     He  was  also  a  contributor 


78  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  the  Catholic  magazines,  his  collected  articles  forming  a  valu- 
able volume.  In  1838  he  became  president  of  St.  Joseph's 
College,  but  was  placed  again  at  Bardstown  when  the  bishop 
removed  his  see  to  Louisville,  but  soon,  as  vicar-general,  followed 
Dr.  Flaget.  Averse  to  controversy,  he  gave  lectures  in  defence  of 
Catholic  doctrines  when  a  knot  of  Protestant  ministers  misrep- 
resented and  assailed  them.  On  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Cha- 
brat,  Doctor  Sj)alding  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Lengone  and 
coadjutor  of  Louisville,  and  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Flaget, 
Sej^tember  10,  1848.  From  this  time  the  administration  really 
devolved  upon  him,  and  on  the  death  of  the  venerable  bishop, 
February  11,  1850,  he  became  Bishop  of  Louisville.  He  wrote 
the  early  history  of  the  diocese  in  his  "  Sketches  of  Kentucky," 
and  the  life  of  his  predecessor  apart  in  a  special  work.  He  re- 
called the  Jesuits  to  his  diocese,  and  welcomed  a  colony  of 
Cistercians  who  founded  the  Traj^pist  abbey  at  Gethsemane. 
In  1842  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  their  redeeming 
work  in  Louisville.  By  visitations  of  his  diocese,  retreats  of  the 
clergy,  and  missions  among  the  people  Bishop  Spalding  labored 
to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  Catholic  faith.  He  established  orphan 
asylums,  attended  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  those  who  did  not 
speak  English,  establishing  churches  for  the  Germans.  He  com- 
pleted the  cathedral,  the  corner-stone  of  which  he  had  laid  while 
coadjutor,  and  erected  many  new  churches  ;  but  he  felt  that  the 
diocese  ought  to  be  divided.  The  Plenary  Council  accordingly 
asked  the  Holy  See  to  establish  the  see  of  Covington.  After 
joining  in  the  deliberations  of  the  council  he  visited  Europe, 
obtained. a  colony  of  Xaverian  Brothers  in  Belgium,  and  took 
steps  towards  establishing  a  missionary  college  at  Louvain — a 
project  which  he  afterwards,  with  the  aid  of  Bishop  Lefevre, 
carried  out  successfully. 

In  August,  1855,  Louisville  was  given  up  to  a  Know-Nothing 
mob,  who  butchered  or  burned  nearly  one  hundred  Catholics 
and  gave  some  twenty  houses  to  the  flames.  The  cathedral  was 
menaced,  but,  by  the  providence  of  God,  escaped.  Bishop  Spald- 
ing took  an  important  part  in  the  councils  held  at  Cincinnati  in 
1855,  1858,  and  1861,  the  pastoral  letters  all  emanating  from  his 
pen. 


DIOCESE  OP  BALTIMORE.  79 

Wliile  constant  in  the  care  of  his  diocese,  he  was  always  en- 
gaged in  some  literary  work.  He  exposed  the  fallacy  of  Morse's 
pretended  Lafayette  motto,  silenced  Prentiss  in  regard  to  Catholic 
education,  and  gave  a  noble  refutation  of  D'Aubigne's  "  History 
of  the  Reformation."  AVhen  the  civil  war  began  his  diocese  be- 
came a  scene  of  military  operations ;  colleges  closed  and  churches 
were  exposed  to  destruction.  "  I  must  attend  to  souls,"  he  wrote, 
"  without  entering  into  angry  political  discussion."  His  priests 
and  sisters  of  various  orders  were  untiring  in  their  devotion  to 
the  sick  and  woitnded  on  the  battle-field  and  in  the  hospital, 
several  dying  martyrs  to  charity.  Amid  all  the  turmoil  of  war, 
however.  Bishop  Spalding  assembled  his  priests  in  synod  to  re- 
new their  fervor  in  such  dread  times. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  1864,  he  received  the  Papal  Rescript 
which  promoted  him  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Baltimore  as 
successor  to  Archbishop  Kenrick.  He  took  possession  of  his  new 
see  on  the  31st  of  Jul}^  One  of  his  earliest  acts  was,  to  found  a 
House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  Baltimore,  a  colony  of  sisters 
coming  from  Louisville  at  his  request.  He  then  made  a  visi- 
tation of  his  diocese,  urging  the  faithful  to  profit  by  the  jubilee 
then  granted  by  Pope  Pius  IX.  In  his  pastoral  on  that  occasion 
he  explained  and  justified  the  famous  Syllabus.  In  1865  he 
convened  the  sixth  synod  of  the  diocese.  As  the  war  w^ent  on 
he  was  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  diocese  of  Charles- 
ton, to  which  the  bishop  was  unable  to  return,  and  he  made  a 
successful  appeal  to  Northern  Catholics  to  aid  their  war-stricken 
brethren  in  the  faith.  His  own  diocese  was  not  neglected ;  in 
1866  he  began  a  boys'  protectory,  confiding  it  to  the  Xaverian 
Brothers.  A  Plenary  Council  was  again  required,  and  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  approving  the  plan,  by  letters  of  February  16,  1866,  ap- 
pointed Archbishop  Spalding  to  preside.  He  immediately  set  to 
work  to  plan  out  its  whole  work,  and  when,  years  after,  a  third 
council  was  called  it  was  found  that  there  was  little  to  be  done 
except  to  carry  out  such  parts  of  his  plan  as  had  not  been  acted 
upon  at  the  time.  The  great  ecclesiastical  assembly  met  in  his 
cathedral  on  the  7th  of  October,  seven  archbishops,  thirty-eight 
bishops,  three  mitred  abbots,  and  more  than  a  hundred  theologians 
taking  part  in  its  deliberations.     It  was  the  largest  council  since 


80  thb:  catholic  hierarchy  in  the  united  states. 

the  general  one  held  at  Trent.     Its  decrees  covered  the  whole 
field  of  dogma  and*  discipline. 

The  great  archbishop  then  devoted  himself  to  his  own  diocese, 
and  o-ave  especial  attention  to  extending  the  ministry  to  Catholic 
colored  people  and  all  who  sought  to  enter  the  Church.  He 
visited  Europe,  but  even  there  was  laboring  for  the  good  of  the 
Church  in  this  country. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1869,  he  took  leave  of  his  diocese  in 
order  to  attend  the  General  Council  of  the  Vatican,  summoned  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.  At  first  he  was  one  who  deemed  the  definition  of 
the  Pope's  infallibility  when  teaching  ex  cathedra  inopportune ;  but 
when  he  found  the  rationalistic  governments  of  France,  Spain, 
Bavaria,  Austria,  and  Italy  intriguing  to  prevent  it,  he  declared 
that  the  definition  was  necessary.  With  the  bishops  from  coun 
tries  where  Catholicity  was  free,  he  insisted  upon  it.  He  labored 
incessantly  during  the  eight  months  that  the  sessions  lasted,  and 
remained  in  Rome  till  the  fourth  and  last  general  congregation, 
July  18,  1870.  After  the  Constitution  issued.  Archbishop  Spald- 
ing addressed  a  pastoral  to  his  flock  on  the  Papal  Infallibility, 
treating  the  subject  in  the  plain  and  simple  style  that  carries 
liirht  and  conviction  to  the  mind.  He  then  visited  Switzerland 
and  Savoy,  intending  to  return  to  the  council  when  it  reassem- 
bled,  but  the  wicked  course  of  Victor  Emmanuel  in  seizing  Rome 
made  its  reassembling  impossible.  Archbishop  Spalding  re- 
turned to  his  diocese.  There  he  resumed  his  labors,  thougli  re- 
curring illness  made  all  exertion  at  times  impossible  ;  he  built 
fine  parochial  schools  near  his  cathedral,  and  began  a  church  in 
honor  of  St.  Pius  V.  A  visit  to  New  York  on  matters  relating 
to  the  Church  in  the  whole  country  brought  on  acute  bronchitis. 
On  Christmas  day  he  said  Mass  at  a  temporary  altar  in  the  hall 
near  his  bedroom,  and  it  was  the  last  time  he  was  to  offer  the 
Holy  Sacrifice.  His  sufferings  became  intense,  and  the  remedies 
employed  to  relieve  him  were  extremely  painful,  but  he  bore  all 
with  cheerfulness  and  resignation.  He  expired  on  the  7th  of 
Februaiy,  1872,  Bishop  Becker  giving  him  the  last  blessing, 
and  on  the  12th  his  body  was  laid  beside  that  of  Archbishop 
Kenrick. 


DIOCESE  OP  BALTIMORE.  81 

MOST  REV.  JAMES  ROOSEVELT  BAYLEY, 

First  Bishop  of  Newar^h  and  Eighth  Archhishop  of  Baltimore. 

James  Roosevelt  Bayley  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Guy  Carleton 
Bayley  and  Grace  Roosevelt,  his  father  being  a  brother  of  the 
holy  Eliza  Seton,  who  founded  the  Sisters  of  Charity  in  the 
United  States.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  Episco^^alian  creed, 
to  which  the  family  belonged,  and  early  evinced  a  love  of  litera- 
ture and  books.  After  an  early  course  at  Mount  Pleasant  Aca- 
demy he  entered  Trinity  College,  Hartford,  and  became  a  pupil 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Farmer  Jarvis,  whose  love  of  the  Fathers 
and  clear,  logical  mind  drew  himself  and  his  pupils  irresistibly 
towards  Catholic  truth.  Under  him  he  prepared  for  admission  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  in  time  became  rector 
of  a  church  at  Harlem.  But  his  soul  felt  cramped  in  the  cold 
formalities  of  that  sect.  Visiting  the  poor  and  often  suffering 
Catholic  huts  in  his  district,  he  was  impressed  by  the  lively 
faith,  piety,  and  resignation  which  he  witnessed.  He  resolved 
to  become  a  Catholic.  An  uncle,  whose  favorite  he  was,  endea- 
vored to  dissuade  him  and  sent  him  abroad,  certain  that  if  young 
Bayley  saw  Catholicity  as  it  was  in  Rome  he  would  be  cured  of 
all  such  ideas.  Renounciug  the  worldly  prospects  before  him, 
he  was  received  into  the  Church  in  Rome  in  April,  1842.  Pro- 
ceeding to  Paris,  he  entered  the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  and,  to 
gratify  the  wish  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  retui-ned  to  New  York 
,to  be  ordained  by  him  in  1844.  Attached  to  the  cathedral,  he 
was  zealous  on  the  mission  ;  and,  as  secretary  of  the  archbishop, 
organized  the  chancery  of  the  diocese,  collecting  and  arranging 
all  records  of  the  j)ast  and  insuring  future  regularity.  When 
New  Jersey,  which  had  been  part  of  the  dioceses  of  New  York 
and  Philadelpliia,  was  formed  into  a  bishopric  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Bayley  was  selected  as  the  first  Bishop  of  Newark,  and  was 
consecrated  on  the  30th  of  October,  1 853,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral, New  York,  by  Archbishop  Bedini.  In  his  new  diocese  he 
established  Seton  Hall,  a  theological  seminary  and  college  of  a 
high  order,  introduced  several  religious  communities,  encouraged 
the  building  of  churches,  and  above  all  of  schools,  formed  as- 


82  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

sociations  to  keep  young  men  together  and  give  them  innocent 
enjoyment.  For  nineteen  years  his  influence  was  felt  throughout 
the  State,  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  faith  acknowledging  that 
it  was  ever  exerted  in  the  cause  of  morality  and  good  citizenship. 
His  pastoral  letters  were  read  with  reverence  by  his  flock  and 
with  respect  by  all,  and  in  the  three  councils  of  New  York  and 
the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  his  learning,  wisdom, 
and  practical  methods  carried  great  weight.  He  visited  Rome 
in  1862  at  the  time  of  the  canonization  of  the  Japanese  martyrs, 
and  some  years  later  to  attend  the  centenary  of  the  Apostles 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  In  1872  he  was,  to  his  own  regret,  trans- 
ferred by  a  brief  of  July  10  to  the  see  of  Baltimore  as  successor 
of  Archbishop  Spalding.  His  health  was  already  impaired,  but 
he  twice  visited  his  diocese  and  began  a  third  visitation.  He 
freed  the  cathedral  from  debt  and  consecrated  it.  In  1877  he 
was  advised  to  visit  Vichy  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  but, 
finding  his  disease  increase,  he  sought  only  to  die  among  his 
flock.  He  reached  New  York  in  a  dying  condition,  and  expired 
at  Newark,  among  the  clergy  and  peoj^le  who  loved  him  so  de- 
votedly, October  3,  1877.  After  funeral  services  in  the  cathe- 
dral of  that  city  his  remains  were  conveyed  to  Baltimore  for 
similar  honors,  and  were  finally  laid  beside  those  of  his  vene- 
rated aunt,  Mother  Seton,  at  Emmittsburg. 

Beside  his  pastorals  he  published  a  "  Sketch  of  the  Catholic 
Church  on  the  Island  of  New  York "  and  "  Memoirs  of  Bishop 
Brute,  of  Vincennes." 


HIS  EMINENCE  JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS, 

First    Vicar- Apostolic  of  North    Carolina,   Fourth   Bishop  of 
Hichmond,  Ninth  Archbishop  of  Baltimore. 

James  Gibbons  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  23d  of  July,  1834, 
and  was  baptized  in  the  cathedral  by  the  Rev.  Charles  I.  White. 
He  was  taken  to  Ireland  at  the  age  of  ten,  and  made  his  ear- 
liest studies  there,  attracting  the   attention   of   Archbishop   Mc- 


DIOCESE  OF  BALTIMORE.  83 

Hale  by  his  piety  and  diligence.  Returning  to  liis  native  coun- 
try, lie  entered  the  preparatory  seminary,  St.  Charles'  College,  and 
after  his  course  there  entered  St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore.  He 
was  ordained  on  June  30,  1861,  and  assigned  to  St.  Patrick's 
Church,  but  in  a  few  months  received  charge  of  St.  Bridget's 
Church,  Canton,  with  the  care  of  St.  Lawrence's  at  Locust  Point, 
as  well  as  of  the  Catholic  soldiers  at  Fort  McHenry.  The  zeal 
of  the  young  priest  in  this  laborious  duty  showed  his  merit,  and 
Archbishop  Spalding  made  him  his  secretary  and  assistant  at  the 
cathedral.  The  peculiar  charm  of  his  manner,  the  influence  his 
piety  exercised,  made  him  a  marked  man,  and  at  the  Second  Plen- 
ary Council  of  Baltimore  he  was  selected  as  the  priest  best  fitted 
to  organize  the  new  vicariate-apostolic  in  North  Carolina,  a  State 
where  Catholicity  had  made  least  impression.  He  did  not  shrink 
from  the  difficult  task.  Everything  was  to  be  created  ;  the  scat- 
tered Catholics  were  fewer  in  the  whole  State  than  would  be 
found  in  a  Maryland  parish.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ad- 
ramyttum  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore,  August  16,  1868,  and 
proceeded  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  making  St,  Thomas' 
Church  his  residence.  He  found  one  or  two  priests  in  the  State, 
and  seven  hundred  Catholics  scattered  in  a  population  of  a  mil- 
lion. He  drew  devoted  priests  to  him,  and  labored  in  person 
with  the  gentle  zeal  of  a  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  winning  a  way  to 
hearts  that  the  profoundest  erudition  or  the  highest  eloquence 
failed  to  reach.  He  visited  every  part  of  the  State,  preaching 
and  lecturing  in  court-houses,  meeting-houses,  any  hall  that  could 
be  had,  and  everywhere  presenting  the  unknown  truth  with  ir- 
resistible power.  His  method  can  be  best  understood  by  his 
wonderful  little  book,  "  The  Faith  of  our  Fathers,"  a  work  that 
has  been  more  effective  than  any  other  since  Milner  published 
his  "  End  of  Controversy."  Little  communities  of  converts  be- 
gan to  form,  and  the  ministers  of  God  began  to  feel  courage. 
Churches  sprang  up  in  the  larger  cities,  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  came 
to  open  an  academy,  and  the  ancient  order  of  St,  Benedict  pre- 
pared to  found  a  monaster}-.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  McGill, 
Doctor  Gibbons  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Richmond,  July  30, 
1872,  retaining,  however,  the  charge  of  his  vicariate.  His  labors 
in  the  larger  field  were  even  more  fruitful,  and  the  influence  was 


84 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  L'NITED  STATES. 


gradually  extending,  wlien  Arclibisliop  Bayle}^,  finding  liis  health 
precarious,  asked  that  he  should  be  appointed  coadjutor  of  Bal- 
timore. On  the  29th  of  May,  1577,  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Jan- 
opolis  and  proceeded  to  Maryland.  He  left  with  reluctance  the 
flocks  in  Vij-ginia  and  North  Carolina  to  assume  the  charge  of 
the  ancient  diocese  of  Baltimore,  of  which  he  became  archbishop 
on  the  death  of  Aichbishop  Bayley  in  the  following  October. 
The  pallium  was  conferred  upon  him  on  the  10th  of  Februaiy, 
1878.  His  venerable  mother,  who  had  lived  to  see  her  son  en- 
throned in  the  cathedral  where  he  had  been  baptized,  died  soon 
after  at  the  age  of  eighty.  Raised  thus  to  the  highest  position 
in  the  American  hierarchy,  he  enjoys  the  respect  of  all,  and  was 
chosen  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.  to  preside  in  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore  in  November,  1884,  having  been  invited  to 
Rome  with  other  archbishops  and  bishops  in  the  previous  year 
in  order  to  deliberate  on  the  most  urgent  matters  to  be  con- 
sidered in  that  assembly. 

In  the  Consistory  held  by  Pope  Leo  XUL  in  June,  1886,  the 
Archbishop  of  Baltimore  was  created  a  cardinal  priest,  and  the 
insi«-nia  of  his  new  din;uitv  were  soon  after  borne  to  him  across 
the  Atlantic. 

There  were  in  the  diocese  in  1893,  406  priests,  150  churches, 
47  chapels,  69  stations,  12  orphan  asylums,  90  parochial  schools, 
4  ecclesiastical  seminaries,  8  colleges,  19  academies,  12  asylums, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  235,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  BOSTON. 


RIGHT  EEV.  JOHN  CHEVERUS, 

First    Bishop   of  Boston,  then   Bishop   of  Montauhan,   Arch 
bishop  of  Bordeaux,  and  Cardinal. 

John  Louis  Lefebvee  Cheverus  was  born  at  Mayenne, 
France,  January  28,  1768,  where  his  family  held  a  high  position. 
Trained  by  a  pious  mother,  he  received  the  tonsure  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  studied  at  college  only  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
altar.  He  completed  his  studies  at  the  college  of  Louis  le 
Grand  and  the  seminary  of  St.  Magloire,  and  was  erdained 
priest  December  8,  1790.  He  became  curate  of  his  uncle,  a 
parish  priest  in  Mayenne,  whom  he  soon  succeeded,  and  was 
made  canon  of  Mans.  Refusing  the  constitutional  oath,  he  was 
cast  into  prison,  but  escaped  in  June,  1792,  and  reached  England. 
He  had  begun  to  labor  as  a  missionary  there  when  his  old  friend, 
the  Abbe  Matignon,  then  the  only  priest  in  New  England,  im- 
plored him  to  come  to  his  aid.  He  landed  at  Boston  in  April, 
1796,  and,  receiving  faculties  from  Bishop  Carroll,  set  to  work 
with  Dr.  Matignon  to  attend  the  scattered  Catholics,  from  the 
Penobscot  Indians  in  Maine  to  the  poor  emigrants  in  Connecti- 
cut. So  bitter  was  the  feeling  against  Catholicity  that  he  was 
soon  arrested  in  Maine  and  tried  with  criminals  for  marrying  a 
couple  in  that  distiict,  and  narrowly  escaped  impiisonment  with 
thieves  and  drunkards.  But  his  charity,  learning,  and  piety  soon 
made  a  deep  impression  on  all,  and  the  Catholic  body  found 
some  of  the  still  oppressive  laws  modified  out  of  respect  to  him. 
The  original  church  of  the  Holy  Cross  was  rebuilt  by  him  and 
dedicated  by  Archbishop  Carroll  in  1803.  Other  churches  were 
soon  erected  by  his  zeal.  When  the  see  of  Boston  was  erected 
he  was  selected  as  bishop,  though  he  sought  to  have  the  honor 
conferred  on  Dr.  Matignon.     From  his  consecration  in  Baltimore^ 

85 


86  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

November  1,  1810,  his  whole  thought  Avas  devoted  to  his  dio- 
cese. He  soon  lost  his  friend  and  coadjutor,  but  gathered  other 
priests  around  him,  laboring  more  abundantly  than  any  of  them 
in  enduring  all  the  hardships  of  a  missionary  priest,  relieving 
the  poor  in  his  unbounded  charity,  and  winning  Protestants  to* 
the  faith  by  the  example  of  his  virtue  as  well  as  the  clearness, 
and  force  of  his  ar2:uments.  His  health  beo;an  to  sink  under  his 
arduous  duties,  but  when  Louis  XVIII.  named  him  for  the  see' 
of  Montauban,  and  urged  him  to  return  to  France,  he  declined  to 
abandon  the  poor  diocese  which  had  so  long  been  the  scene  of 
his  priestly  and  episcoj^al  labors.  He  yielded  only  when  physi- 
cians declared  that  he  could  not  live  if  he  spent  another  win- 
ter in  Boston.  After  giving  away  all  he  possessed  to  the  clergy 
and  the  poor  he  embarked  for  Europe  in  October,  1823.  When 
Matignon  and  Cheverus  began  their  labors  there  was  one  poor 
church  in  all  New  England.  Bishop  Cheverus  left  a  cathedral 
in  Boston,  St.  Augustine's  in  South  Boston,  a  church  in  Maine, 
and  one  in  New  Hampshire. 

He  had,  too,  seen  many  embrace  the  faith — the  Barbers  of 
New  Hampshire,  Dr.  Green  in  Boston,  Rev.  Dr.  Kewley,  of  Con- 
necticut. He  could  feel  that  the  Church  he  had  done  so  much 
to  found  was  destined,  with  God's  blessing,  to  thrive  and  prosper. 

As  Bishop  of  Montauban  Dr.  Cheverus  was  soon  known 
throughout  France.  Eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  full  of  learning, 
charitable  and  benevolent  to  the  suffering  and  poor  without  dis- 
tinction, impressing  all  by  the  sanctity  of  his  life,  the  fiercest 
of  the  old  revolutionists  acknowledged  his  power.  A  higher 
sphere  was  evidently  soon  to  be  his.  On  the  death  of  the  Arch 
bishop  of  Bordeaux  in  1826  he  was  promoted  to  that  see  and 
made  a  Peer  of  France.  Other  honors  flowed  upon  him :  he  was 
chosen  to  the  Boyal  Council,  created  Knight  Commander  of  the 
Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  fall  of  Charles  X.  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Louis  Philippe  did  not  alter  the  general  esteem  for 
Archbishop  Cheverus,  and  all  hailed  his  elevation  to  the  cardi- 
nalate  in  1836.  He  did  not  long  survive  this  exaltation,  dying 
in  the  midst  of  his  labors  on  the  19th  of  July. 

Each  diocese  that  he  had  directed  had  some  institution,  some 
8;ood  work,  as  a  monument  of  his  zeal.     All  the  early  churches 


DIOCESE  OP  BOSTON.  87 

in  New  England  were  to  some  extent  his  work,  as  was  the  Ursu- 
line  convent  at  Charlestown. 


RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  JOSEPH  FENWICK, 

Second  3ishop  of  Boston. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  born  near  Leonard- 
town,  in  St.  Mary's  County,  the  cradle  of  Catholicity,  September 
3,  1782,  descended  from  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  under  Lord 
Baltimore.  No  sooner  was  Georgetown  College  opened  in  1792 
than  he  and  his  brother  were  prepared  for  admission  to  it.  His 
course  there  confirmed  his  vocation,  and  he  was  soon  enrolled  as 
a  student  in  the  Sulpitian  seminary  at  Baltimore.  When  the 
members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  were  permitted  in  1806  to  re- 
organize under  the  superiors  in  Russia  the  two  brothers  sought 
admission.  Benedict  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Neale  at  George- 
town, March  12,  1808.  The  difficult  mission  of  New  York  was 
his  first  mission,  and  there,  as  assistant  to  the  venerable  Father 
Kohlman,  he  rendered  the  greatest  service  not  only  in,  the  paro- 
chial work,  but  in  establishing  and  directing  "  The  New  York 
Literary  Institution."  He  was  in  time  administrator  of  the 
diocese  in  the  absence  and  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Concanen, 
and  began  the  erection  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  from  his  own 
designs.  After  becoming  vicar-general  of  Bishop  Connolly  he 
was  made  president  of  Georgetown  College  in  1817,  but  was 
sent  the  next  year  to  Charleston  by  Bishop  Neale  to  restore 
peace  to  the  Church.  Having  successfully  carried  out  his  mis- 
sion, he  returned  to  the  college  and  soon  after  resumed  the  presi- 
dency. On  the  10th  of  May,  1825,  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Boston,  and  was  consecrated  on  All  Saints'  Day  by  Archbishop 
Marechal,  assisted  by  Bishops  England  and  Conwell.  His  dio- 
cese, comprising  all  the  New  England  States,  contained  four 
churches,  but  on  his  arrival  he  found  only  two  priests  remaining. 
He  at  once  assumed  the  parochial  duty  at  the  cathedral,  opened 
a  school,  and  taught  the  catechism  on  Sunday.     One  of  his  first 


8b  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cares  was  to  secure  for  the  Ursuline  nuns  a  considerable  pro- 
perty in  Charlestown,  whicli  received  tlie  name  of  Mount  Bene- 
dict, and  where  a  fine  convent  and  academy  were  soon  erected. 
Priests  were  obtained  and  new  missions  opened,  while  his  house 
became  a  seminary  where  young  men  were  prepared  to  increase 
the  clei'gy  of  the  diocese.  He  made  a  visitation  of  his  diocese 
and  learned  by  personal  observation  the  number  and  condition 
of  the  Catholics,  and  selected  sj)ots  for  churches.  He  rebuilt 
that  at  Charlestown,  and  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  others 
begun  at  Eastport,  Orono,  Saco,  and  Portland,  Me.,  at  Dover,  N. 
H.,  Hartford,  Newport,  and  Pawtucket.  One  of  his  earliest  cares 
was  to  mark  by  a  suitable  monument  the  spot  at  Norridgewalk, 
Me.,  where  Rev.  Sebastian  Rale  had  been  killed  in  1724. 

There  was  much  to  encourage  Bishop  Fenwick,  especially 
after  the  first  and  second  councils  of  Baltimore ;  but  unprin- 
cipled men  stimulated  prejudice  and  hatred  against  Catholics, 
and  a  book  appeared  full  of  calumnies  against  the  Ursuline 
nuns.  On  the  11th  of  August,  1834,  a  mob  attacked  that  house 
of  defenceless  ladies,  drove  them  from  it,  and  burned  it  to  the 
ground,  by  the  apathy  if  not  the  connivance  of  the  authorities. 
It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  the  bishop,  who  saw  courts  acquit  the 
guilty.  In  1842  he  held  the  first  synod  in  his  diocese,  and 
formally  put  in  force  the  decrees  of  the  Baltimore  councils. 
The  next  year  he  obtained  the  erection  of  a  see  of  Hartford, 
with  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  as  the  diocese.  In  1843  he 
founded  the  college  of  the  Holy  Cros^s  at  Worcester,  confiding 
it  to  the  Society  of  Jesus,  but  was  never  able  to  obtain  a 
charter  for  it.  The  next  year,  finding  his  strength  and  health 
decline,  he  obtained  a  coadjutor  in  the  person  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
John  B.  Fitzpatrick.  In  the  same  year  he  received  into  the 
Church  the  distinguished  philosopher,  O.  A.  Brownson.  Bishop 
Fenwdck  continued  in  the  constant  discharge  of  his  duties,  but 
in  the  summer  of  1846  disease  manifested  itself  in  a  fatal  form, 
and  he  expired  on  the  11th  of  August. 

Bishop  Fenwick  was  one  of  the  great  bishops  of  the  Church, 
learned  and  prudent  in  the  council,  eloquent  in  the  pulj^it, 
energetic  and  active  in  his  episcopal  duties,  a  father  to  his 
clergy  and  people.     The   diocese  he  found  with  two  priests  he 


DIOCESE  OF  BOSTON.  89 

left   with    forty-five,    and   with     a    corresponding    increase   in 
churches  and  institutions. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BERNARD  FITZPATRICK, 

Third  Bishop  of  Boston. 

Joh:n^  Beenabd  Fitzpatrick  was  born  in  Boston,  November 
1,  1812,  his  parents  having  emigrated  seven  years  before  from 
Tullamore,  Ireland.  Their  son  received  his  early  training  in  the 
best  city  schools,  and  in  the  famous  Boston  Latin  School  he 
won  several  medals.  Bishop  Fenwick,  who  knew  his  piety  and 
talents,  saw  and  encouraged  his  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  and 
in  1829  he  was  sent  to  the  Sulpitian  college  in  Montreal.  Here 
he  so  thoroughly  mastered  the  French  language  in  all  its  nice- 
ties that  he  was  made  professor  of  rhetoric  and  belles-lettres. 
His  studies  for  the  priesthood  were  made  at  St.  Sulpice,  Paris, 
and  he  was  ordained  priest  June  13,  1840.  Returning  home, 
he  was  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  afterwards  at  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Boston.  Having  been  appointed  to  East  Cambridge, 
he  erected  a  substantial  stone  church.  When  the  health  of 
Bishop  Fenwick  required  aid  he  chose  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  as 
his  coadjutor,  aware  of  his  sound  theological  learning,  his  zeal, 
and  his  administrative  ability.  On  being  appointed  Bishop  of 
Gallipolis  in  1844,  he  was  consecrated  at  Georgetown  on  the 
24th  of  March.  He  at  once  took  up  his  residence  with  the 
bishop,  laboring  with  his  wonted  zeal.  In  less  than  two  years 
the  whole  burden  of  the  diocese  devolved  upon  him,  and  he 
overtaxed  his  strength,  having  no  secretary  and  no  vicar-general 
for  several  years.  By  his  energy,  by  1853  he  had  increased  the 
churches  in  Massachusetts  from  twenty-seven  to  fifty ;  but  he 
saw  the  necessity  of  bishops  for  the  more  northern  States,  and 
in  1853  was  rejoiced  to  relinquish  Maine  and  New  Hampshire 
to  the  Bishop  of  Portland  and  Vermont  to  the  Bisliop  of  Bur- 
lington. Bishop  Fitzpatrick  encouraged  the  erection  of  a  re- 
formatoiy  for  boys,  and  labored  to  restore  the  college  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  which  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  fire. 


90  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  anti-Catliolic  excitement  soon  after  saddened  liis  heart 
by  other  outrages  like  that  of  Charlestown.  A  church  at  Dor- 
chester was  blown  up,  another  burned  at  Bath,  that  at  Manches- 
ter was  attacked,  and  the  houses  of  Catholics  wrecked.  The 
veiy  legislature  of  the  State  stooped  to  infamy  and  appointed 
a  committee  to  investigate  the  convents,  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  were  grossly  insulted  by  men  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts ;  yet  in  a  few  days  the  papers  rang  with 
exposure  of  the  notorious  character  of  some  of  these  very  men. 
In  1859  a  Catholic  pupil  in  the  Eliot  School  was  flogged  for 
declining  to  repeat  the  spurious  form  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  used 
by  Protestants.  A  court  acquitted  the  teacher,  but  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick  addressed  the  School  Board  in  a  most  masterly 
document,  in  which  he  showed  the  injustice  of  the  enforced 
use  of  the  Protestant  version  of  the  Bible,  the  enforced  learning 
of  the  Ten  Commandments  in  the  Protestant  form,  and  the 
enforced  repeating  of  the  spurious  form  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
The  bishop  at  once  set  to  work  to  make  Catholics  independent 
of  the  State  schools,  which  were  conducted  in  such  disregard 
of  the  rights  of  conscience.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  opened  Boston 
College  ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  an  academy  and  hospital  at  Wor- 
cester ;  parish  schools  were  established  in  Boston,  South  and 
East  Boston,  Salem,  and  Lawrence. 

As  business  had  grown  around  the  old  cathedral.  Bishop 
Fitzpatrick,  to  his  sorrow,  saw  that  it  must  soon  be  removed.  He 
purchased  a  fine  site,  and  plans  were  prepared  for  a  noble  edifice  ; 
but  he  deferred  the  work,  so  many  necessary  churches  and  institu- 
tions demanded  the  resources  of  the  faithful.  His  health  was 
never  robust,  and  on  the  14th  of  December,  1864,  he  was  seized 
with  violent  pains,  and,  though  his  condition  became  critical, 
he  would  not  disturb  the  priests  in  the  house.  When  one  came 
at  last  the  bishop  was  senseless  on  the  floor,  bathed  in  his  own 
blood.  Extreme  Unction  was  administered.  He  never  regained 
health  or  strength,  and  expired  on  the  13th  of  February,  1866. 

Reduced  as  his  diocese  was  in  extent,  he  left  it  with  115 
churches,  110  priests,  an  asylum,  an  hospital,  a  reformatory, 
colleges,  and  schools. 


DIOCESE  OP  BOSTON.  91 

MOST  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  WILLIAMS, 

Fowcth  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of  Boston. 

John  Joseph  Williams  was  born  in  Boston  on  the  27tli 
.of  April,  1822,  his  parents  having  emigrated  from  Ireland  to 
that  city.  His  first  rudiments  were  acquired  in  the  public 
primary  school,  but  when  a  Catholic  school  was  opened  at 
the  cathedral  in  1827,  under  the  Eev.  Messrs.  Fitton,  Tyler,  and 
Wiley,  then  young  seminarians,  the  future  archbishop  was 
one  of  the  first  scholars  at  the  opening  of  this  humble  seat  of 
learning.  In  1833  he  entered  the  College  of  Montreal,  directed 
by  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice,  and  there  was  duly  graduated  after 
a  course  of  eight  years.  Feeling  called  to  serve  God  in  his 
sanctuaiy,  he  went  to  the  great  seminary  of  the  Sulpitians  in 
Paris,  wjiere  he  made  his  theological  course,  and  was  ordained 
by  Monseigneur  Aifre,  Archbishop  of  Paris,  in  1845. 

On  his  return  to  Boston  he  was  stationed  at  the  cathedral,  and 
for  ten  years,  from  November  1,  1845,  directed  the  Sunday-school. 
In  1855  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  cathedral,  and,  after 
discharging  the  duties  of  that  position  for  two  years,  became 
pastor  of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  and  vicar-general  of  the 
diocese.  His  administration  as  parish  priest  had  shown  his 
ability  and  discretion,  as  well  as  the  possession  of  the  highest 
sacerdotal  qualifications. 

As  the  health  of  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  became  precarious,  the 
Very  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  was  elected  titular  Bishop  of  Tripoli 
and  coadjutor,  ,  January  9,  1866,  but  before  his  consecration 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick  breathed  his  last.  He  Avas  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Boston  to  which  he  had  succeeded  on  the  11th  of 
March,  1866,  Archbishop  McCloskey  officiating. 

Under  his  impulse  the  development  of  churches  and  in- 
stitutions went  on.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Madame  d'You- 
ville's  foundation,  commonly  called  Gray  Nuns,  came  from 
Montreal  in  1866  to  labor  in  the  diocese,  as  did  the  Sisters  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  Lowell  had  a  convent  with 
hospital  and  schools  ;  Chicopee  had  its  convent ;  Boston  saw 
a  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  begun.     Then  came  a   convent 


92  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Worcester.  The  secular  clergy,  already 
aided  in  their  labors  by  the  Jesuits,  Franciscans,  Oblates,  and 
Augustinians,  were  soon  joined  by  the  Kedemptorists.  Schools 
marked  the  real  progress. 

In  1870  the  diocese  contained  148  churches  with  183  priests, 
and  a  division  was  deemed  seasonable.  A  see  was  erected  in 
June  at  Springfield,  with  a  diocese  embracing  five  counties ;  and 
in  1872  the  diocese  of  Providence  took  from  Boston  Bristol, 
Barnstable,  and  part  of  Plymouth  counties.  On  the  12th  of 
February,  1875,  Boston  was  made  an  archiepiscopal  see,  and  a 
new  ecclesiastical  province  was  instituted,  Boston  being  metro- 
politan, and  Portland,  Burlington,  Springfield,  Hartford,  and 
Providence  being  the  suffragans.  Archbishop  Williams  re- 
ceived the  pallium  from  the  hands  of  Archbishop  McCloskey. 

One  of  the  great  desires  of  Archbishop  Williams  was  grati- 
fied in  1884 — the  opening  of  a  theological  seminary,  under  the 
direction  of  the  ISulpitians,  in  a  fine  building  which  had  been 
for  some  years  in  progress.  At  this  time  his  diocese  contained 
about  320,000  Catholics,  attended  by  300  priests,  and  having 
167  churches. 

At  this  writing  (1891),  there  are,  in  this  diocese,  350  priests, 
175  churches  and  chapels,  and  510,000  adherents  to  the  Catholie 
Church. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO. 


KIGHT  EEV.  WILLIAM  QUAKTER, 

First  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

William  Quaeter  was  born  in  Killurine,  Kings  County,  Ire- 
land, January  24,  1806.  Tlie  piety  of  his  parents  can  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  three  of  their  sons  became  priests.  After  pre- 
liminary studies  at  Tullamore  he  was  preparing  to  enter  Maynooth 
when  the  wants  of  the  mission  in  the  United  States,  as  described 
by  a  priest  from  this  country,  induced  him  to  come  to  America 
in  1822.  He  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  where,  under 
the  direction  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Du  Bois  and  Brute,  he  was  formed 
for  his  priestly  career.  Following  Bishop  Du  Bois  to  New  York, 
he  was  ordained  September  4,  1829.  As  assistant  at  St.  Peter's 
he  was  instrumental  in  introducing  the  Sisters  of  Charity  into 
that  parish,  and  showed  such  devotedness  in  the  cholera  season 
of  1832  that  his  example  led  to  conversions.  Appointed  the 
next  year  to  St.  Mary's  Church,  he  completed  it,  introduced 
Sisters  of  Charity,  established  a  free  school  and  academy.  For 
eleven  years  he  was  the  devoted,  wise,  and  careful  pastor  of  his 
flock,  keeping  up  the  faith  in  their  hearts,  and  receiving  many 
converts — among  others  a  Lutheran  minister,  Rev.  Maximilian 
Oertel — into  the  Church.  Having  been  appointed  to  the  see  of 
Chicago,  he  was  consecrated  on  the  10th  of  March,  1844.  He  at 
once  set  to  work  to  organize  the  new  diocese,  beginning  a  cathe- 
dral, college,  and  seminar}^,  and  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy. 
He  made  strenuous  efforts  to  obtain  priests  for  all  congregations 
able  to  maintain  them,  and  when  he  convoked  his  diocesan  synod 
he  could  number  foi-ty-one.  Bishop  Quarter  established  con- 
ferences and  sought  to  maintain  a  true  spirit  in  his  clergy, 
while  he  himself  was  untiring  in  preaching  and  mission  work. 

95 


96  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

His  healtli,  however,  failed  rapidly,  and  lie  died  rather  suddenly 
April  10,  1848,  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  after  receiving 
all  the  sacraments. 


EIGHT  REV.  JAMES  OLIVER  VAN  DE  VELDE, 

Second  Bishop  of  Chicago  and  Second  of  Natchez, 

James  Olivee  vais^  de  Velde  was  born  near  Termonde,  Bel- 
gium, April  3,  1795,  and  was  educated  piously  by  a  priest  who 
escaped  from  the  Reign  of  Terror  in  France.  He  entered  the 
seminary  at  Mechlin,  and  was  teaching  there  when  the  apostolic 
Mr.  Nerinckx  visited  Belgium  to  invite  young  asj^irants  to 
the  priesthood  to  give  their  services  to  the  American  mission. 
Young  Mr.  Van  de  Velde  at  once  volunteered,  but  he  re- 
ceived an  injury  on  the  voyage,  so  that  he  had  to  be  carried 
to  St.  Mary's  College.  On  recovering  he  entered  the  novitiate 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  was  ordained  September  25,  1827. 
After  some  missionary  labors  in  the  rural  districts  of  Maryland, 
he  was  made  professor  of  rhetoric  and  mathematics  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  St.  Louis.  He  became  successively  vice-president  and 
president  of  that  institution,  and  rej^resented  the  vice-province  at 
Rome  and  at  the  Sixth  Council  of  Baltimore.  As  vice-provin- 
cial he  erected  several  churches  and  extended  the  Indian  mis- 
sions. Appointed  to  the  see  of  Chicago  in  1848,  he  yielded 
only  when  it  Avas  decided  that  the  bulls  were  imperative.  He 
was  consecrated  in  the  church  of  the  university,  February  11, 
1849,  and  proceeded  to  Illinois.  He  made  a  visitation  of  his 
diocese,  and  founded  two  asylums  to  care  for  the  orphans  whose 
parents  had  been  carried  off  by  the  cholera.  The  climate  of 
Chicago  proved  very  severe  to  Bishop  Van  de  Velde,  and  a 
factious  opposition  in  the  diocese  caused  him  great  pain.  He 
wished  to  resign,  but  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Quincy,  and  after 
a  visit  to  Rome  he  resumed  his  visitations  and  other  episcopal 
duties  till  he  was  transferred  to  Natchez,  July  29,  1853.     He  left 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO.  97 

Chicago  on  the  3d  of  November  and  proceeded  to  Mississippi, 
where  he  was  hospitably  and  warmly  welcomed.  Here  he 
labored  zealously  for  two  years.  On  the  23d  of  October,  1855, 
he  fell,  causing  a  compound  fracture  of  the  leg.  Fever  set  in, 
which  took  the  character  of  the  deadly  yellow  fever,  and,  after 
receiving  the  last  rites  with  great  devotion,  Bishop  Van  de  Velde 
expired  on  the  13th  of  November,  1855. 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  O'REGAN, 

Third  Bishop  of  CJiicago. 

Right  Rev,  Anthony  O'Regan  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Kiltulla,  Ireland,  and,  becoming  connected  with  the  diocese  of 
St.  Louis,  soon  attained  eminent  positions.  He  was  vicar-gene- 
ral of  that  diocese,  president  of  the  seminary  at  Carondelet,  filling 
also  the  chairs  of  theology  and  Sacred  Scripture. 

After  the  transfer  of  Bishop  Van  de  Velde  the  affairs  of  the 
diocese  of  Chicago  fell  into  great  disorder,  and  the  position  of 
bishop  was  declined  by  the  clergyman  first  selected.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  O'Regan  was  nominated,  but  declined  till  what  was  almost 
a  peremptory  order  in  1854  induced  him  to  accept  the  burden, 
and  he  was  consecrated  July  25,  1854.  Possessing  great  ad- 
ministrative ability,  he  set  to  work  in  earnest,  restored  discipline 
and  order.  He  introduced  system  into  the  affairs  of  the  dio- 
cese, to  which  he  gave  much  anxious  thought.  His  methods 
and  administration,  however,  excited  some  complaint,  and,  after 
spenping  two  years  and  a  half  in  the  diocese,  Bishop  O'Regan  pro- 
ceeded to  Rome,  anxious  to  lay  down  a  dignity  which  he  had 
never  sought.  His  earnest  petition  for  leave  to  resign  was 
granted,  and  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Dora,  June  25, 
1858.  He  never  returned  to  America,  but  took  up  his  residence 
in  London,  where  he  died  November  13,  1866,  leaving  bequests 
for  the  education  of  clergymen  for  the  diocese  over  which  he 
had  presided  and  for  erecting  an  hospital  in  Chicago. 


98  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  DUGGAN, 

Coadjutor- Bishop  of  St.  Louis  and  Fourth  Bishop  of  Chicago. 

James  Dfggan  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Dublin,  Ireland, 
in  the  year  1825,  and  came  early  in  life  to  this  country.  Hav- 
ing attached  himself  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  he  was  ordained 
by  dispensation,  under  the  canonical  age,  when  only  twenty-two, 
May  29,  1847,  by  Archbishop  Kenrick.  Notwithstanding  his 
youth,  he  was  made  superior  of  the  St.  Louis  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Carondelet,  and  subsequently  acted  as  one  of  the  profes- 
sors. In  1850  he  was  attached  to  the  cathedral,  and  in  1854  was 
made  one  of  the  vicars-general  of  the  diocese  and  pastor  of  the 
church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  He  was  regarded  as  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  priests  in  the  diocese,  and  his 
selection  to  aid  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  his  arduous  duties  was 
cordially  approved.  He  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Gabala  and 
coadjutor  of  St.  Louis  January  9,  1857,  and  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Antigone  May  3,  1857.  He  rendered  efficient  aid  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick  in  the  administration  of  the  diocese  ;  on  the 
redrement  of  Bishop  O'Regan  he  was  made  administrator  of 
Chicago  and  finally  bishop  of  that  see.  His  health,  never  strong, 
soon  gave  way,  and,  leaving  his  diocese,  he  proceeded  to  Europe. 
AVhile  there  complaints  were  made  against  his  administration,  on 
learning  of  which  he  returned  to  his  diocese  and  removed  some 
of  the  remonstrants.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Archbishop 
of  St.  Louis,  but,  as  Bishop  Duggan's  accusers  neglected  to  ap- 
pear and  prove  their  charges,  they  fell  to  the  ground.  It  was 
soon  evident,  however,  that  his  mind  had  given  away,  and  that 
he  was  not  accountable  for  many  of  his  acts.  His  mental 
malad}'-  increased  in  1869  to  such  an  extent  that  recovery  was 
deemed  doubtful.  He  was  accordingly  removed  to  an  asylum 
in  Missouri  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  administration 
of  the  unhappy  diocese.     Bishop  Duggan  never  recovered. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO.  99 

RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  FOLEY, 

JBishop  of  Pergamus  and  Administrator  of  Chicago. 

Thomas  Foley  was  born  in  Baltimore,  March  6,  1823,  and, 
trained  in  piety  from  his  youth,  early  evinced  a  vocation  for  the 
priesthood.  He  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  where  he  soon 
became  one  of  the  prefects.  The  rites  and  ceremonial  of  the 
Church  were  a  fav^orite  study,  and  this  led  to  his  selection  as 
master  of  ceremonies  at  the  Fifth  Provincial  Council.  He  was 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Eccleston  August  17,  1846,  and  was 
appointed  pastor  of  Rockville.  After  being  assistant  at  St. 
Patrick's,  Washington,  he  was  from  1848  connected  with  the 
cathedral,  Baltimore,  and  for  some  years  was  chancellor  of  the 
diocese.  He  acted  as  secretary  at  the  first  and  second  Plenary 
Councils,  and  from  1867  was  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  His 
merit  and  ability  were  widely  known,  and  important  duties  were 
evidently  in  store  for  him.  He  was  selected  for  the  difficult 
task  of  restoring  discipline  and  order  in  the  diocese  of  Chicago, 
which  Bishop  Duggan's  acts,  while  his  malady  was  unsuspected, 
had  involved  in  great  difficulties.  Rev.  Mr.  Foley  was  appointed 
Bishop  of  Pergamus  and  coadjutor  of  Chicago  on  the  19th  of 
November,  1869,  and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  Balti- 
more, February  27,  1870,  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Louisville. 
His  experience  in  diocesan  management  enabled  him  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  diocese  of  Chicago.  New  parishes  with 
churches  were  required,  and  in  some  parts  there  were  old 
wooden  churches  no  longer  serviceable.  Bishop  Foley  insj)ired 
his  clergy  with  zeal  and  activity,  and  his  financial  ability  kept 
the  outlay  for  new  churches  within  reasonable  bounds  and 
established  a  ci-edit  which  made  necessary  loans  easy.  While 
Catholic  Chicago  was  thus  full  of  hope  it  was  visited  by  the 
terrible  conflagration  which  swept  away  seven  churches  with 
their  pastoral  residences  and  parochial  schools,  the  hospital  of 
the  Alexian  Brothers,  an  or]3han  asylum,  the  House  of  Provi- 
dence, St.  Xavier's  Academy  and  Convent,  and  the  select  school 
conducted  by  the  Christian  Brothers.     St.  Mary's,  the  cradle  of 


iOO  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Catholicity  in  the  city,  was  one  of  the  buildings  devoured  by  the 
flames.  The  bishop  and  his  clergy  set  to  work  with  energy  to 
repair  this  terrible  loss,  although  the  parishioners  had  been 
scattered  far  and  wide  by  the  conflagration ;  but  as  the  city 
was  rebuilt  and  spread  Catholic  churches  and  institutions  kept 
pace  with  its  progress.  The  cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name  rose 
from  its  ashes  by  his  energy.  Eight  years'  labor  had  given  the 
diocese  a  new  life  and  spirit.  Under  his  administration  the 
priests  in  the  diocese  had  increased  from  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  to  two  hundred  and  six,  and  his  churches  from  about  two 
hundred  to  fully  three  hundred.  Five  new  convents  and  seven 
academies  had  been  begun,  and  he  had  erected  a  new  cathedral. 

Everything  promised  a  season  of  needed  rest  for  Bishop 
Foley  amid  a  clergy  and  jDeople  who  had  learned  to  admire  him, 
but  while  returning  from  a  filial  visit  to  his  mother  in  Baltimore 
he  contracted  a  heavy,  cold  and  was  stricken  down  by  pneu- 
monia in  February,  1879.  His  strength,  exhausted  by  his  years 
of  labor,  could  not  resist  the  disease,  and  he  expired  on  the  19th. 

During  his  administration  the  diocese  of  Chicago  was  again 
divided,  and  a  new  see  established  at  Peoria,  its  diocese  being 
increased,  after  Bishop  Foley's  death,  by  the  addition  of  some 
counties  taken  from  that  of  Chicago. 


MOST  EEV.  PATRICK  A.  FEEHAN, 

Tldrd  Bishop  of  Nashville,  First  Archhishop  of  Cliicago. 

Patrick  A.  Feehan  was  born  in  the  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, and  was  educated  at  the  celebrated  Seminaiy  of  Maynooth. 
Having  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  American  mission,  he 
came  to  St.  Louis  in  1852,  and  was  appointed  superior  of  the 
seminary  at  Carondelet.  As  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception  in  St.  Louis,  which  position  he  filled  for 
several  years,  he  acquired  reputation  as  a  devoted  priest,  able  m 


DIOCESE  OF  CHICAGO.  101 

the  pulpit  and  in  the  direction  of  the  manifold  affairs  which 
devolve  on  the  head  of  a  parish  in  this  country.  When  Bishop 
Whelan  resio-ned  the  see  of  Nashville  the  Rev.  Mr.  Feehan  was 
elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  on  the  7th  of  July,  1865.  The  pro- 
gress of  Catholicity  in  Tennessee  has  never  been  rapid,  but  un- 
der the  energetic  impulse  given  by  Bishop  Feehan  progress  was 
very  marked.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  1st  of  November, 
1865,  and  proceeded  to  the  State  of  Tennessee,  which  had  been 
one  of  the  battle-grounds  of  the  war,  many  of  the  inhabitants 
being  arrayed  on  each  side.  Amid  the  din  of  arms  religion  had 
suffered  greatly,  and  Bishop  Feehan  found  not  more  than  twelve 
priests  or  churches  in  his  diocese.  By  the  year  1879  the  diocese 
of  Nashville  reported  twenty-seven  priests,  twenty-nine  churches, 
a  college  under  the  Christian  Brothers,  academies  and  parochial 
schools  under  Dominican  Sisters,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  St.  Joseph, 
Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Most  Precious  Blood. 
There  was,  too,  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
with  its  usual  Refuge,  and  two  orphan  asylums.  Yet  the  diocese 
had  been  visited  by  the  terrible  yellow  fever  at  Memphis  the 
year  before  ;  nine  priests  and  thirteen  Sisters  died  there  attend- 
ing the  sick,  among  them  the  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  the 
Very  Rev.  Martin  O'Riordan. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Foley  left  Chicago  unprovided ;  and  as 
the  lapse  of  years  had  shown  Bishop  Duggan's  malady  to  be 
incurable,  the  Holy  See  created  Chicago  a  metropolitan  see, 
making  Peoria  and  Alton  its  suffragans,  and  promoted  Bishop 
Feehan  to  the  newly-erected  archiepiscopal  throne  September 
10,  1880.  The  archbishop  has  more  than  maintained  the  Catho- 
lic interests  in  Chicago  ;  indeed,  the  growth  is  said  to  exceed 
that  at  any  former  period.  In  three  years  nine  new  parishes 
were  established  in  Chicago  alone.  He  has  placed  on  a  solid 
basis  St.  Mary's  Training  School  for  Boys,  an  excellent  institu- 
tion in  charge  of  the  Christian  Brothers. 

On  the  'loth  of  May,  1883,  the  archbishop  and  his  flock  cele- 
brated the  Catholic  semi-centennial,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  the  oldest  Catholic  church 
in  the  city.  Fifty  years  before  Catholicity  in  what  is  now  the 
diocese  of  Chicago  could  boast  one  church,  one  priest,  and  about 


102 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


800  adherents.  Eleven  years  later,  in  1844,  it  could  boast  only- 
five  priests  and  very  few  churclies.  In  1884  the  diocese,  includ- 
ing  only  a  portion  of  the  State,  contained  236  priests,  184 
churches,  two  colleges,  eighteen  academies,  four  hospitals,  eight 
asylums,  a  Catholic  population  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million,  more  than    one-tenth  being  puj^ils  in  Catholic  schools. 

In  November,  1884,  Archbishop  Feehan  attended  the  grand 
convention  of  the  episcopate  in  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore. 

The  statistics  for  the  present  year  (1891)  show  a  Catholic 
population  of  460,000,  with  328  priests,  320  churches  and  chapels, 
4  colleges,  22  academies,  and  100  parochial  schools. 


DIOCESE  OF  CINCINMTL 


RIGHT  REV.  EDAVARD  FENWICK, 

First  Bishop  of  Cincinnati. 

Edward  D.  Fenwick  was  born  in  St.  Mary's  County,  Mary 
land,  in  1768,  of  a  pious  Catliolic  family  which  had  adhered  to 
the  faith  from  the  colonization  of  the  colony,  and  which  in  his 
person  gave  a  second  of  its  descendants  to  the  young  episcopate 
of  the  United  States.  Having  been  sent  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
to  the  Dominican  college  at  Bornheim,  in  Flanders,  he  went 
through  his  studies  with  distinction,  and,  feeling  called  to  the  re- 
ligious life,  entered  the  order  of  St.  Dominic  as  a  novice.  He 
spent  several  years  in  the  quiet  seclusion,  discharging  the  du- 
ties of  professor  and  procurator,  till  the  armies  of  revolutionary 
France  overran  the  Low  Countries.  The  convent  Avas  seized  and 
Father  Fenwick  and  his  brethren  were  thi'own  into  prison  as 
Englishmen.  Procuring  his  release  as  an  American  citizen,  he 
joined  the  Dominicans  of  his  province  m  England  ;  but,  as  he 
was  desirous  of  laboring  in  his  native  land,  he  obtained  from 
the  general  of  the  order  permission  to  conduct  a  colony  of  Fri- 
ars Preachers  to  the  United  States.  He  Avas  chosen  superior  of 
the  new  mission  and  sailed  for  this  country  with  three  fathers. 
Bishop  Carroll  welcomed  them  earnestly  and  assigned  them  to 
duty  in  Kentucky.  There  Father  Fenwick  purchased  a  farm  in 
Washington  County  in  1805,  and  founded  St.  Rose's  convent  in 
the  following  year.  Their  missions  soon  extended  to  Ohio, 
where  many  scattered  Catholics  were  found.  Resigning  the  <^f- 
fice  of  provincial  to  another.  Father  Fenwick  devoted  himself 
entirely  to  the  Ohio  mission,  and  was  constantly  rewarded  by 
discovering  little  communities  of  Catholics,  Avho  hailed  his  ad- 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

vent  with  joy.  Missions  were  established  at  Somerset,  Dayton, 
and  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Peter  Dittoe  presented  him  a  farm  in  Perry 
County,  on  condition  that  he  established  a  convent  of  his  order 
upon  it,  and  Pather  Fenwick  took  up  his  residence  there  with 
another  religious,  their  numbers  being  soon  increased.  From 
this  centre  the  missions  in  Ohio  were  regularly  attended,  and 
churches  were  gradually  erected  at  different  points.  Bishop 
Flaget,  whose  diocese  embraced  that  State,  urged  the  erection 
of  a  new  diocese  north  of  the  Ohio  River.  In  1789  there  had 
been  an  attempt  to  colonize  the  Scioto  country  with  emigrants 
from  France,  and  it  was  proposed  to  give  them  a  separate  supe- 
rior, subject,  however,  to  Bishop  Carroll ;  but  the  settlers  were 
not  earnestly  devoted  to  their  faith  and  never  even  had  a  priest. 
On  the  19th  of  June,  1821,  Pope  Pius  VII.  created  the  diocese 
of  Cincinnati  and  appointed  Edward  Fenwick  the  first  bishop. 
Receiving  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Flaget,  January 
13,  1822,  Bishop  Fenwick  proceeded  to  Cincinnati,  where  he 
hired  a  little  house  and  sent  out  to  purchase  a  meal.  The  city 
possessed  a  little  frame  church  about  a  mile  from  the  limits. 
Removing  this  into  the  city.  Dr.  Fenwick  made  it  his  cathedral, 
but  in  the  course  of  two  years  it  was  too  small  for  his  congrega- 
tion. The  wants  of  his  diocese,  which  he  estimated  as  contain- 
ing then  eight  thousand  Catholics,  appalled  him ;  he  borrowed  a 
hundred  dollars  and  set  out  for  Rome  to  ask  the  Pope  to  relieve 
him  of  his  episcopate.  Pope  Leo  XII.  consoled  and  encouraged 
the  pious  bishop,  and  many  charitable  persons  contributed  to  aid 
the  cause  of  religion  in  Ohio.  The  Association  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith,  recently  established  at  Lyons,  joined  in  the 
good  work.  Bishop  Fenwick  returned  to  his  diocese  with  fresh 
hopes ;  he  erected  a  cathedral  and  began  a  series  of  missions,  es- 
tablishing churches  and,  where  possible,  schools,  confiding  them 
to  the  Poor  Clares,  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Dominican  nuns.  In 
his  laborious  visitations,  which  extended  over  Michigan  and  "Wis- 
consin— then  called  Northwest  Territory — he  visited  the  Catholic 
Indians,  whose  faith  he  revived.  After  attending  the  first  coun- 
cil of  Baltimore  he  resumed  his  apostolical  journeys  in  search  of 
souls.  "While  thus  devotedly  x^erforming  the  duty  of  a  good 
shepherd  he  was  struck  down  by  the  cholera  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 


DIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI.  105 

but  rallied  sufficiently  to  visit  Arbre  Croche  and  Detroit.  At 
Canton  lie  was  again  seized  with  the  cholera,  but  heroically  kept 
on,  only  to  die  the  next  day,  September  26,  1832,  at  Wooster, 
Ohio.  This  apostolic  bishop,  thus  prematurely  cut  off,  left  twenty 
churches  and  thirty  priests  attending  the  large  Catholic  pojDula- 
tion  whom  his  untiring  labors  had  united  in  zealous  congrega- 
tions, in  a  State  where  he  had  been  the  pioneer  priest. 


MOST  KEY.  JOHN  BAPTIST  PURCELL, 

Second  Bishop  and  First  Archhishop  of  Cincinnati. 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Fenwick  was  for  many  years  one 
of  the  most  notable  and  influential  members  of  the  American 
hierarchy.  John  Baptist  Purcell  was  born  at  Mallow,  Ireland, 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1800.  After  making  a  successful 
course  of  study  he  came  to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  and  soon  became  engaged  in  teaching.  But  his  wish 
was  to  enter  the  priesthood,  and,  having  secured  admission  into 
Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  he  evinced  such  talent  that  he  was  sent 
to  St.  Sulpice,  in  Paris,  to  complete  his  course.  On  his  return 
he  became  president  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  acting  also  as 
professor.  The  institution  flourished  under  his  direction.  He 
was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Cincinnati  and  consecrated  October 
13,  1833,  his  diocese  comprising  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  Coving- 
ton, in  Kentucky ;  Michigan  and  the  other  portions  of  the  diocese 
having  been  placed  und^r  a  bishop  at  Detroit.  The  State  of 
Ohio  contained  about  six  thousand  Catholics,  who  had  sixteen 
chu  relies,  attended  by  fourteen  priests.  He  entered  on  liis  work 
with  zeal,  and  to  an  advanced  age  performed  all  the  duties  of  a 
misiijionary  priest.  The  institutions  were  the  Dominican  con- 
vent and  seminary  at  Somerset,  and  an  orphan  asylum  and 
school  in  Cincinnati  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  with 
the  Athenaeum,  the  nucleus  of  a  college,  at  Cincinnati,  By  the 
impulse  of  his  zeal  new  churches  and  institutions  arose,  exciting 


106  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fanatical  alarm,  whicli  was  fanned  by  men  like  Beecher  and 
Morse.  Challenged  to  a  controversy  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell, 
Bishop  Pnrcell  refuted  him  and  established  a  name  as  a  theolo- 
gian and  polemic.  He  drew  religious  orders  in  to  aid  his  work : 
the  Jesuits  took  charge  of  the  Athenaeum,  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame  from  Namur  and  the  Brothers  of  Mary  opened  academies 
and  schools,  the  Priests  of  the  Precious  Blood  began  mission  la- 
bors among  the  Germans,  while  the  Ursulines  founded  their  pros- 
perous convent  in  Brown  County.  In  1846  Ohio  boasted  seventy 
thousand  Catholics,  with  seventy  churches  and  seventy-three 
priests.  Bishop  Purcell  obtained  the  erection  of  a  new  bishop's 
see  at  Cleveland,  the  diocese  being  that  part  of  the  State  north 
of  40°  41'.  In  1850  Cincinnati  was  made  an  archiepiscopal  see 
by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  and  the  bishops  of  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Louis- 
ville, and  Vincennes  became  suffragans  of  Archbishop  Purcell. 
His  next  great  step  was  the  establishment  of  a  theological  semi- 
naiy.  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West.  The  suffragan  bishops 
and  their  metropolitan  held  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Cin- 
cinnati in  May,  1855,  and  a  second  council  was  held  three  years 
later,  after  Covington  had  in  1853  been  placed  under  the  care 
of  a  resident  bishop.  It  was  attended  by  the  bishops  of  De- 
troit, Cleveland,  Louisville,  Covington,  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  and  Foi-t 
Wayne.  The  decrees  of  these  councils  show  eminently  how 
fully  Archbishop  Purcell  understood  the  wants  of  the  Catholic 
community.  The  necessity  of  giving  a  thorough  religious  edu- 
cation to  the  young  was  paramount  in  his  mind.  He  prepared 
the  first  series  of  Catholic  school-books ;  he  urged  the  erection 
of  Catholic  schools,  and  introduced  religious  to  guide  them.  To 
create  churches  and  schools  rapidly  enough  to  meet  the  wants 
of  the  thousands  pouring  into  his  diocese  was  a  problem.  The 
new  congregations,  composed  of  people  who  had  all  to  acquire, 
were  unable  to  meet  the  cost.  Borrowing  became  necessaiy. 
In  an  evil  hour,  as  it  proved.  Archbishop  Purcell  permitted  his 
brother,  the  vicar-general,  to  accept  deposits  of  money.  Unac- 
quainted with  business,  with  no  financial  capacity,  keeping  no 
records  or  accounts,  that  official  brought  ruin  in  time  to  the 
archbishop  and  the  diocese. 

In    1862    he   obtained    a   coadjutor  in   the   person    of   Rev. 


v'lOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI.  107 

Sylvester  H.  Rosecrans,  an  able  and  energetic  clergyman,  wlio 
was  consecrated  Bisliop  of  Pompeiopolis  and  Auxiliary  Bishop  of 
Cincinnati  on  March  25,  1862.  But  though  religion  received 
new  progress  from  this  aid,  the  archbishop  felt  that  more  could 
be  effected  by  again  dividing  the  diocese,  and  in  1868  the 
diocese  of  Columbus  was  established,  of  which  his  auxiliar, 
Bishop  Rosecrans,  was  made  the  first  ordinary.  After  this 
division  the  once  extensive  diocese  of  Cincinnati  comprised  only 
that  part  of  the  State  lying  south  of  40°  41',  being  the  counties 
south  of  the  northern  line  of  Mercer,  Allen,  and  Hardin  counties, 
and  all  west  of  the  eastern  line  of  Marion,  Union,  and  Madison 
counties,  and  all  west  of  the  Scioto  River  to  the  Ohio.  Even 
thus  restricted  the  diocese  contained  139,000  Catholics,  115 
churches,  with  7  in  course  of  erection,  13  chapels,  and  42  stations, 
attended  by  135  priests.  There  were  76  parochial  schools,  with 
9  academies  and  3  colleges. 

In  1869  Archbishop  Purcell  attended  the  (Ecumenical  Coun- 
cil of  the  Vatican,  and  was  prominent  in  its  debates  on  the 
question  of  defining  the  infallibility  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
when  deciding  questions  of  faith  and  morals  ex  ecithedra — that  is, 
when  formally  and  distinctly  brought  before  him  as  the  supreme 
judicial  authority  in  the  Church.  Archbishop  Purcell,  like  some 
others,  was  averse  to  a  distinct  declaration  on  the  question. 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1876,  the  golden  jubilee  of  his  ordina- 
tion was  celebrated  by  his  flock  with  solemn  services  in  the 
cathedral,  attended  by  societies  in  processions,  and  crowds  of 
priests  and  laymen.  Catholic  and  Protestant,  who  came  to  offer 
their  congi-atulations.  It  was  the  bright  and  brilliant  prelude 
of  a  sad  and  terrible  afiliction. 

Early  in  1879  financial  affairs  which  had  been  managed 
by  the  Very  Rev.  Edward  Purcell  ended  in  bankruptcy.  How 
it  all  came  about  must  ever  remain  a  mystery.  The  venerable 
archbishop,  as  ignorant  as  a  child  of  the  system  and  its  extent, 
at. once  came  forward  and  assumed  the  whole  responsibility  of 
his  brother's  operations.  This  only  complicated  matters  and 
raised  a  host  of  legal  questions  as  to  his  ability,  in  character 
of  trustee  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  his  diocese,  to  assume  an 
individual  indebtedness  contracted  by  another ;  and  if  he  could, 


108  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

it  became  necessary  to  decide  what  property  became  liable  for 
it,  tbat  owned  by  the  diocese  or  the  property  of  every  Catholic 
church  and  institution  in  the  diocese.  If  the  debt  became  a 
just  charge  on  the  whole  diocese  and  all  its  churches  and  in- 
stitutions, it  Avas  a  debt  on  every  Catholic,  which  he  was  bound 
in  conscience  to  pay.  This  extreme  view  no  theologian  or  can- 
onist was  found  to  take. 

The  debts  were  at  first  suj)posed  not  to  exceed  a  quarter  of  a 
million  of  dollars,  and  attempts  were  made  to  meet  or  reduce  it 
materially  by  subscriptions  ;  but  when  it  was  found  that  the 
indebtedness  reached  nearl}^  four  millions  of  dollars  the  attempt 
was  abandoned  as  hopeless.  The  Very  .Rev.  Edward  Purcell 
died  broken-hearted.  The  archbishop  made  an  assignment  of  all 
property  in  his  name,  and  long  litigations  began.  The  courts 
ultimately  decided  that  the  individual  congregations  were  not 
liable  except  for  moneys  actually  advanced  to  them. 

The  venerable  archbishop  asked  to* be  permitted  to  resign 
the  see  which  he  had  so  long  occupied,  but  when  this  was 
refused  he  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  coadjutor.  The  choice 
fell  upon  the  Right  Rev.  William  H.  Elder,  then  Bishop  of 
Natchez,  who  in  May,  1880,  assumed  the  administration  of  the 
diocese. 

Archbishop  Purcell  then  retired  to  a  house  near  the  Ursuline 
Convent  in  Brown  County.  Here  early  in  1881  he  was  struck 
with  paralysis  and  lingered  till  July  4,  1883,  when  he  expired 
calmly  and  full  of  hope.  His  career  had  been  humble,  zealous, 
and  active.  In  the  great  trial  of  his  life  all  acknowledged  that 
no  money  had  been  spent  for  his  own  purposes  or  extravagantly. 
He  liad  been  a  prelate  of  great  influence,  forming  many  of  the 
best  bishops  and  clergy  in  the  country,  consecrating  in  his  long 
administration  eighteen  bishops  and  ordaining  hundreds  of 
priests. 


DIOCESE  OF  CINCINNATI.  109 

MOST  KEV.  WILLIAM  HENRY  ELDER, 

Third  Bishop  of  Natchez^  Second  Archhishop  of  Cincinnati. 

William  Heney  Elder  was  born  in  Baltimore  in  the  year 
1819,  and,  corresponding  to  the  pious  wish  of  his  parents,  early 
in  life  looked  forward  to  the  priesthood  as  the  work  of  his  life. 
He  began  his  studies  in  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  but  pursued  a 
theological  course  for  three  years  in  the  College  of  the  Propa- 
ganda at  Rome.  He  was  ordained  in  1846,  and,  returning  to  the 
United  States,  was  for  several  years  director  and  professor  of 
theology  at  Mount  St.  Mary's.  In  this  quiet  field  of  labor  he 
had  impressed  many  bishops  witb  his  singular  abilities.  On  the 
9th  of  January,  1857,  he  was  selected  for  the  see  of  Natchez,  and 
received  episcopal  consecration  on  the  8d  day  of  May  in  the 
cathedral  of  Baltimore,  the  consecrator  being  the  Most  Rev.  Fran- 
cis P.  Kenrick,  assisted  by  the  Right  Rev.  John  McGill,  of  Rich- 
mond, and  Rt.  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  coadjutor  of  Philadelphia. 
He  was  the  twelfth  bishop  that  Mount  St.  Mary's  had  given  to 
the  Church  in  tlie  United  States.  Bishop  Elder  was  actively 
laboring  for  his  flock  in  Mississippi  when  the  civil  war  began. 
In  time  the  State  became  the  scene  of  battle,  and  the  bishop, 
with  his  few  priests  and  the  communities  of  sisters,  did  all  in 
their  power  to  alleviate  suffering  and  to  prepare  men  for  a  Chris- 
tian death.  One  of  his  priests  died  amid  his  charitable  labors. 
In  1864  the  post  commandant  at  Natchez,  one  of  those  fanatics 
who  confound  their  Protestantism  and  their  citizenship,  issued  an 
order  requiring  all  clergymen  to  insert  in  their  public  worship  a 
prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Bishop  Elder 
remonstrated,  showing  how  nobly  he  and  his  clergy  had  acted, 
but  taking  the  broad  ground  that  no  part  of  sacred  worship 
could  be  prescribed  by  civil  or  military  authority.  His  remon- 
strance  led  to  directions  that  he  should  not  be  molested ;  but  in 
the  change  of  commandants  Colonel  Farrar  endeavored  to  euforce 
the  order,  but  suspended  execution  till  Bishop  Elder  prepared  a 
statement  of  his  reasons  for  not  complying.  When  he  presented 
the  statement  General  Brayman  had  taken  command.    He  would 


110  THE   CATHOLIC   HIEKAPCCHY   IX   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

not  accept  Bishop  Elder's  reasons,  and  sent  him  out  of  his  dio- 
cese to  Vidalia. 

When  peace  was  at  last  restored  Catholicity  in  Mississippi 
was  in  a  wretched  condition ;  flocks  had  been  scattered,  priests 
^ve^e  gone,  institutions  suspended,   churches  in  ruins.     Bishop 
Elder  went  zealously  to  work  to  restore  all ;  but  when  prosperity 
was  besrinuino^  to  dawn  the  vellow  fever  of  1878  visited  the  dio- 
cese.     Bishop  Elder  showed  his  wonted  zeal  and  was  stricken 
down ;  the  report  even  spread  that  he  was  dead,  as  three  of  his 
priests  and  many  sisters  were.    But  he  lived  to  resume  his  labors, 
and  the  next  year  was  appointed  coadjutor  to  the  Archbishop  of 
San  Francisco.     Before  the  notification  reached  him  he  was  ap- 
pointed coadjutor  of  Cincinnati,  and  yielded,  on  the  30th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1880,  to  the  command  that  he  should  proceed  to  Cincinnati 
to  assume,  as  Bishop  of  Avara,  a  duty  before  which  many  had 
quailed — the  administration   of   the  diocese  amid   its   financial 
wreck.     The  diocese  of  jS^atchez  was  endeared  to  him  by  his  mis- 
sionary labors  and  his  patient  care ;  he  left  it  with  a  population 
of  12,500,  attended   by  twenty  priests,  who  offered  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  in  41  churches  scattered  through  the  State.     The  Cath- 
olic body  was  gaining  by  natural  i/icrease  and  by  conversion, 
nearly  one-fourth  the  baptisms  being  of  adults,  and  there  were 
several  religious  orders  laboring  by  good  example  and  sound  in- 
struction to  diffuse  the  gospel  of  truth.     Still  retaining  the  ad- 
ministration of  Natchez,  Bishop  Elder  took  up  his  residence  in 
Cincinnati.     Difficulties  beset  him,  but  his  wdse,  temperate,  and 
prudent  course  soon  restored  order  and  rallied  around  him  the 
best  elements  in  the  diocese.     In  February,  1882,  he  presided  in 
the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of  Cincinnati,  where  decrees  were 
adopted  based  on   the  necessities  of  the  time.     By  the  death  of 
Archbishop  Purcell,  July  4,  he  became  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati, 
and  soon  received  the  pallium.     Archbishop  Elder  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  the  work  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more, the  sessions  of  which  were  continued  through  nearly  the 
whole  month  of  November,  1884. 


DIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 


MOST  REV.  JOHN  MARTIN  HENNI, 

.  First  Bishop  and  Archbishop  of  Milwaukee. 

John  Martin  Henni  was  born  of  a  family  in  comfortable 
circumstances  at  Obersaxen,  in  the  Swiss  canton  of  the  Grisons, 
in  the  year  1805.  After  studying  at  St.  Gall  and  Luzerne  he 
proceeded  to  Rome  to  complete  his  course ;  there  he  and  another 
young  Swiss,  Martin  Kundig,  moved  by  the  appeal  of  Bishop 
Fenwick,  of  Cincinnati,  for  priests  to  aid  him,  volunteered  to  join 
his  diocese.  They  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  1829,  and,  completing 
their  theology  in  the  seminary  at  Bardstown,  were  ordained  by 
Bishop  Fenwick  February  2,  1829.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Henni  took 
chars^e  of  the  Germans  in  Cincinnati,  who  then  attended  St.  Pe- 
ter's  Church,  giving  them  instructions  in  their  own  language. 
He  also  taught  philosophy  in  the  AthensBum.  His  next  field  of 
labor  was  in  Northern  Ohio,  extending  from  Canton  to  Lake  Erie. 
Bishop  Purcell  recalled  him  to  Cincinnati  in  1834,  making  him 
vicar-general  and  pastor  of  the  German  church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  The  next  year  he  visited  Euro23e  and  published  there 
an  interesting  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Ohio,  in  order  to  stimulate  interest  in  the  missions.  Return- 
ing to  Cincinnati,  he  established  in  1837  the  Wahrheits  Freund, 
the  first  German  Catholic  paper  in  the  United  States.  He  also 
organized  the  St.  Aloysius'  Orphans'  Aid  Society.  Among  his 
projects  was  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  priests  to  labor 
among  the  Germans  in  this  country.  His  plan  was  laid  before 
the  Provincial  Council  in  Baltimore,  but  that  body,  soliciting  the 
erection  of  a  see  at  Milwaukee,  recommen<led  him  as  admirably 
fitted  by  learning,  piety,  sacerdotal  zeal,  and  experience  for  the 

new  mitre.     On  the  feast  of  St.  Joseph,  March  19,  1844,  he  was 

in 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

consecrated  in  St.  Xavier's  Cliurcli,  Cincinnati,  by  Arclibisliop 
Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Miles  and  O'Connor.  Tlie  diocese 
of  Milwaukee  was  just  the  field  for  his  zeal.  The  only  church  in 
his  episcopal  city  was  a  wooden  one,  thirty  feet  by  forty  in  size. 
Indeed,  Mass  had  been  said  for  the  first  time  in  Milwaukee  only 
seven  years  before  in  the  house  of  Solomon  Juneau,  A  stone 
church  had  been  begun  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  but  the  few  other 
churches  in  the  dioceses  were  log  structures,  and  the  Catholics, 
estimated  at  from  eight  to  ten  thousand,  had  only  five  priests 
to  attend  them.  Bishop  Henni  found  his  old  friend,  Rev.  Mr. 
Kuudig,  at  Milwaukee,  and  had  brought  with  him  a  learned 
young  priest.  Rev.  Michael  Heiss.  He  began  a  visitation  of  his 
diocese,  borrowing  money  to  pay  his  expenses,  and  soon  found 
that  his  flock  was  nearly  double  what  had  been  supposed.  To 
supply  them  with  priests  and  churches  was  his  uhgent  task.  By 
the  end  of  the  first  year  he  had  nine  priests,  eighteen  churches, 
and  six  more  going  up.  The  activity  of  the  Catholic  body  under 
the  impulse  of  their  bishop  excited  the  hostility  of  fanatics,  who 
began  their  usual  misrepresentations.  A  Rev.  Mr.  Miter  was 
esj)ecially  active  in  endeavoring  to  excite  violence  against  Catho- 
lics, but  Bishop  Henni,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Facts  against 
Assertion,  by  Philalethes,"  placed  them  so  clearly  in  the  wrong 
that  a  better  feeling  soon  prevailed. 

In  1847  he  beo^an  the  erection  of  a  new  cathedral  and  intro- 
duced  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  took  charge  of  a  hospital. 
The  next  year  he  visited  Rome  to  report  the  condition  of  his  dio- 
cese and  obtain  aid  of  various  kinds.  On  his  return  he  suspended 
work  on  his  cathedral  in  order  to  build  an  orphan  asylum;  he 
introduced  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and,  by  giving 
them  a  thorough  system  of  training,  made  the  order  one  of  the 
most  successful  bodies  of  teachers  in  the  country.  Meanwhile 
churches  and  institutions  were  increasing,  the  Dominicans  opened 
a  college  at  Sinsinawa,  Brothers  of  St.  Francis  and  Sisters  of  the 
same  order  at  Nojoshing,  Dominican  nuns  at  Benton.  Some  zeal- 
ous priests  organized  a  Capuchin  convent,  reviving  that  order  in 
this  country.  At  the  end  of  his  first  ten  years  his  flock  was  one 
hundred  thousand  and  his  clergy  numbered  seventy-three. 

The  very  year  after  his  arrival  he  opened  a  little  theological 


DIOCESE  OP  MILWAUKEE. 

seminary  under  tlie  direction  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Heiss,  and  main- 
tained it,  gradually  prepai'ing  to  place  it  on  a  solid  basis.  After 
the  consecration  of  his  cathedral  by  Archbishop  Bedini  in  1853 
he  was  able  to  lay,  in  1855,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Salesianum, 
or  Seminary  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  and  opened  it  for  the  recep- 
tion of  students  on  the  feast  of  that  saint.  This  seminary,  under 
the  able  management  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Heiss  and  Salzmann,  be- 
came one  of  the  best  in  the  country.  By  the  year  1868  the  State 
contained  three  hundred  thousand  Catholics,  and  at  the  request 
of  Bishop  Henni  it  was  divided  into  three  dioceses.  His  Holi- 
ness Pope  Pius  IX.  established  the  sees  of  Green  Bay  and  La 
Crosse,  yet  the  portion  of  the  State  left  in  the  diocese  of  Mil- 
waukee contained  two  hundred  and  forty-three  churches  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  priests.  Bishop  Henni  had  won  the 
esteem  and  attachment  of  all  men,  and  his  silver  jubilee  in  1869 
was  a  spontaneous  ovation.  The  eloquent  sermon  preached  on 
that  occasion  by  the  Rev.  Father  Garesche,  S.J.,  was  long  re- 
membered. 

In  1875  the  Holy  See  created  him-  an  archbishop,  giving  him 
as  suffragans  the  bishops  of  Green  Bay,  La  Crosse,  Marquette, 
and  St.  Paul.  The  golden  jubilee  of  his  priesthood  in  1879,  when 
the  sermon  was  preached  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  who  had  con- 
secrated him,  evoked  the  most  enthusiastic  expressions  of  respect. 
But  the  aged  archbishop  was  ready  to  lay  down  his  burdens. 
The  death  of  his  old  friend,  Very  Rev.  Mr,  Kundig,  was  a  severe 
blow  to  him,  and  a  visitation  during  the  summer,  in  which  he 
gave  confirmation  in  several  places,  completely  prostrated  his 
enfeebled  frame. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1880,  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Heiss  waa 
made  coadjutor  and  relieved  Archbishop  Henni  of  much  of  the 
care  of  the  administration.  The  aged  archbishop  soon  became 
too  weak  to  perform  any  official  act,  thongh  he  retained  all  his 
faculties.  He  died  on  the  7th  of  September,  1881,  at  half -past 
eleven,  having  received  the  sacraments  ii  fu^I  possessiop,  of  his 
senses. 


114  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  HEISS, 

First  Bishop  of  La  Crosse  and  Second  Archbishop  of  Milwaukee. 

The  successor  of  Archbishof)  Henni,  tlie  Most  Rev.  Michael 
Heiss,  was  born  in  Pfahldorf,  Bavaria,  April  12,  1818,  and,  enter- 
ing tlie  Latin  school  at  the  age  of  nine,  was  graduated  with  dis- 
tinction from  the  gymnasium  of  Newburg  in  1835.  He  first 
studied  law,  but,  feeling  called  to  the  service  of  God,  went 
through  a  theological  course  in  the  University  of  Munich,  where 
Goerres,  Moehler,  and  Dollinger  were  his  professors.  He  then 
entered  the  ecclesiastical  seminary  at  Eichstadt,  and  was  ordained 
by  Cardinal  Reisach  October  18,  1840.  He  received  a  curacy, 
but  came  to  the  United  States  in  1843,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
church  of  the  Mother  of  God  in  Covington,  Ky.  On  the  appoint- 
ment of  Dr.  Henni  to  Milwaukee  Rev.  Mr.  Heiss  accompanied 
him,  acting  as  secretary,  and  doing  mission  work  for  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  city.  He  founded  St.  Mary's  Church  in  1846  ;  but 
his  health  failed,  and  he  sjDent  two  years  in  Europe.  On  his  re- 
turn he  became  president  of  the  Salesianum,  and  by  learned 
theological  works  showed  his  ability  and  erudition.  On  the  di- 
vision of  the  diocese  he  was  selected  for  the  see  of  La  Crosse  and 
consecrated  September  6,  1868.  The  diocese,  which  embraces  the 
portion  of  the  State  north  and  west  of  the  Wisconsin  River,  had 
an  early  French  settlement  at  Prairie  du  Chien  about  1689.  In 
the  present  century  it  was  first  visited  by  a  priest  in  1817,  and 
the  corner-stone  of  a  church  was  laid  in  1839.  Under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Bishop  Henni  religion  had  made  such  progress 
in  this  part  of  the  State  that  the  new  diocese  of  La  Crosse  con- 
tained foi;ty  churches,  attended  by  fifteen  priests.  Bishop  Heiss 
proceeded  to  develop  the  good  work  ;  he  established  Franciscan 
Sisters  at  La  Crosse,  and  their  mother-house  soon  supplied  teach- 
ers for  twenty-fiv^e  parochial  schools  and  two  asylums.  The 
Christian  Brothers  opened  St.  John's  College  at  Prairie  du  Chien, 
and  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  had  excellent  schools  un« 
der  their  care.     At  the  end  of  ten  years  the  diocese  of  La  Crosse 


DIOCESE  OF  MILWAUKEE. 

had  thirty-six  cliurches  with  resident  pastors,  fifty  others  regu- 
larly visited,  forty  priests,  and  forty-five  thousand  Catholics. 

When  the  failing  health  of  Ai'chbishop  Henni  required  the 
aid  of  a  more  vigorous  prelate.  Bishop  Heiss  was  promoted  to 
the  see  of  Adrianople,  March  14,  1880,  and  appointed  coadjutor. 
The  whole  administration  of  Milwaukee  diocese  soon  devolved 
upon  him,  and  on  the  death  of  Archbishop  Henni  he  became  sec- 
ond archbishop  of  that  see. 

As  theologian  Dr.  Heiss  took  an  active  part  in  the  councils 
of  St.  Louis  and  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  He 
attended  the  Vatican  Council  in  1869-70,  and  was  appointed  by 
Pope  Pius  IX.  a  member  of  one  of  the  four  great  commissions, 
each  being  composed  of  twelve  bishops  representing  all  parts  of 
the  world. 

The  pallium  was  conferred  on  Archbishop  Heiss,  in  his  ca- 
thedral, on  the  23d  of  April,  1883.  He  attended  the  Third  Plen- 
ary Council  of  Baltimore  in  November,  1884. 

He  died  at  St.  Francis'  Hospital,  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  on  the  26th 
day  of  May,  1890,  after  a  long  and  active  life  devoted  to  the 
Church.     He  was  succeeded  by  the  Bt.  Bev.  R  X.  Katzer,  D.D. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


MOST    REV.    LOUIS    IGNATIUS    PENALVER    Y    CAR- 

DEN  AS, 

First  Bishop   of  Louisiana   and  the  Floridas^    Archbishop   of 

Guatemala. 

Don  Louis  Igxatius  Pexalver  y  CARDEisrAs  was  born  in 
Havana,  on  the  island  of  Cuba,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1749,  and  at 
an  early  age  was  placed  in  the  college  which  the  Fathers  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus  maintained  for  nearly  half  a  century  in  that  city. 
His  higher  studies  were  pursued  in  the  University  of  St,  Jerome, 
and,  feeling  that  God  called  him  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  he  in 
time  received  the  order  of  priesthood.  His  learning,  ability,  and 
charity  made  him  a  remarkable  man,  and  in  1773  he  was  ap- 
pointed provisor  and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Santiago  de 
Cul^a.  His  functions  as  ecclesiastical  judge  made  him  familiar 
with  the  whole  diocese,  and  especially  with  that  portion  situated 
on  the  mainland,  Louisiana  and  Florida,  to  which  the  ancient 
jurisdiction  was  extended  once  more  between  1776  and  1784. 
He  was  thus  aware  of  the  state  of  religion,  and  especially  of  the 
difficulties  which  had  embarrassed  Bishop  Cyril.  His  exemplary 
and  austere  life,  and  the  immense  liberalities  in  which  he  expend- 
ed the  wealth  he  had  inherited,  made  Dr.  Penalver  beloved  and 
respected  in  his  native  city.  He  was  the  first  director  of  the  Pa- 
triotic Society,  and  the  founder  of  the  Casa  de  Benificencia,  pur- 
chasing the  ground  and  expending  nearly  twenty-six  thousand 
dollars  on  the  buildings.  When  the  Holy  See  erected  the  diocese 
of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  Dr.  Pefialver  was  chosen  as  the 
first  bishop,  and  was  consecrated  in  1793.  He  reached  New  Or- 
leans the  following  year,  and  proceeded  to  organize  a  chapter  for 

118 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  119 

the  diocese,  appointing  two  canons.  The  cathedral  had  just  been 
completed  by  Don  Andres  Almonaster.  He  found  religion  at 
a  very  low  ebb  and  many  of  the  clergy  unfit  for  their  positions. 
Immorality  prevailed ;  not  one-fourth  of  those  able  attended  Mass 
on  Sundays,  and  there  were  not  more  than  three  or  four  hun- 
dred Easter  communions  in  New  Orleans  out  of  a  population  of 
11,000  ;  days  of  fast  and  abstinence  were  utterly  neglected.  The 
infidel  doctrines  of  France  were  finding  in  such  a  soil  a  rapid  and 
dangerous  growth.  Even  the  ofiicers  of  the  colony,  who  ought  to 
have  set  an  example  of  virtue  and  morality,  sanctioned  by  their 
own  lives  what  they  should  have  prevented.  The  good  bishop 
set  to  work,  however,  to  repair  the  evils  and  recall  the  people,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  a  life  of  Christian  duty.  He  found  this  no 
easy  task,  and  parishes  that  had  maintained  some  sense  of  re- 
ligion were  gradually  yielding  to  the  torrent  of  evil  caused  by 
the  influx  of  adventurers  of  all  kinds.  The  bishop's  charity  and 
zeal  to  relieve  the  poor  and  afflicted  were  exerted  in  vain  ;  they 
failed  to  win  the  attachment  of  the  flock  confided  to  his  care. 
He  became  discouraged,  but  on  the  20th  of  July,  1801,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  see  of  Guatemala,  and  he  left  the  colony.  On 
his  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  Havana  his  vessel  was  pursued 
by  an  English  man-of-war,  and  he  narrowly  escaped  being  made 
a  prisoner.  In  Guatemala  he  founded  a  hospital  and  established 
several  schools ;  but,  finding  the  burden  of  the  episcopate  too 
great,  he  obtained  leave  to  resign  the  mitre,  and  did  so  March  1, 
1806.  Returning  to  his  native  city,  he  devoted  the  remainder  of 
his  life  to  charity,  and  died  July  17,  1810.  His  proj^erty  he  be- 
queathed to  pious  institutions  and  to  the  poor. 

On  the  retirement  of  Bishop  Penalver  the  Rev.  Francis  Porro, 
of  the  convent  of  the  Holy  Apostles  in  Rome,  is  said  to  have 
been  nominated  to  the  diocese  of  Louisiana,  but,  according  to  the 
accurate  Benedictine  Gams,  he  was  never  consecrated,  the  pro- 
l)ability  of  the  speedy  termination  of  Spanish  authority  in  the 
province  having  doubtless  prevented  the  bishop-elect  from  at- 
tempting to  assume  direction  of  the  diocese,  where  there  would 
be  no  provision  for  his  maintenance,  and  where  little  could  be 
expected  from  the  people. 


120  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  LOUIS  DUBOURG, 

Second  Bishop    of  Louisiana,  First   Bisliop    of  Neio    Orleans^ 
Bishop  of  Montauhan,  and  Archbishop  of  Besangon. 

Like  his  predecessor,  William  Louis  Dii  Bourg  was  a  native 
of  the  West  Indies,  having  been  born  at  Cap  Frangois,  Saint  Do- 
mingo, February  14,  1766.  He  was  sent  to  France  for  his  edu- 
cation. There  he  embraced  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  after  his 
ordination  joined  the  Society  of  St,  Sulpice.  He  was  superior  of 
the  seminary  at  Issy  when  the  French  Revolution  declared  war 
on  religion.  He  retired  at  first  to  his  family  at  Bordeaux,  but 
w^hen  he  saw  that  there  was  no  hope  of  change  he  resolved  to 
come  to  America.  He  arrived  at  Baltimore  in  December,  1794, 
and  joined  Rev.  Mr.  Nagot  in  the  new  Sulpitian  house.  He  was 
president  of  Georgetown  College  for  three  years ;  he  then  with 
some  other  Sulpitians  visited  Havana  to  found  a  house  in  that 
city ;  and,  though  the  project  failed,  he  obtained  pupils  for  St. 
Mary's  College,  Baltimore,  of  which  he  became  president.  His 
labors  as  missionary  priest  were  never  abated,  and  in  the  French 
refugees  from  the  West  Indies  he  and  his  associates  found  a  new 
field  for  their  charity  and  zeal.  He  was  the  first  to  persuade 
Mrs.  Seton  to  found  a  religious  community  in  this  country  rather 
than  go  to  Europe,  and  he  not  only  aided  her  in  the  great  work, 
but  was  appointed  by  Archbishop  Carroll  the  first  ecclesiastical 
superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  He  showed  ability  as  a  con- 
troversialist in  his  able  replies  to  attacks  on  the  Church. 

The  diocese  of  Louisiana  and  the  Floridas  had,  after  Bishop 
Penalver's  departure,  fallen  into  complete  anarchy.  It  had  been 
in  time  placed  under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Carroll,  but  the 
vicars-general  apj^ointed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  found 
their  authority  defied.  In  1812  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubourg  was 
elected  apostolical  administrator.  It  was  during  our  war  with 
England,  and  soon  after  reaching  New  Orleans  he  found  it  men- 
aced by  a  powerful  English  army.  He  aroused  the  patriotism 
and  piety  of  his  fiock,  and  offered  prayers  for  the  success  of  the 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  121 

American  arms.  On  General  Jackson's  signal  victory  Rev.  Mr. 
Dubonrg  went  out  and  congratulated  him  in  an  eloquent  address. 
Having  ascertained  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  vast  diocese, 
which  then  comprised  all  the  territory  of  the  United  States  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  Florida  and  the  strip  on  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, he  proceeded  to  Kome,  where  he  was  consecrated  September 
24,  1815.  Returning  to  France,  his  appeals  for  aid  led  to  the 
foundation  of  the  great  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Fciith.  He  returned  in  1817  with  several  Lazarists  and  other 
priests,  and,  proceeding  towards  St.  Louis,  took  possession  of  his 
diocese  near  St.  Genevieve  on  the  28th  of  December.  He  made 
St.  Louis  his  episcopal  residence,  deterred  by  the  experience  of 
his  predecessor  and  the  administrators,  during  the  vacancy  of  the 
see,  from  attempting  to  settle  in  New  Orleans.  He  founded  a 
theological  seminary  and  college  at  the  Barrens,  which  he  con- 
fided to  the  Lazarists  ;  the  Sisters  of  Loretto  came  from  Kentucky 
to  open  schools,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  founded  their 
first  American  convent  at  St.  Louis,  soon  followed  by  a  second  at 
Florissant.  Religion  in  w^hat  was  known  as  Upper  Louisiana 
received  a  great  impulse  from  these  institutions,  and  the  bishop, 
aided  by  the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  w^as 
rapidly  increasing  churches,  priests,  and  schools.  New  Orleans 
and  the  lower  part  of  the  diocese  he  visited  annually,  gradually 
overcoming  all  opposition  to  his  jurisdiction  and  authority.  In 
1823  he  obtained  as  coadjutor  the  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Rosati,  and 
a  plan  was  formed  for  dividing  the  diocese.  He  then  took  up 
his  residence  in  New  Orleans,  the  old  Ursuline  convent  becom- 
ing at  once  the  episcopal  residence  and  a  college.  After  labor- 
ing zealously  and  judiciously  he  proceeded  to  Europe  in  1826 
for  affairs  of  the  diocese,  but  there  resolved  to  resign  the  see,  con 
vinced  that  another  bishop  would  effect  more  good.  By  the  di- 
yision  of  the  diocese  Bishop  Rosati  became  Bishop  of  St.  Louis, 
and  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Portier  V  'car- Apostolic  of  Alabama  and 
the  Floridas.  Dr.  Dubourg  was  too  well  known  and  esteemed 
to  be  left  in  retirement ;  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Montau- 
ban,  and  in  1833  was  promoted  to  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of 
Besan^on.  In  both  dioceses  he  elicited  the  warmest  and  mos< 
devoted  affection.    He  died  calmly  and  piously  December  12,  1833 


122  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

EIGHT  REV.  LEO  RAYMOND  DE  NECKERE, 

Second  Bishop  of  New  Orleans. 

Leo  de  Neckere  was  born  in  Wevelghem,  Belgium,  June  6, 
1800,  of  a  pious  family.  He  pursued  Ms  classical  course  at  tlie 
College  of  Roulers,  and  was  in  tlie  Lazarist  Seminary  wlien  lie 
was  selected  as  one  of  tliose  who  were  to  go  witli  Bishop  Du- 
bourg  to  America.  He  spent  some  time  at  the  seminary  at  Bards- 
town  and  in  that  at  the  Barrens,  and  was  ordained  October  13, 
1822.  He  was  soon  made  a  professor,  and  in  time  superior, 
at  the  Barrens,  combining  mission  labors  with  his  other  duties. 
The  excessive  labor  began  to  tell  on  a  frame  never  vigorous,  and 
he  was  placed  for  a  time  at  New  Orleans.  In  1827  he  visited 
Europe,  hoping  to  gain  relief,  but  while  resting  at  Amiens  was 
summoned  to  Rome,  where,  notwithstanding  his  remonstrance, 
he  was  elected  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  August  4,  1829.  He  re- 
turned to  his  native  Belgium,  but  for  a  time  his  health  was  such 
that  his  recovery  seemed  miraculous.  As  soon  as  his  increased 
strength  permitted  a  sea-voyage  Bishop  Neckere  returned  to 
America,  and  a  day  was  fixed  for  his  consecration  at  New  Or- 
leans ;  a  new  attack  of  disease,  however,  deferred  it  till  June  24, 
1830,  when  he  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Rosati,  assisted  by 
Bishop  England  and  Bishop  Portier.  He  took  up  the  duties  of 
the  episcopate  with  all  the  zeal  his  feeble  strength  permitted, 
aided  greatly  by  the  Very  Rev.  Anthony  Blanc,  whom  he  made 
his  vicar-general,  and  who  was  appointed  coadjutor,  but  refused 
the  dignity.  In  the  summer  of  1833  Bishop  Neckere  was  at  St. 
Michel  when  the  yellow  fever  appeared  at  New  Orleans.  He 
at  once  set  out  for  that  city,  although  all  his  friends  endeavored 
to  dissuade  him.  It  was,  he  felt,  his  post  of  duty,  and  he  labored 
assiduously  among  his  afflicted  people  for  their  spiritual  and  cor- 
poral relief  until  he  was  himself  seized  with  the  disease.  "  He 
died,"  says  Archbishop  Spalding,  "  the  death  of  a  saint,"  Septem- 
ber 4,  1833. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  123 


MOST  KEY.  ANTHONY  BLANC, 

Third  Bishop  and  First  Archhisho])  of  New  Orleans. 

This  prelate  was  bora  at  Sury,  in  France,  October  11,  1792, 
and  was  ordained  at  tlie  age  of  twenty-four,  coming  the  next 
year  to  the  United  States  as  one  of  the  young  priests  who  volun- 
teered to  accompany  Bishoj)  Dubourg.  Having  been  stationed 
at  Yincennes,  he  extended  his  labors  to  a  considerable  distance, 
building  log  chapels  where  Catholics  were  numerous.  He  then 
joined  Bishop  Dubourg  and  was  employed  in  New  Orleans, 
Natchez,  Pointe  Coupee,  and  Baton  Rouge.  In  1831  he  was 
made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  the  next  year  sent  back 
to  Rome  the  bulls  which  arrived  appointing  him  coadjutor  to 
Bishop  de  Neckere.  On  the  death  of  that  prelate  he  became 
administrator,  and,  yielding  at  last  to  the  decree  ap23ointing  him 
to  the  vacant  see,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  New  Orleans  No- 
vember 22,  1835,  by  Dr.  Rosati,  assisted  by  Bishop  Purcell  and 
Bishop  Portier.  The  labors  of  Bishop  Dubourg  and  his  succes- 
sor, and  the  zealous  priests  whom  they  called  around  them,  had 
greatly  changed  the  diocese.  Communions,  instead  of  being 
numbered  by  tens,  could  be  counted  by  thousands.  In  1838 
Bishop  Blanc  established  a  diocesan  seminary,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Lazarist  Fathers,  in  the  parish  of  the  Assumption.  It 
was  subsequently  at  Jeifersonville  and  then  removed  to  New  Or- 
leans. The  Society  of  Jesus  also  came  to  his  aid,  founding  col- 
leges at  Grand  Coteau  and  New  Orleans.  At  a  later  period  the 
Redemptorists  began  their  work  among  the  Germans.  On  the 
death  of  the  rector  of  the  cathedral  of  New  Orleans  the  trustees 
refused  to  recognize  the  priest  wlioni  Bishop  Blanc  appointed, 
and  it  was  not  till  after  long  litigation  that  his  rights  were  re- 
cognized. In  the  rest  of  his  diocese  he  saw  a  better  spirit,  and 
churches  and  institutions  increased. 

The  State  of  Mississippi  had,  from  tlie  time  of  Bishop  Du- 
bourg, been  merged  in  the  diocese  of  New  Orleans;  but  in  1837  a 
see  was  established  at  Natchez,  and  the  State  formed  its  diocese. 


124  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Bishop  Blanc  had  attended  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  Balti- 
more as  theologian ;  he  sat  in  all  from  the  first  to  the  seventh  as 
bishop.  At  the  request  of  the  last  of  these  New  Orleans  ^s\as, 
on  the  19th  of  July,  1850,  made  an  archiepiscopal  see,  Mobile, 
Natchez,  Little  Rock,  and  Galveston  being  the  sufi^ragans. 

In  1855  Archbishop  Blanc  was  one  of  the  hierarchy  who 
attended  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion in  Rome.  The  following  year  he  held  the  first  Provincial 
Council  of  New  Orleans,  which  was  attended  by  the  four  suffragan 
bishops  and  their  theologians,  with  the  superiors  of  several  bodies 
of  regulars.  In  1858,  while  hastening  to  the  relief  of  sufferers 
by  yellow  fever,  he  stepped  into  a  hole  in  the  wharf  and  broke 
both  bones  of  his  leg.  This  did  not  prevent  his  activity  in  the 
subsequent  discharge  of  his  duties,  but  it  caused  a  shock  from 
which  he  never  fully  recovered.  In  June,  1860,  he  made  visita- 
tions, giving  confirmation  at  a  distance  from  New  Orleans.  He 
returned  from  Thibodeauxville  on  Monday,  and  on  Wednesday 
offered  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  began  his  usual  duties  of  the  day, 
seeing  several  persons.  While  alone  for  a  moment  he  was  seized 
with  fatal  illness  and  had  just  time  to  ring  his  bell  before  throw- 
ing himself  on  his  bed.  The  servant  who  came  called  Vicar- 
General  Rousselon.  He  arrived  just  in  time  to  administer  Ex- 
treme Unction  and  the  last  absolution.  ArchbishojD  Blanc  died 
June  20,  1860.  During  his  active  career  the  churches  in  Louisi- 
ana increased  from  twenty-six  to  seventy-three,  and  his  clergy 
from  twenty-seven  to  ninety-two.  He  left  his  diocese  with  a 
seminary,  two  colleges,  eight  academies,  thirteen  orphan  asylums, 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Notre 
Dame,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  of  the  Holy  Cross,  as  well  as 
Carmelite  nuns,  all  introduced  by  his  zeal. 


A.ifi 


4i4lOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  125 


MOST  KEY.  JOHN  MARY  ODIN, 

First   Bishop    of   Galveston  and  Second   Ai'chhishop  of  New 

Orleans. 

John  Mary  Orym  was  born  at  Ambierle,  France,  February  25, 
1801,  and  in  early  life  was  received  into  tlie  Congregation  of 
the  Mission.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was  sent  to  the  Barrens, 
Missouri,  where  he  continued  his  studies,  while  acting  as  teacher 
of  logic  and  theology.  Having  received  sacerdotal  orders  about 
a  year  after  his  arrival,  he  made  a  visit  to  Texas  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Timon,  performing  missionary  duties  throughout  the  journey. 
After  Dr.  Rosati's  elevation  to  the  episcopate  he  became  pre- 
sident of  the  colleore  at  the  Barrens.  He  attended  the  Second 
Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian,  and  subsequently 
made  a  voyage  to  Europe  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  but  he  de- 
voted the  time  to  obtaining  aid  for  the  Lazarist  establishments  in 
the  United  States,  which  were  at  this  time  constituted  into  a  pro- 
vince. In  1836  he  became  for  a  time  pastor  at  Cape  Girardeau, 
but  he  was  soon  recalled  to  the  seminary. 

In  1840  the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Timon,  who  had  been  appointed 
Prefect-Apostolic  of  Texas,  selected  Father  Odin  as  vice-prefect, 
and  despatched  him  to  that  field.  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  acted  with 
energy ;  he  freed  the  Prefecture  from  scandals,  and  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  prefect  co-operated  with  him  in  his  missionary  labors. 
Among  other  important  services  which  the  two  Lazarists  render- 
ed to  religion  at  this  time  was  their  forecast  in  securing  from 
the  legislature  of  the  Republic  a  confirmation  of  the  right  of 
the  Catholic  Church  to  the  old  ecclesiastical  property  in  Texas. 
Summoned  to  Missouri,  Father  Odin  reached  New  Orleans  fairly 
in  rags,  and  there  received  bulls  appointing  him  coadjutor  of 
Detroit ;  but  by  the  advice  of  his  superior  he  declined  the  nomi- 
nation. Pope  Gregory  XVI.  erected  Texas  into  a  vicariate-apos- 
tolic  in  1841,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Claudiopolis  and  invested  with  its  direction.  Submitting  to  a 
dignity  which  required  hard  missionary  labor,  he  was  consecrated 


126  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

at  New  Orleans,  March  6,  1842,  and  entered  on  the  discharge  of 
his  new  duties.  He  soon  erected  churches  at  Galveston,  Houston, 
St.  Augustine,  Nacogdoches,  Lavaca,  and  Fort  Bent,  and  restored 
those  which  dated  from  Spanish  times  and  were  not  utterly 
ruined.  He  visited  Europe  in  1845  to  obtain  priests  and  means, 
and  returned  with  several  missionaries.  Two  years  after  the 
Ursuline  nuns  at  his  request  began  a  convent  of  their  order  in 
Galveston,  which  was  that  year  made  a  bishop's  see.  Bishop 
Odin  soon  introduced  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  and  the 
Brothers  of  Mary  to  conduct  schools,  and  received  in  the  Oblate 
Fathers  a  community  of  zealous  missionaries.  His  visitations  of 
his  diocese,  accomplished  at  great  personal  fatigue  and  danger — 
for  he  was  nearly  drowned  in  1857 — were  apostolic  missions,  as 
he  performed  all  the  duties  of  a  priest  in  man}'"  parts  where  none 
had  been  seen. 

On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Blanc  the  general  voice  of  the 
bishops  of  the  province  nominated  Dr.  Odin  for  the  vacancy,  and 
he  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New  Orleans  on  the  1 5th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1861.  The  Church  in  Texas  was  in  a  manner  his  own 
work,  and  he  left  it  with  regret.  He  had  found  it  without  a 
priest,  or  aught  but  ruined  churches  ;  he  left  it  with  fift}^  churches 
attended  by  forty  priests,  with  a  thriving  college  and  four  acade- 
mies. He  assumed  his  new  duties  with  his  usual  zeal,  although 
advanced  in  life  and  broken  by  mission  work.  The  civil  waf 
called  forth  his  zeal  and  prudence,  and  the  services  of  his  clergy 
in  the  field  and  the  hospital  were  most  consoling.  Though  a 
constant  sufferer  from  neuralgia  from  the  period  of  his  arrival  in 
New  Orleans,  Archbishop  Odin  gave  himself  no  relaxation ;  in 
his  nine  years'  occupancy  of  that  see  he  nearly  doubled  tlie  num- 
ber of  priests  and  churches,  and  notably  increased  the  religious 
institutions.  In  1869  he  set  out  to  attend  the  General  Council  of 
the  Vatican,  and  at  Kome  obtained  the  appointment  of  the  Rev. 
Napoleon  J.  Perche  as  coadjutor.  He  was  soon  after  compelled 
to  leave  Rome  by  the  state  of  his  health,  and  reached  his  native 
place  only  to  die  there,  after  having  endured  most  intense  pain 
"with  all  the  serenity  and  piety  of  a  martyr,  on  the  feast  of  the 
Ascension,  May  25,  1870. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  127 

MOST  KEY.  NAPOLEON  J.  PERCH^, 
Third  Archbishop  of  Nexo  Orleans. 

Napoleon  Joseph  Pekche  was  born  at  Angers,  in  Franee, 
January  10,  1805,  and  was  so  precocious  that  lie  could  r^ad  and 
wi'ite  at  the  age  of  five,  and  began  his  philosophy  at  thirteen, 
actually  teaching  it  as  professor  five  years  later.  Completing  his 
studies  at  the  Seminary  of  Beaupreau,  he  was  ordained  Septem- 
ber 19,  1829.  His  first  charge  was  Murr,  near  Angers,  a  difficult 
parish,  where  he  conquered  the  good-will  of  all.  As  j)arish  priest 
of  Turquand  he  effected  great  good  among  the  convicts,  and  did 
much  to  reorganize  the  Dames  du  Bon  Pasteur.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  with  Bishop  Flaget  in  1837,  and  took  charge  of 
Portland  and  its  missions,  laboring  with  his  wonted  zeal.  Hav- 
ing  visited  New  Orleans  to  appeal  for  aid  in  building  a  church, 
he  received  every  encouragement  from  Archbishop  Blanc,  but 
was  urged  by  that  prelate  to  come  to  Louisiana  permanently, 
as  a  field  where  he  could  accomplish  more  than  he  was  likely 
to  effect  in  Kentucky.  To  the  change  Bishop  Flaget  reluctantly 
consented.  In  Louisiana  the  eloquence  of  the  young  priest  soon 
acquired  for  him  both  fame  and  influence.  In  the  schism  of  the 
trustees  he  supported  the  bishop  with  pen  and  voice  ;  but,  feeling 
the  want  of  a  truly  Catholic  organ  in  the  diocese,  he  founded  Le 
Propagateur  CathoUque,  which  still  exists,  and  of  which  he  was 
for  many  years  editor.  He  also  founded  a  Catholic  society  to 
give  those  who  loved  religion  a  mutual  support.  For  twenty- 
eight  years  he  remained  chaplain  of  the  Ursuline  convent,  seek- 
ing no  advancement,  ever  ready  to  preach  when  summoned. 
When  Archbishop  Odin,  in  Europe,  felt  that  he  might  never 
return  to  his  diocese,  or  could  do  so  only  an  invalid,  he  requested 
the  appointment  of  Rev.  Mr.  Perche  as  his  coadjutor.  Having 
accepted  his  bulls,  the  Abbe  Perche  sailed  to  Europe,  and  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Abdera  May  1,  1870,  succeeding  to  New 
Orleans  before  the  close  of  the  month. 

He  returned  to  America  as  archbishop  and  assumed  the  direc- 


128  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tion  of  a  diocese  the  difficulties  of  wliicli  lie  knew  full  well. 
The  cathedral  had  hitherto  been  in  the  hands  of  a  body  of  trus- 
tees, who  had  on  several  occasions  shown,  probably  from  ignor- 
ance  of  real  Catholic  principles,  an  open  hostility  to  the  discipline 
and  life  of  the  Church.  Kepeated  litigation  resulted  from  their 
resistance  to  episcopal  authority  and  their  attempts  to  manage 
the  church  and  cemetery  according  to  their  own  fancy.  Arch- 
bishop Perche,  who  had  already  taken  part  in  the  controversy, 
not  only  with  ability  but  with  the  gentleness  of  a  St.  Francis  de 
Sales,  had  gained  much,  and  had  at  the  same  time  retained  the 
good-will  of  the  party  in  opposition.  By  his  influence  the  war- 
dens of  the  cathedral  at  last  transferred  that  edifice  and  other 
ecclesiastical  property  standing  in  their  name  to  him  and  his 
coadjutor.  He  endowed  his  diocese  with  a  contemplative  com- 
munity— Carmelite  nuns  of  the  reform  of  St.  Teresa,  a  filiation  of 
the  convent  in  St.  Louis ;  and  one  of  his  latest  acts  was  an  ap- 
peal in  their  behalf  on  the  occasion  of  the  centenary  of  the  great 
Spanish  Carmelite  nun. 

Under  his  zealous  direction  Thibodeaux  College  and  St. 
Mary's  Commercial  College  were  opened  ;  the  Ladies  of  the  Sa- 
cred Heart  established  a  third  academy;  three  other  academies 
and  thirteen  parish  schools  were  opened  in  his  time ;  the  Lit- 
tle Sisters  of  the  Poor  founded  an  Asylum  for  aged  colored 
women.  Ten  new  churches  and  as  many  chapels  marked  the 
growth  of  the  diocese,  and  the  number  of  priests  increased  one- 
fifth.  His  energy,  sound  judgment,  and  an  eloquence  which 
caused  Pope  Leo  XIII.  to  compare  him  to  Bossuet,  as  well  as  his 
unbounded  charity,  endeared  Archbishop  Perche  to  the  people  of 
Louisiana.  Towards  the  course  of  the  year  1883  his  vital  powers 
began  to  fail,  and,  though  a  removal  to  the  country  seemed  to  in- 
vigorate his  frame,  he  grew  weaker  on  his  return  to  the  city.  In 
December  he  saw  that  the  end  was  at  hand ;  fortified  by  the 
gacramentSj  he  died  of  old  age  on  Thursday,  December  27,  1883. 


DIOCESE  OP  NEW  ORLEANS.  129 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  LERAY, 

Second  Bisliop   of    Natcliitoches    and    Fourth    Archbishop    of 

New    Orleans. 

Francis  Xavier  Leray  is  a  native  of  Brittany,  born  in  a 
small  towTi  near  Rennes  on  tlie  20tli  of  April,  1825,  of  a  re- 
spectable family,  being  one  of  thirteen  children.  He  was  sent  to 
school  at  Rennes  at  an  early  age,  and  pursued  a  classical  course, 
partly  under  the  Eudist  Fathers,  and  partly  at  the  university 
but  still  under  their  guidance.  When  the  Eudist  Fathers  began 
a  mission  of  their  order  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Leray  came  to 
Vincennes  with  them  in  18-43,  and  during  his  two  years'  stay  in 
Indiana  knew  some  of  the  pioneer  priests  of  the  West,  like  the 
venerable  Badin,  In  1845  he  was  sent  for  a  short  time  to  Spring 
Hill  College,  near  Mobile,  and  subsequently  made  a  journey  on 
horseback  from  Vincennes  to  St.  Louis.  Recalled  thence,  he 
was  sent  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  where,  after  his 
many  wanderings  and  changes,  he  was  allowed  to  complete  his 
theology,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Natchez,  Mississippi,  by  the 
Right  Rev.  J.  J.  Chanche,  on  March  19,  1852,  fully  prepared  by 
his  intercourse  with  the  hard-workino;  missionaries  for  the  labors 
before  him.  After  the  death  of  Bishop  Chanche  he  was  sent  to 
Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State.  Here  he  labored  with  Rev.  J. 
B.  Babonneau,  a  priest  of  great  talent  and  zeal,  till  his  bi'other- 
priest  was  struck  down  by  yellow  fever  in  the  autumn  of  1853. 
The  young  Breton  priest  deemed  that  his  associate  was  ripe  for 
heaven,  but  that  he  was  not.  Left  in  charge  of  a  district  more 
extended  than  the  diocese  to  which  he  was  ultimately  appointed, 
he  labored  to  the  best  of  his  power  and  ability,  travelling  on 
horseback  wherever  the  wants  of  scattered  Catholics  required  it, 
When  the  yellow  fever  returned  in  1854  he  attended  Jackson. 
Vicksburg,  and  Brandon.  The  next  year  the  State  was  agitated 
by  the  Know-Nothing  movement,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray,  on 
whom  devolved  the  task  of  defending  the  faith  in  public,  was 
compelled  to  take  a  prominent  part.     Actions  speak  more  power- 


130  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fully  than  words.  During  tlie  fall  of  that  very  year  the  yel- 
low fever  came  to  wash  away  the  stains  of  Know-Nothingism  and 
to  put  to  the  test  the  necessity  and  truthfulness  of  the  Catholic 
priest.  The  result  was  that  many  were  converted  to  the  faith, 
and  others,  filled  with  respect  for  a  Church  which  could  produce 
such  results,  apologized  amply  for  their  ignorant  assaults.  The 
illustrious  archbishop  says,  indeed,  that  "the  times  of  epidemics 
have  been  for  me  the  times  of  the  most  abundant  harvests."  In 
1857  Bishop  Elder  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray  to  Vicksburg,  where 
he  found  a  large  Catholic  population  sadly  in  need  of  a  priest  to 
organize  and  instruct  them.  Obedience  alone  induced  him  to 
undertake  the  difficult  duty.  To  meet  the  wants  of  his  parish 
he  obtained  from  Baltimore,  in  1860,  a  few  Sisters  of  Mercy  to 
begin  an  establishment  of  their  order,  and  everything  betokened 
a  prosperous  result,  when  the  war  broke  on  them.  The  Sisters, 
with  their  superior,  went  to  share  with  the  clergy  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  war.  Meanwhile  Vicksburg  endured  all  the  Lorrors 
of  a  long  siege,  and  when  in  1865  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leray  returned 
to  his  sorely-tried  parish  he  had  to  seek  his  scattered  flock  and 
restore  the  house  of  God.  The  next  two  years  the  city  was 
visited  by  the  cholera,  and  no  epidemic  in  the  long  missionary 
career  left  a  deeper  impression  on  his  mind  than  the  scenes  of  this 
time,  which  exceeded  anything  that  he  had  witnessed.  "  I  have 
read,"  he  says,  "  of  many  pestilences  and  plagues  in  Europe  in 
past  ages,  but  I  think,  without  exaggeration,  I  have  seen  worse 
in  Jackson,  Vicksburg,  Yazoo  City,  Canton,  and  Greenville." 

While  laboring  in  this  toilsome  and  dangerous  mission  he 
was  summoned  by  the  voice  of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  to 
assume  what  he  regarded  as  a  much  more  onerous  burden — that 
of  the  episcopate.  Having  been  selected  to  succeed  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Martin,  he  desired  to  receive  the  episcopal  character  in 
his  own  native  province,  and  on  the  23d  of  April,  1877,  he  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Natchitoches  in  the  cathedral  of  Rennes 
by  His  Eminence  Godefroy  Cardinal  Broussais  Saint-Marc, 
Archbishop  of  Rennes,  assisted  by  the  Right  Rev.  Celestine  de 
la  Hailandi^re,  formerly  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  and  Mgr.  Nouvel, 
Bishop  of  Quimper. 

The  diocese  to  which  Bishop  Leray  was  called  comprised  the 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS.  131 

northern  part  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  with  thirty  thousand 
Catholics  scattered  over  it,  but  with  only  seventeen  priests  to 
attend  the  sixty-eight  churches  and  chapels.  Two  religious  com- 
munities, the  Daughters  of  the  Cross  and  the  Sisters  of  the 
Order  of  Mercy,  conducted  a  number  of  schools.  The  new 
bishoj)  began  to  build  on  this  foundation,  in  order  to  afford  his 
flock  all  possible  religious  aid,  but  in  little  more  than  two  years 
he  was  summoned  to  a  new  toil.  The  temporal  affairs  of  the 
diocese  of  New  Orleans  were  in  a  difficult  position.  The  losses 
during  the  war,  and  perhaps  even  greater  losses  during  the  pe- 
riod of  reconstruction,  had  entailed  debts  which  were  increas- 
ing and  required  a  skilful  and  energetic  hand  to  control.  Bishop 
Leray  was  accordingly  transferred  to  the  see  of  Janopolis  October 
23,  1879,  and  made  coadjutor  of  New  Orleans.  He  was  to  retain 
the  care  of  the  diocese  of  Natchitoches  as  administrator-aposto- 
lic. In  the  extraordinary  burdens  thus  imposed  he  evinced  all 
his  energy,  and  on  the  death  of  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Perche 
in  December,  1883,  became  apostolic  administrator  of  the  dio- 
cese of  New  Orleans,  and  was  thus  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
whole  State  of  Louisiana.  He  was  soon  after  appointed  Arch- 
bishop of  New  Orleans,  and  was  one  of  the  most  honored  of  the 
fathers  who  assembled  at  Baltimore  in  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil in  the  month  of  November,  1884. 

Archbishop  Leray's  health  gave  way  in  1887,  and  he  went  to 
Europe,  where  he  rallied  sufficiently  to  visit  Rome;  he  ariived 
there  on  the  28th  of  June,  and  on  the  8th  of  the  ensuing  month 
had  an  audience  with  the  Holy  Father.  Having  completed  the 
business  of  his  diocese,  he  returned  to  Chateau-Giron,  his  native 
place.  After  attending  a  meeting  of  the  alumni  of  St.  Mai'tin's 
Institute  at  Rennes  on  the  14th  of  September,  which  was  his  last 
appearance  in  public,  he  grew  worse  day  by  day,  celebrating  his 
last  Mass  in  the  church  of  Ch4teau-Giron  on  the  18th.  On  Fri- 
day morning,  September  23,  after  a  series  of  profuse  hemorrhages, 
he  became  unconscious.  The  blessing  in  articulo  mortis  was  tel- 
egraJDhed  to  him  by  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIIL,  and,  after  re. 
ceiving  extreme  unction,  he  expired  about  seven  o'clock  in  tlie 
evening,  surrounded  by  his  kindred  and  the  friends  of  his  youth. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


EIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  LUKE  CONCANEN,  O.S.D., 

First  Bishop  of  New  Ym^h. 

Richard  Luke  Concanen  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  at  an 
early  age  entered  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic  in  tlie  Irisli  convent 
of  tlie  Holy  Cross  in  Lorraine,  and  was  soon  after  sent  to  Santa 
Maria  sopra  Minerva  at  Rome.  He  became  distinguished  for  his 
learning  and  virtue,  and  after  his  ordination  was  prior  of  the 
Irish  Dominicans  in  Lisbon  and  at  Rome,  and  in  the  latter  city 
was  professor  at  St.  Clement's  and  director  of  the  famous  Casa- 
nate  Library.  His  merit  led  to  his  appointment  to  an  episcopal 
see  in  Ireland,  but  the  humble  religious  steadily  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  honor. 

As  agent  for  the  Irish  bishops  in  Rome  during  those  troubled 
times  he  had  rendered  essential  service  to  the  Church,  and  his 
merit  was  so  well  known  that  when,  at  the  request  of  Bishop 
Carroll,  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  was  divided  and  new  sees 
erected,  Father  Concanen  was  selected  for  the  newly-created  see 
of  New  York.  He  was  consecrated  in  Rome,  April  24,  1808,  by 
Cardinal  Antonelli,  Prefect  of  the  Congregation  de  Propaganda 
Fide.  The  Catholics  of  New  York  looked  forward  to  his  speedy 
arrival,  and  he  obtained  from  friends  donations  of  every  kind  for 
his  diocese,  and  prepared  to  reach  it  at  once. 

The  French,  however,  Avere  then  in  full  sway  in  Italy,  and  all 
British  subjects  were  liable  to  arrest.  Bishop  Concanen  spent 
time  and  money  at  Leghorn  in  ineffectual  efforts  to  obtain  pas- 
sage to  America.  The  anxiety  and  difficulty  brought  on  a  dan- 
gerous fit  of  illness,  and  on  his  recovery  he  returned  to  Rome 

and  wished  to  resign  a  dignity  which  it  seemed  the  will  of  Pro- 
lan 


DIOCESE  OP  NEW  YORK.  133 

vidence  lie  should  never  assume.  His  courage  was,  however,  re- 
vived, and  from  information  given  him  there  was  a  hope  that  he 
might  secure  a  passage  to  America  by  visiting  Naples.  Once 
more  he  made  the  attempt  to  reach  his  diocese;  but  the  offi- 
cials of  King  Murat  at  Naples  were  even  more  exacting  than 
those  at  Leghorn,  and  the  Bishop  of  New  York  was  held  virtu- 
ally as  a  prisoner.  Again  was  time  lost  in  appealing  to  higher 
authorities.  His  constitution,  enfeebled  by  age  and  recent  illness, 
gave  way,  and  Bishop  Concanen  closed  his  edifying  life  in  the 
great  convent  of  St.  Dominic  in  Naples,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1810,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age.  When  the  sad  tidings  ar- 
rived of  his  death  a  solemn  requiem  was  offered  for  New  York's 
first  bishop  at  St.  Peter's  Church  on  the  7th  of  October,  1810. 


RIGHT  BEV.  JOHN   CONNOLLY,  O.S.D., 

Second  Bishop  of  New  Yorh. 

John  Cois^isroLLY  was  a  native  of  Drogheda,  Ireland,  born  in 
1750,  and,  like  his  predecessor,  entered  the  Order  of  Friars 
Preachers  at  an  early  age.  After  holding  other  positions  he 
became  prior  of  St.  Clement's  at  Rome  and  agent  of  the  Irish 
bishops.  In  this  latter  capacity  he  showed  great  ability  and 
courage  in  saving  the  property  of  the  English  and  Irish  insti- 
tutions from  the  hands  of  the  French.  After  the  decease  of 
Bishop  Concanen  the  trials  which  befell  the  Holy  See  pre- 
vented the  Sovereign  Pontiff  from  appointing  a  bishop  for  the 
vacant  see,  and  it  was  not  till  1814  that  Father  Connolly  re- 
ceived bulls  making  him  Bishop  of  New  York.  He  was  conse- 
crated in  Rome,  November  6,  1814,  but  did  not  arrive  at  his 
episcojDal  city  till  the  same  month  of  the  following  year.  He 
brought  mth  him  some  priests,  and  found  in  his  diocese  only 
four  clergymen  to  receive  him.  The  institutions  which  had 
been  begun  had  all  been  abandoned.  His  flock,  scattered  over 
the  State,  numbered  seventeen  thousand,  but  was  in  great  spirit- 


134  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ual  want.  Bishop  Connolly  bravely  began  the  difficult  task  of 
building  up  religion.  Many  difficulties  beset  him,  but  he  visited 
his  diocese  and  began  churches  at  Utica  and  Rochester.  Priests 
were  sent  to  remote  points  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey  to 
collect  the  Catholics.  In  New  York  City  he  founded  an  Orphan 
Asylum,  for  which  he  obtained  from  Mother  Seton  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  He  assisted  in  the  consecration 
of  Archbishop  Marechal,  and  was  highly  esteemed  for  his  learn- 
ing and  virtue.  His  zeal  during  the  yellow  fever  excited  un- 
usual admiration.  In  1824  he  solicited  the  appointment  of  a  co- 
adjutor, but  during  the  winter  ensuing  the  diocese  was  deprived 
by  death  of  two  priests.  While  officiating  at  the  funeral  of  one 
of  them  Bishop  Connolly  caught  a  severe  cold,  which,  at  his  age, 
proved  fatal.  He  died  at  his  episcopal  residence,  February 
6,  1825,  and  was  laid  under  his  cathedral. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  DU  BOIS, 

Third  Bishop  of  New  YorJc. 

John  Du  Bois  was  born  in  Paris,  August  24,  1764,  of  a 
family  blessed  with  a  spirit  of  piety  and  a  competency  which 
they  used  in  a  Christian  spirit.  The  training  of  a  pious  mother 
led  the  youth  to  seek  to  serve  God  in  his  sanctuary.  He  studied 
at  the  college  of  Louis  le  Grand,  where  Robespierre  and  Camille 
Desmoulins  were  also  pupils.  Formed  for  the  ecclesiastical  life 
in  the  seminary  of  St.  Magloire,  he  was  ordained  priest  Septem- 
ber 22, 1787.  The  young  priest  at  once  received  the  appointment 
of  assistant  at  the  great  church  of  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  and  was 
also  made  chaplain  to  a  large  asylum.  The  Revolution  had  al- 
ready begun  its  war  on  the  clergy,  and  the  Abbe  Du  Bois  ere 
long  resolved  to  leave  France.  He  arrived  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in 
1791,  and,  having  been  received  into  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  by 
Bishop  Carroll,  exercised  the  ministry  at  Norfolk  and  Richmond, 
then  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  making  this  last  a  centre  whence 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK.  135 

his  pastoral  visits  extended  to  Einmittsburg  and  Winchester,  vis- 
iting the  remote  points  at  imminent  danger  in  all  seasons  and 
weathers.  He  built  churches  where  all  deemed  it  impossible 
to  do  so,  and  in  1805  began  a  brick  church  at  Mount  St.  Mary's. 
Here,  too,  he  opened  a  school,  which  soon  developed  into  Mount 
St.  Mary's  College,  of  which  he  was  long  president.  His  log 
college  was  succeeded  by  a  stone  building,  which  was  burned  to 
the  ground  just  as  it  was  ready  for  use.  When  Mother  Seton 
planted  the  first  house  of  her  community  of  Sisters  of  Charity 
near  the  college,  the  untiring  priest  added  to  his  duties  the  di- 
rection of  that  community.  His  college  was  also  a  theological 
seminary,  where  some  of  the  greatest  bishops  and  priests  of  the 
country  were  formed. 

From  this  scene  of  labor  so  productive  of  good  he  was  sum- 
moned by  the  voice  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  to  assume  the  direc- 
tion of  the  diocese  of  New  York.  He  was  consecrated  October 
29,  1826,  in  Baltimore.  He  found  but  few  churches  in  his  dio- 
cese ;  yet,  with  all  the  energy  of  youth,  the  sexagenarian  bishop 
set  to  work.  Six  other  churches  soon  rose  on  New  York  island 
alone,  and  others  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 

A  college  on  the  plan  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  was  one  of  the 
great  projects  of  Bishop  Du  Bois,  and  he  began  such  an  insti- 
tution at  Nyack  ;  but  in  this,  and  in  the  establishment  of  paro- 
chial schools,  he  failed  to  elicit  a  hearty  co-operation  among  the 
people.  A  faction  arrayed  itself  against  him,  the  centre  of  the 
opposition  being  in  the  board  of  trustees  of  his  own  cathedral. 
He  visited  Europe  in  1829  for  the  benefit  of  his  diocese,  and  at 
the  Second  Council  of  Baltimore  aided  by  his  experience  and  ad- 
vice in  framing  regulations  for  the  benefit  of  religion.  Cramped 
and  hampered  as  he  was.  Bishop  Du  Bois  obtained  many  zealous 
clergymen  for  the  congregations  that  were  beginning  to  form  in 
all  parts  of  his  diocese,  and,  by  the  alms  from  the  Association  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and  other  sources,  aided  the  congre- 
gations in  erecting  churches.  When,  in  1836,  his  failing  health 
required,  the  aid  of  a  coadjutor,  Bishop  Du  Bois  had  forty-three 
priests  in  the  diocese,  where  he  found  only  a  few ;  there  were 
twenty-six  churches,  a  college,  two  academies,  five  asylums,  and 
several  parish  schools.     The  next  year  the  Rev.  John  Hughes, 


136  THE   CATHOLIC    UIERAllCHY    IX   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

---^pf  Philadelphia,  was  appointed  Hs  coadjutor,  and  a  few  months 
later  the  venerable  Bishop  of  New  York  was  struck  with  paral- 
ysis while  walking  in  the  street.  He  never  recovered  his  health 
or  vigor,  and,  by  the  counsel  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  resigned 
the  administration  of  the  diocese  into  the  hands  of  Bishop 
Hughes.  His  life  of  active  usefulness  for  God  and  his  people 
was  thus  brought  to  a  close.  He  lingered  a  few  years  in  retire- 
ment, devoting  himself  to  devotion  and  good  works,  till  his  death 
on  the  20th  of  December,  1842.  His  body  was  interred  in  front 
of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in  Mott  Street. 


MOST  KEV.  JOHN   HUGHES, 

'^'Fourtli  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of  New  York. 

John  Hughes,  born  at  Annalogan,  County  Tyrone,  Ireland, 
June  24,  1797,  was  one  of  the  greatest  bishops  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States.  Emigrating  with  his  family  to  America  in 
J.817,  he  applied  for  entrance  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  in  order  to 
receive  the  theological  instruction  to  fit  him  for  the  priesthood. 
There  was  no  vacancy,  but  he  took  charge  of  the  garden  to  be 
able  to  remain  and  study.  He  was  soon  guiding  and  directing 
others  as  teacher  and  prefect,  employing  his  pen  even  then  in 
defending  his  faith  against  newspaper  assailants.  After  having 
been  ordained  priest  October  15,  182G,  he  was  stationed  at  Bed- 
ford, but  was  soon  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  abilities 
were  displayed  at  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's.  A  popular 
preacher,  an  able  writer,  the  Rev.  John  Hughes  was  ere  long  a 
notable  man.  He  founded  St.  John's  Orphan  Asylum,  attended 
the  First  Provincial  Council  as  theologian,  erected  St.  John's 
Church,  and  by  his  singular  skill  and  learning  in  an  oral  contro- 
versy with  a  Presbyterian  minister,  Rev.  John  Breckenridge,  ac- 
quired a  national  reputation. 


DIOCESE  OP  NEW  YORK.  139 

In  1837  he  was  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Dr.  Du  Bois,  by 
whom  lie  was  consecrated  to  the  see  of  Basileopolis  on  Janu- 
ary 7,  1838,  Bishops  Feu  wick  of  Boston,  and  Kenrick  of  Phila- 
delphia, being  assistants.  The  churches,  under  the  uuwise  man- 
agement of  trustees,  had  generally  become  loaded  with  debt,  and 
the  very  men  who  so  abused  their  trust  were  active  in  arraying 
the  weak  and  ignorant  against  their  pastors  and  bishop.  Nyack 
College  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Everywhere  a  firm  and  energetic 
hand  was  needed.  When  Bishop  Hughes  was  appointed  to  the 
sole  direction  of  the  diocese  as  administrator  he  broke  the 
power  of  the  trustees,  restored  the  credit  of  the  Catholic  congre- 
gations, gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  erection  of  churches,  and 
founded  St.  John's  College  at  Fordham.  For  higher  education 
of  young  ladies  he  introduced  into  the  diocese  the  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  who  opened  an  academy  at  Astoria,  subsequently 
transferred  to  Manhattanville. 

After  a  visit  to  Europe  for  the  good  of  his  diocese  Bishop 
Hughes  took  an  active  part  in  a  movement  of  Catholics  to  re- 
cover State  aid  for  their  parochial  schools,  such  as  had  been 
given  till  a  fraud  practised  by  a  Baptist  church  brought  de- 
nominational schools  into  disfavor.  Bishop  Hughes  defended 
the  rights  of  Catholics  before  the  New  York  common  council 
against  an  array  of  eminent  lawyers  and  clergymen  whom  the 
Protestant  sects  sent  to  prove  that  a  system  under  which  they 
themselves  had  received  thousands  of  dollars  was  a  very  im- 
proper one,  simply  because  Catholics  advocated  it.  The  common 
council  rejected  the  claim,  and  both  political  parties  took  ground 
against  it.  The  Catholics  thereupon  ran  a  ticket  of  their  own,  and 
developed  such  strength  that  the  bigoted  Public-School  Society 
gave  up  its  schools,  and  the  State  organized  a  series  of  schools 
from  Avhich  all  offensive  religious  matter  was  to  be  excluded. 

In  1842  Bishop  Hughes  held  the- first  diocesan  synod  of  New 
York.  It  was  attended  by  sixty-four  priests.  At  the  close  of 
the. year  he  became,  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Du  Bois,  Bishop  of  New 
York.  The  diocese  comprised  the  whole  State  of  New  York  and 
half  of  New  Jersey — a  territory  in  which  there  were  seven  bish- 
oprics in  1884.  The  increase  of  churches  and  institutions  made 
this  vast  field  too  much  to  govern  unaided,  and  in  1844  Dr. 


140  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Huglies  obtained  as  coadjutor  tlie  Right  He  v.  Jolin  McCloskey. 
That  same  year  Bishop  Hughes,  by  his  firmness  and  decision, 
saved  New  York  from  scenes  of  arson  and  murder  such  as  had 
been  beheld  in  Philadelphia,  where  Catholics  were  shot  down, 
their  houses  and  churches  given  to  the  flames.  Finding  that  the 
public  mind,  debauched  by  fanatics,  would  never  allow  the  pub- 
lic schools  to  be  anything  but  a  weapon  in  their  hands  against 
the  faith  of  his  flock,  Bishop  Hughes  declared  that  the  time  had 
come  when  Catholics  must  build  the  school  first  and  the  church 
afterwards.  Under  his  impulse  schools  started  up  in  all  parts, 
erected  and  sustained  by  sacrifices  such  as  no  other  body  has 
ever  made.  To  give  the  educational  institutions  of  the  diocese 
every  efficiency  he  invited  the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  assume  the 
direction  of  St.  John's  College  and  of  St.  Joseph's  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  which  he  had  founded  near  it.  He  reorganized 
the  Sisters  of  Charity  as  a  body  distinct  from  those  of  Emmitts- 
burg,  who  had  abandoned  the  rule  of  Mother  Seton,  though  the 
Sisters  in  New  York  adhere  to  it. 

In  time  he  obtained  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  and 
other  teaching  orders  for  both  sexes — Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  and  for  the  increasing  German  Catholic 
body  the  Redemptorist  Fathers.  Bishop  Hughes  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  deliberations  of  several  of  the  Provincial  Coun- 
cils, and  in  the  sixth  obtained  the  recommendation  of  a  division 
of  his  diocese.  A  see  was  accordingly  erected  at  Albany,  of 
which  Bishop  McCloskey  took  possession,  and  another  at  Buffalo. 
He  was  a  keen  observer  of  the  public  mind,  and  when  religion 
was  assailed  or  misrepresented  his  keen,  clear,  vigorous  words 
came  forth  like  clarion  notes,  and  were  echoed  through  the  press 
over  the  whole  land.  He  was  recognized  as  the  leader  of  Cath- 
olic thought.  When  war  broke  out  with  Mexico  our  govern- 
ment tendered  him  a  diplomatic  appointment  with  a  view  of  re- 
storing peace.  On  the  3d  of  October,  1850,  Pope  Pius  IX.,  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore,  promoted  him 
to  the  rank  of  archbishop  and  erected  new  sees  at  Brooklyn  and 
Newark.  Soon  after  he  held  the  first  Provincial  Council  of  New 
York,  which  was  attended  by  his  seven  suffragans,  the  bishops  of 
New  England,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey. 


DIOCESE   OF   NEW   YORK.  141 

In  1854  lie  visited  Rome  on  the  occasion  of  the  definition  of 
the  Dogma  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  by  the  great  Pope, 
Pius  IX.  Soon  after  he  saw  the  legislature  propose  an  act  to 
wrest  the  Catholic  Church  property  from  the  hands  of  the  bishops. 
In  a  controversy  with  Hon.  Erastus  Brooks  he  refuted  the  false- 
hoods on  which  the  proposed  legislation  was  based,  and  placed 
on  record  evidence  of  the  iniquity  and  unconstitutional  character 
of  the  law;  the  legislature  yielded  to  public  clamor  fanned  by 
fanatics,  but  soon  cancelled  its  own  weak  work.  The  care  of  the 
diocese  and  the  burden  of  responsibility  began  to  weigh  heavily 
on  the  archbishop ;  he  even  begged  the  Holy  Father  for  permis- 
sion to  resign  his  see.  Yielding,  however,  to  the  encouraging 
words  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  he  set  to  work  to  begin  for  his 
diocese  a  grand  cathedral  worthy  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of 
the  great  cit}?.  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  had  for  nearly  half  a 
century  owned  land  on  Fifth  Avenue,  which  had  now  become 
the  most  fashionable  street  in  New  York.  On  this  site  the  arch- 
bishop in  1858,  with  great  pomp,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  noble 
cathedral,  for  which  Mr.  Ren  wick  had  prepared  the  plans.  Work 
was  immediately  commenced,  and  continued  till  the  civil  war 
made  it  impossible  to  proceed. 

When  that  great  struggle  came  on— which  Archbishop  Hughes 
had  prophetically  foretold,  reminding  the  people  that  the  Catho- 
lic clergy  and  people  had  had  no  share  in  producing  the  angry 
feelings  which  had  engendered  and  precipitated  it — he  gave  his 
earnest  support  to  the  national  government,  and  went  to  Europe 
on  a  diplomatic  mission  with  a  view  to  counteract  the  feeling 
unfavorable  to  the  United  States  which  envoys  of  the  seced- 
ing States  had  excited  in  more  than  one  European  cabinet. 
While  in  Europe  he  visited  Rome  and  took  part  in  the  canoni- 
zation of  the  Japanese  Martyrs.  He  held  a  second  Provincial 
Council  after  his  return,  and  continued  his  plans  for  the  increase 
of  religion  in  his  flock ;  his  pastorals,  addresses,  and  writings,  as 
well  .as  his  oral  discourses,  being  stamped  with  vigor,  manliness, 
a  sense  of  the  greatness  and  dignity  of  the  Catholic  Church,  that 
infused  itself  into  his  people,  making  them  proud  to  be  Ameri- 
can Catholics  and  eager  to  live  so  as  to  maintain  that  high  char- 
acter  with  credit  among  theii'  fellow-citizens.     During  the  ter- 


142  THE   CATHOLIC   HIERARCHY   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES. 

rible  Draft  Riots,  Archbishop  Hughes,  then  in  feeble  health,  ad^ 
dressed  the  people  from  his  balcony  and  did  all  in  his  power  to 
allay  the  excited  feelings.  It  was  his  last  public  appearance ; 
disease  was  sapping  his  vital  powers,  and  at  last  he  was  even 
unable  to  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  He  felt  that  the  end  was 
approaching  and  calmly  prepared  for  his  last  moment.  He  died 
on  the  3d  of  January,  1864. 

No  man  ever  exercised  greater  influence  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States  than  Archbishop  Hughes;  on  all 
important  occasions  his  words  were  awaited  })y  the  faithful 
throughout  the  countrj^  and  the  public  at  large  as  the  exposition 
of  the  Catholic  view.  The  archbishop  had  attained  this  influence 
without  an  effort,  held  it  without  envy,  and  used  it  only  for  the 
hio-hest  ends. 


HIS  EMINENCE  JOHN   CARDINAL  McCLOSKEY, 

First  Bishop  of  Albany^  Second  Archbishop  of  New    Yorh 

John  McCloskey  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  March  20, 
IS  10,  and  was  baptized  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  New  York,  then 
the  only  Catholic  church  in  or  near  the  city.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  honorably 
graduated  in  1829.  Deciding  to  become  a  priest  he  returned  to 
Emmittsburg,  and,  after  completing  his  divinity  course,  was  or- 
dained by  Bishop  Du  Bois,  January  12,  1834.  After  spending  a 
few  years  in  Rome  for  more  thorough  study,  he  became  j^astor  of 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  N.  Y.,  in  1838,  and  in  1841  president  of  St. 
John's  College  and  of  St.  Joseph's  Theological  Seminary,  Ford  ham. 
When  Bishop  Hughes  sought  a  coadjutor  the  Rev.  Mr.  McClos- 
key, the  choice  of  the  bishop  and  clergy  alike,  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Axiern,  March  10,  1844.  Residing  at  St.  Joseph's, 
Bishop  McCloskey  assumed  much  of  the  labor,  visiting  remote 
parts  of  the  State  to  confirm,  examine,  and  adjudicate.  When 
the  diocese  was  divided  he  was,  in  May,  1847,  transferred  to  the 
see  of  Albany.     Already  familiar  with  the  clergy  of  the  new 


i>IOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK.  145 

diocese  and  its  wants,  he  set  to  work  energetically  and  infused 
into  Ills  flock  a  spirit  of  faith  and  sacrifice.  Schools,  academies, 
asylums,  and  churches  sprang  up  in  all  parts.  Every  year  be- 
held new  progress.  In  1864  the  diocese  of  Albany  had  one  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  churches,  eight  chapels,  and  fifty  stations,  at- 
tended by  eighty-five  secular  and  regular  priests,  the  latter  em- 
bracing members  of  the  Augustinian  Order,  Minor  Conventuals 
of  St.  Francis,  and  Oblates  of  Mary  Immaculate.  The  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  directed  a  fine  academy  at  Kenwood ;  Sisters  of 
Mercy  devoted  themselves  to  works  of  charity ;  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  Sisters  of  Charity  and  of  St.  Joseph,  Gray  Nuns 
from  Montreal,  and  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis 
controlled  schools  and  asylums.  From  this  flourishing  diocese, 
which  owed  so  much  to  his  zeal,  he  was,  on  the  death  of  Arch- 
bishop Hughes,  summoned  to  fill  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of 
New  York. 

As  Bishop  of  Albany  his  great  theological  learning,  as  well 
as  his  experience  and  prudence,  had  been  manifested  in  the 
Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1849  and  in  the  Plenary  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore  in  1853,  as  well  as  in  the  Provincial  Councils 
held  in  New  York  in  1854  and  1861.  In  his  own  diocese  he 
convoked  synods  in  1868  and  1882,  and  adopted  wise  regula- 
tions for  its  better  administration. 

On  his  return  to  New  York  the  Catholic  Protectory  felt  his 
fostering  care  and  grew  to  be  an  institution  of  immense  benefit  to 
the  State.  He  felt  the  Avant  of  church  accommodation  in  New 
York  City,  and  after  creating  new  parishes,  in  which  he  placed 
active  priests  to  build  up  church  and  school,  he  resumed  the 
work  on  the  cathedral,  Avliich  had  been  suspended  during  the 
war.  After  the  Second  Plenary  Council,  which  he  attended,  in 
1866,  he  promulgated  its  decrees  in  the  synod  which  he  held  at 
New  York  in  September,  1868. 

The  next  year  he  attended  tlie  General  Council  of  the  Vati- 
can^  Avhere  his  piety  and  learning  won  general  esteem.  In  1873 
he  dedicated  his  diocese  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  The 
young  Church  of  the  United  States  had  never  been  represented 
in  the  Sacred  College,  and  there  was  universal  joy  when  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  in  the  Consistory  held  March  15,  1875,  created  Arch' 


146  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

bisliop  McCloskey  Cardinal  Priest  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church. 
The  insignia  of  the  high  dignity  were  despatched  to  him,  and  the 
beretta  was  formally  presented  to  him  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral. 
The  cardinal  soon  tifter  proceeded  to  Kome,  where,  with  the  usu- 
al cei*emonies,  he  took  possession  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria 
supra  Minervam,  of  which  he  bears  the  title. 

On  the  death  of  the  great  Pontrff,  Pius  IX.,  Cardinal  Mc- 
Closkey was  summoned  to  attend  the  Conclave.  He  set  out  for 
EurojDe  in  obedience  to  the  call,  but  before  he  reached  the  Eter- 
nal City  the  voice  of  the  Sacred  College,  guided  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  had  elected  Cardinal  Pecci,  who  assumed  the  name  of 
Leo  Xni. 

Religion  was  progressing  in  his  diocese.  The  Dominican 
Fathers  came  at  last  to  open  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  Ferrer; 
the  Capuchin  Fathers  took  charge  of  German  churches;  the 
Reformed  Franciscans  founded  an  Italian  church,  Avhile  Bro- 
thers of  Mary,  Franciscan  Brothers,  Presentation  Nuns,  Sisters  of 
Christian  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary 
came  to  aid  the  communities  devoted  to  education  and  works  of 
mercy.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  met  a  want  that  New  York  had 
long  felt,  by  opening  a  Foundling  Asylum.  The  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor  opened  houses  for  the  aged,  poor ;  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Drumgoole  founded  a  great  institution  for  homeless  boys,  the 
Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  for  which  in  time  an  imposing 
building  was  erected  in  the  city  and  a  farm  acquired  in  the 
country.  The  Bon  Secours  Sisters  came  from  France  to  nurse 
the  sick  in  their  homes,  and  soon  found  that  the  calls  for  their 
services  demanded  numbers  of  Sisters.  Meanwhile  the  Catholic 
Union  and  its  vigorous  branch,  the  Xavier  Union,  united  and 
strengthened  the  Catholic  laity. 

The  masrnificent  cathedral  of  St.  Patrick  was  at  last  com. 
pleted,  the  finest  ecclesiastical  structure  in  America ;  it  was  dedi- 
cated on  the  25th  of  May,  1879,  by  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Mc- 
Closkey,  assisted  by  forty-two  archbishops  and  bishoj)s,  with  a 
pomp  such  as  never  had  been  witnessed  in  the  United  States. 

The  advanced  age  and  increasing  infirmities  of  the  venerable 
cardinal  called  for  the  services  of  a  coadjutor,  and  on  the  1st  of 
October,  1880,  the  Right  Rev.  Michael  A.  Corrigan,  Bishop  of 


^ 


DIOCESE   OF   NEW   YORK.  147 

Newark,  was  promoted  to  the  arcMepiscopal  see  of  Petra  and 
made  coadjutor  to  the  Archbishop  of  New  York.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1882,  Cardinal  McCloskey  held  a  synod  of  his  diocese,  and 
soon  after  presided  in  a  Provincial  Council.  When  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  assembled  in  Baltimore  in  November,  1884,  His 
Eminence,  owing  to  his  advanced  age  and  infirmities,  was  not 
summoned,  and  all  regretted  the  absence  of  one  whose  long 
experience  would  have  been  so  useful  to  the  hierarchy  gathered 
in  the  cathedral  church  of  a  Carroll,  a  Marechal,  and  a  Spalding. 

Cardinal  McCloskey  offered  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the 
last  time  on  the  feast  of  the  Ascension,  1884,  the  exertion  even 
for  that  solemn  rite  having  become  gradually  too  much  for  his 
waning  strength.  After  that  he  was  unable  to  read  or  write  or 
take  a  single  step  without  assistance.  Sinking  slowly,  he  bore 
with  serenity  the  utter  helplessness,  looking  patiently  to  the  end, 
never  murmuring  or  complaining.  With  the  Hail  Mary  on  his 
lips  he  expired  October  10,  1885. 

The  funeral  obsequies  drew  crowds  which  filled  the  vast  ca- 
thedral, and  no  more  impressive  sight  was  ever  witnessed  in  New 
York  City. 

In  person  Cardinal  McCloskey  was  nearly  six  feet  high, 
straight  and  thin ;  his  features  were  regular,  his  brow  lofty,  his 
eye  keen;  his  countenance  calm  and  serious,  inclining  to  stern- 
ness,  but  relieved  by  a  pleasant  expression  which  it  almost 
always  wore.  The  sensitiveness  of  his  eyes  gave  portraits  taken 
by  the  strong  light  of  the  camera  a  frown-like  contraction  be- 
tween the  eyes  that  was  not  habitual  to  him.  He  avoided  all 
notoriety  and  j^arade,  and  sought  to  accomplish  his  high  duties 
simply  and  thoroughly. 


148  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  A.  CORKIGAN, 

Second  Bishop  of  NexoarTc  and  Third  Archbishop  of  New  Yorh. 

Michael  Augustine  Corrigan  was  born  in  Newark,  New 
Jerse)^  of  Irish  parents,  August  13,  1839.  While  prospering  in 
life,  the  family  retained  such  piety  and  love  for  religion  that 
three  of  the  sons  became  priests,  and  a  daughter  a  nun  at  Meaux, 
in  France.  Michael  was  sent  in  1853  to  St.  Mary's  College,  AVil- 
mington,  but  two  years  later  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  at  Em- 
mittsburg,  where  his  ability  and  studious  character  won  a  higt 
rank.  When  the  American  College  at  Rome,  which  had  beer 
founded  by  Pope  Pius  IX.,  was  opened  for  students,  Michael  A. 
Corrigan  was  the  first  seminarian  chosen  and  the  first  to  entei*. 
He  was  ordained  in  the  Lateran  Basilica,  September  19,  1863,  by 
Cardinal  Patrizi,  but  prolonged  his  residence  in  Rome  in  order  to 
complete  his  studies  and  win  his  doctor's  cap.  On  his  return 
to  Newark  in  August,  1864,  Bishop  Bayley,  who  had  the  high- 
est esteem  for  his  learning  and  piety,  appointed  him  professor 
of  dogmatic  theology  and  Sacred  Scripture  in  the  seminary  at 
Setoii  Hall.  He  soon  became  director  of  that  institution  and 
vice-president  of  Seton  Hall  College,  and  its  president  after  the 
elevation  of  Dr.  McQut«.id  to  the  see  of  Rochester.  In  his  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  education  Dr.  Corrigan  bent  all  his  ener- 
gies to  render  Seton  Hall  a  college  of  the  highest  rank. 

During  the  absence  of  Bishop  Bayley  at  the  Vatican  Council 
in  1870  Dr.  Corrigan  was  vicar-general  and  administrator  of  the 
diocese,  discharging  the  onerous  additional  duties  with  singu- 
lar prudence.  When  Bishop  Bayley  was  promoted  to  the  see  of 
Baltimore  Dr.  Corrigan  was  elected  Bishop  of  Newark  on  the 
14th  of  February,  1873,  and  on  the  feast  of  Patronage  of  Saint 
Joseph  (May  4)  was  consecrated  in  his  own  cathedral  by  His 
Grace  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New  York,  seventeen  bishops 
being  present,  and  was  at  once  enthroned.  He  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  American  hierarchy,  but  showed  the  maturity  and 
experience  of  years.     Retaining  the  presidency  of  the  college  to 


I 


DIOCESE  OF  NEW  YORK. 

whicli  he  was  so  greatly  attached,  he  devoted  his  mind  to  the 
increase  of  religion.  His  diocese  was  already  a  flourishing  one, 
with  121  churches  and  mission  stations,  116  priests,  57  parochial 
schools.  He  intr^uced  the  Jesuits,  Dominican  Fathers,  and  Fran- 
ciscan Kecollects,  established  a  Catholic  Protectory  for  Boys  at 
Denville,  under  the  care  of  the  Franciscan  Brothers,  a  House  of 
the  Good  Shepherd  at  Newark,  and  an  hospital  in  charge  of  the 
Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis.  Besides  these  ordei*s 
engaged  in  active  works  of  mercy,  he  wished  to  endow  the  dio- 
cese with  a  contemplative  order,  convinced  that  it  would  draw 
down  blessings  on  all.  The  Dominican  Nuns  of  the  Perpetual 
Adoration  from  Lyons,  France,  came  to  fulfil  his  wish. 

Synods  held  in  1878  and  1879  renewed  and  extended  the  stat- 
utes previously"  promulgated  by  Bishop  Bay  ley  for  the  Chui'ch 
under  his  care.  Meanwhile  the  Catholic  schools  received  an  im- 
pulse, so  that  towards  the  close  of  1880  there  were  in  iSew 
Jersey  one  hundred  and  fifty-three,  with  more  than  twenty-six 
thousand  pupils.  The  churches  had  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty,  with  forty  stations,  and  the  priests  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two. 

The  advanced  age  of  Cardinal  McCloskey  made  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  coadjutor  a  necessity,  and,  to  the  regret  of  the  Catholics 
of  New  Jersey,  Bishop  Corrigan  was,  on  the  1st  of  October, 
1880,  promoted  to  the  see  of  Petra  and  made  coadjutor  to  the 
Archbishop  of  New  York  with  the  right  of  succession. 

In  his  new  position  the  active  part  of  the  episcopal  work  soon 
devolved  upon  him — the  visitation  of  the  diocese,  ordinations, 
confirmations,  dedications.  The  Fourth  Provincial  Council 
and  Fourth  Synod  of  New  York,  were  mainly  directed  by  him, 
and  for  the  use  of  such  assemblies  he  had  a  useful  manual  prepared. 
He  was  summoned  to  Kome  as  one  of  the  archbishops  whom 
the  Holy  See  wished  to  consult  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  pro- 
posed Plenary  Council,  and  when  that  body  met  in  November, 
188.4,  he  represented  the  diocese  of  New  York. 

On  the  death  of  his  Eminence  Cardinal  McCloskey,  Arch- 
bishop Corrigan  became,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1885,  third  Me 
tropolitan  of  the  province  of  New  York. 


DIOCESE  OF  OREGON. 


^ 


MOST  KEV.  FRANCIS  NORBERT  BLANCHET, 

M,rst  Bi8ho])  and  First  Archbishop  of  Oregon. 

Feancis  Norbert  Blanchet  was  born  in  Canada,  in  tlie 
parish  of  St.  Pierre,  Riviere  dii  Sud,  on  the  3d  of  September, 
1T95,  and  was  educated  at  the  Petit  Seminaire,  Quebec.  After 
passing  through  the  course  of  the  Theological  Seminary  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  Archbishop  Plessis,  July  18,  1819.  He  spent 
some  years  on  the  mission  at  Richibouctou,  and  in  1828  was  ap- 
pointed cure,  or  parish  priest,  of  Soulanges.  He  was  parish  priest 
of  Les  Cedres,  in  1838,  when  Archbishop  Signay,  of  Quebec,  ask- 
ed for  priests  in  his  diocese  to  undertake  a  mission  in  Oregon. 
Canadians,  led  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  by  the  great  fur 
com2:)anies,  had  settled  in  Oregon,  and  after  applying  to  Bishop 
Provancher,  of  Red  River,  for  a  priest,  had,  at  his  advice,  as  he 
was  unable  to  help  them,  appealed  to  the  successor  of  Laval. 
Rev.  Mr.  BJanchet  responded  to  the  call,  and,  having  been  ap- 
pointed vicar-general  for  Oregon,  set  out  with  one  priest.  Rev. 
Modest  Demers.  They  reached  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  24th  of 
November,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Blanchet  began  the  labors  which  were 
to  occupy  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  found  Canadians  to  be  at- 
tended, Indians  ready  for  instruction  to  embrace  the  faith — a  field 
not  for  one  priest  but  for  many.  Other  priests  soon  arrived,  many 
Indians  were  converted,  a  college  opened,  and  Father  De  Smet 
arrived  from  Europe  with  Jesuit  Fathers  for  the  Indian  mission, 
and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  from  Namur  to  establish  a  school. 
By  this  time  Oregon  was  a  vicariate-apostolic,  erected  Decem- 
ber 1,  1843,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Blanchet,  who  at  this  time  received  his 
bulls,  returned  to  Canada  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Drasa, 
July  25,  1845,  by  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bourget,  assisted  by  Bishops 
Gaulin  and  Turgeon.     He  then  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  he  ex 


160 


DIOCESE  OF  OREGON.  151 

plained  the  position  of  tlie  Territory  ;  in  view  of  the  rapid  settle- 
ment of  Oregon,  which  seemed  certain,  Pope  Pius  IX.  resolved  to 
erect  an  archiepiscopal  see  with  suffragans.  Oregon  City  was 
made  the  see  of  the  archbishop,  and  Wallawalla  and  Vancouver's 
Island,  with  six  other  places,  established  as  bishoprics  or  districts. 
Thus  Dr.  Blanchet  became  in  July,  1846,  Archbishop  of  Oregon. 
He  returned  to  his  diocese  in  August,  1847,  bringing  eight  secu- 
lar aM  regular  priests  and  seven  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  besides 
several  ecclesiastics.  After  the  consecration  of  Bishops  Blanchet 
and  Demers  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  Oregon  was  held  in 
February,  1848.  The  diocese  of  Oregon  had  then  ten  secular 
priests,  two  Jesuits,  and  a  community  of  Sisters.  The  discovery 
of  gold  in  California  diverted  emigrants  from  Oregon,  and  even 
drew  away  much  of  the  population  of  that  Territory.  Indian 
wars  also  tended  to  check  emigration,  a  Protestant  missionary 
having  been  killed,  and  another  saved  only  by  the  heroic  inter- 
ference of  a  Catholic  priest,  whose  only  reward  has  been  the  most 
unblushing  calumny  from  sectarian  writers.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances Oregon  languished,  religious  communities  left  the 
diocese,  and  in  1855  Archbishop  Blanchet  visited  South  America, 
and  subsequently  Canada,  to  solicit  aid.  He  attended  the  First 
and  Second  Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore,  but  most  of  his  life 
was  spent  in  his  diocese  as  a  zealous  missionary,  building  up 
slowly  the  Church  confided  to  him.  In  1865,  as  Oregon  City  had 
made  no  progress,  he  removed  to  Portland.  Infirmities  began  to 
weaken  him  in  1878,  and  the  Right  Rev.  Charles  J.  Seghers,  of 
Vancouver's  Island,  was  made  coadjutor.  The  diocese  of  Oregon 
had  by  this  time  grown.  It  had  twenty-three  priests,  twenty-two 
churches,  a  college,  nine  academies,  a  hospital,  an  orphanage,  and 
schools  for  a  population  of  20,000.  The  venerable  archbishop 
soon  after  resigned  the  see  and  announced  his  retirement  in  a 
touching  pastoral  on  the  27th  of  February,  1881.  The  patriarch 
of  the  Northwest  remained  at  the  scene  of  his  lifelong  labors, 
preparing  for  his  last  end.  His  strength  gradually  failed  him, 
and  he  passed  away  painlessly  on  the  18th  of  June,  1883,  closing 
a  holy  life  with  a  most  edifying  death.  As  he  had  desired,  he 
was  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul  amid  the  oldest  Cana- 
dian settlement  in  Oregon. 


152  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


MOST  REV.  CHARLES  JOHN  SEGHERS, 

Second  Bishop  of    Vancouver''s  Island,  Second  Archbishop    of 

Oregon. 

Charles  John  Seghers  was  born  at  Ghent,  Dec.  26,  1839. 
Like  many  devoted  men  of  that  truly  Catholic  country,  he  re- 
solved to  devote  himself  to  the  American  mission.  The  poorest 
and  most  laborious  diocese  on  the  northern  continent  was  his 
choice.  Bishop  Demers,  of  Vancouver's  Island,  placed  him  in 
his  cathedral  as  one  of  the  assistant  priests,  and  till  the  death  of 
that  zealous  pioneer  prelate,  Rev.  Mr.  Seghers  labored  with  the 
utmost  devotedness  among  the  white  and  Indian  population. 
He  was  finally  made  vicar-general,  and  became,  on  the  death  of 
Bishop  Demers,  administrator  of  the  diocese.  To  fill  the  va- 
cancy the  choice  of  the  Holy  See  was  soon  fixed  on  the  hum- 
ble and  laborious  priest.  He  was  elected  Bishop  of  Vancou- 
ver's Island,  and  was  consecrated  June  29,  1873.  He  assumed 
charge  of  the  diocese,  extending  his  missionary  labors  to  the 
bleak  Territory  of  Alaska. 

When  the  veteran  of  the  Pacific,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Blanchet, 
found  that  his  advanced  age  and  infirmities  announced  the  close 
of  his  long  labors,  he  selected  Bishop  Seghers  as  his  coadjutor, 
and  in  1878  that  prelate  was  transferred  to  the  archbishopric  of 
Emesa  and  made  coadjutor.  He  reached  Portland  on  the  1st  of 
July,  1879,  and  was  received  by  the  venerable  founder  of  the 
diocese.  He  aided  him  so  acceptably  that  in  February,  1881, 
the  aged  archbishop  resigned  the  see,  and  the  whole  burden 
devolved  on  Mgr.  Seghers.  He  was  soon  called  to  ofiiciate  on 
the  funeral  of  his  predecessor,  whose  zeal  and  virtues  he  imi- 
tates. He  went  to  Rome  in  1873  and  remained  in  Europe  for 
the  interests  of  his  diocese.  When  Bishop  Brondel  was  trans- 
ferred to  Montana,  and  none  of  the  clergymen  selected  for  the 
vacant  see  seemed  willing  to  accept  that  laborious  and  straitened 
position,  Archbishop  Seghers  applied  to  the  Holy  Father  to  be 
restored  to  the  diocese  of  Vancouver's  Island,  as  another  could 
be  more  readily  found  for  the  see  of  Oresron. 


DIOCESE  OF  OREGON".  153 

In  1883  lie  resigned  the  see  of  Oregon  City  to  return  to  Van- 
couver's Island.  Zealous  for  the  conversion  of  the  Alaska  Indians, 
he  set  out  for  that  Territory  in  1886,  and,  having  left  some  Jesuit 
fathers  at  Stewart's  Kiver,  was  asleep  in  his  tent  near  Nulata,  on  the 
morning  of  November  28,  when  he  was  roused  by  his  guide  and 
attendant,  who  shot  him  dead. 


MOST  REV.  WILLIAM  H.  GROSS, 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Savannah  and  Tliird  Arclihishop  of  Oregon, 

William  H.  Geoss  was  born  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the 
12th  of  June,  1837,  his  parents  being  also  natives  of  that  city. 
On  his  father's  side  he  was  descended  from  an  Alsatian  family 
who  came  to  this  country  while  Maryland  was  still  a  British  col- 
ony; on  his  mother's  side  his  family  was  Irish.  Their  son  was 
for  many  years  a  student  in  St.  Charles'  College,  the  preparatory 
seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore.  Feeling  a  vocation  for  the 
religious  state,  he  entered  the  novitiate  of  the  Redemptorist  order 
at  Annapolis  on  the  Feast  of  the  Annunciation,  1857.  After  his 
novitiate  and  theological  course  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick,  March  21,  1863,  in  the  Redemptorist  church, 
Annapolis.  The  young  priest  was  immediately  employed  by  his 
superiors  in  attending  the  numerous  wounded  soldiers  in  the 
military  hospitals  around  Annapolis,  and  he  also  preached  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  camp  of  paroled  prisoners  near  that  city.  He  was 
also  directed  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  infuse  some  clear  religious 
ideas  into  the  minds  of  the  neglected  negroes.  From  the  year 
1864  he  was  assigned  by  his  superiors  to  a  band  of  the  Redemp- 
torist Fathers  engaged  in  giving  missions  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, reviving  faith  in  the  tepid  by  clear  and  forcible  sermons,  and 
by  assiduous  and  careful  guidance  in  the  confessional.  In  these 
missions  Father  Gross  was  recognized  as  a  talented  and  able  reli- 
gious. He  was  attached  to  St.  Alphonsus'  Church,  in  New  York 
City,  for  five  years,  and  then  became  superior  at  the  church  of  his 
order  in  Boston.     In  1873  he  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Savannah, 


154 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and,  having  received  consecration  on  the  27th  of  April,  was  in 
stalled  by  his  predecessor. 

Bishop  Gross  has  done  much  to  spread  the  Gospel  among  the 
colored  population,  the  Benedictines  and  Franciscan  Sisters  hav. 
ing  come  to  labor  in  a  field  ^yhich  has  not  yet  gladdened  the 
patient  missionaries  with  remarkable  results.  Deeming  schools 
almost  the  only  successful  means  of  saving  the  poor  colored  peo- 
ple, he  bent  every  effort  to  establish  them  wherever  possible. 

When  Archbishop  Seghers  resigned  the  see  of  Oregon  in  1884 
Bishop  Gross  was  promoted  to  the  vacant  metropolitan  throne. 

Under  the  administration  of  Archbishop  Gross  this  diocese,  in 
1891,  presents  the  following  summary:  57  priests,  53  churches 
and  12  chapels,  and  15  ecclesiastical  students;  2  colleges  and  8 
academies,  24  parochial  schools  with  2,040  pupils,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  30,400. 


DIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


KIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  EGAN, 

First  Bishop  of  Phil<xdelpliia. 

Michael  Egan  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  at  an  early  age 
entered  the  Franciscan  Order.  He  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1802,  and  was  received  into  the  diocese  of  Baltimore  by  Bish- 
op Carroll,  who  stationed  him  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  as  as- 
sistant to  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  de  Barth.  He  soon  became  pastor 
of  St.  Mary's  Church  in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Carroll  had  recog- 
nized in  him  a  learned,  modest,  and  humble  priest,  who  main- 
tained, though  alone  and  far  from  a  convent  of  his  order,  the 
true  spirit  of  St.  Francis.  One  great  desire  that  animated 
him  was  to  establish  the  Order  of  Friai-s  Minor  in  the  United 
States,  and  on  the  29th  of  September,  1804,  he  obtained  an 
apostolic  rescript  authorizing  him  to  erect  here  a  Francis- 
can province.  On  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  Baltimore 
and  the  creation  of  the  see  of  Philadelphia  Father  Egan  was 
recommended  for  its  first  bishop,  and  was  appointed  April  8, 
1809.  The  bulls  did  not  arrive  till  late  in  the  following  year, 
and  it  was  not  till  October  28,  1810,  that  he  was  consecrated  in 
the  cathedral  of  Baltimore.  Archbishop  Carroll  had  as  a  pre- 
liminary step  required  that  a  suitable  income  should  be  secured 
to  the  bishop,  but  Dr.  Egan,  soon  after  arriving  and  selecting  St. 
Mary's  Church  as  his  cathedra],  found  himself  at  the  mercy  of 
trustees,  who  made  his  life  a  martyrdom.  His  diocese  contained 
fourteen  priests,  eleven  being  Jesuits  and  Augustinians.  He 
labored  to  increase  the  churches  and  clergy,  but  his  infirm 
health  and  the  constant  opposition  of  factious  men  paralyzed  his 
efforts  and  hastened  his  end.     He  died  on  the  2 2d  of  July,  1814, 

156 


156  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

RIGHT  KEY.  HENEY   CONWELL, 

Second  Bishop  of  Philadelphia. 

Henry  Conwell  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Armagli,  Ireland, 
about  the  year  1748,  and,  full  of  the  spirit  of  faith,  studied  for 
the  priesthood  amid  all  the  dangers  of  the  penal  laws.  He  was 
ordained  in  1776,  and  as  curate  and  parish  priest  labored  in  his 
native  diocese  with  all  zeal.  His  merit  raised  him  to  the  posi- 
tion of  vicar-general,  and  on  the  vacancy  of  the  see  his  name 
was  one  of  those  sent  on  to  Rome.  When  experienced  priests  de- 
clined the  appointment  to  the  see  of  Philadelphia  Dr.  CouAvell 
was  nominated,  and,  accepting  the  bulls,  received  consecration 
in  London  in  1820.  He  came  immediately  to  Philadelphia,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  advanced  age,  began  a  visitation  of  his  dio- 
cese. At  St.  Mary's  Church,  Philadelphia,  he  found  a  priest  who 
had  been  received  during  the  vacancy  of  the  see.  This  clergy- 
man's credentials  were  not  satisfactory  to  Bishop  Conwell,  but 
his  attempt  to  remove  him  was  resisted  by  the  trustees  of  the 
church,  who  opposed  the  bishop  even  after  the  unfortunate  priest 
had  apostatized.  Philadelphia  became  rent  with  a  schism  that 
was  fatal  to  religion  and  caused  many  to  lose  the  faith.  After 
years  of  strife  Dr.  Conwell  relinquished  the  control  of  the  dio- 
cese to  the  Very  Rev.  William  Matthews,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed administrator,  and  proceeded  to  Rome,  to  which  city  he 
had  been  summoned  in  1827.  He  was  urged,  for  his  own  peace 
and  that  of  the  diocese,  to  resign  the  see,  but  declined  and  re- 
turned to  Philadelphia.  When  the  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore  met  in  1829  Bishop  Conwell  attended,  but  took  no 
active  part.  By  the  judgment  of  that  body  a  coadjutor  was  re- 
commended, and  the  Holy  See  appointed  Right  Rev.  Francis 
Patrick  Kenrick,  who  assumed  the  administration.  Bishop  Con- 
well gradually  lost  his  sight,  and  was  thus  prevented  from  per- 
forming any  episcopal  duty.  His  life  was  prolonged,  however, 
for  many  years,  and  he  died  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  April  22, 
1842,  at  the  age  of  ninety -four. 


..:i 


DIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  157 

EIGHT  REV.  JOHN    NEPOMUCENE   NEUMANN, 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Philadelphia. 

John  Nepomucene  Neumann  was  born  in  Pracliatitz,  Bohemia, 
Marcli  28,  1811,  his  father,  Philip,  a  native  of  Obernburg,  in 
Bavaria,  having  married  and  settled  there.  Trained  by  a  pious 
mother  in  devotion  to  Mary,  John  lost  none  of  his  fervor  in  his 
studies  there  and  at  Budweis.  A  solid  rather  than  a  brilliant 
scholar,  he  entered  the  seminary  at  Budweis  and  completed  his 
course  at  Pra2:ue.  Resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  American 
mission,  he  left  his  home  in  February,  1836,  to  oifer  his  services 
to  the  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  little  dreaming  that  he  was  him- 
self to  die  in  that  offic®.  Circumstances,  however,  led  him  to 
New  York.  Having  been  received  by  Bishop  Du  Bois,  he  was 
ordained  in  New  York  and  sent  to  Williamsville,  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  A  parish  of  fifty  miles  here  devolved  on  him, 
but  he  discharged  his  duties  with  scrupulous  fidelity.  He  had 
long  yearned  to  enter  the  religious  state,  and  at  last,  with  the 
consent  of  Bishop  Hughes,  joined  the  Redemptorists  in  1840.  In 
Baltimore,  New  York,  Philadelj^hia,  and  Rochester  his  labors 
bore  fruit.  He  became  superior  at  Pittsburgh,  and  in  1846  pro- 
vincial of  his  order.  On  the  promotion  of  Bishop  Kenrick  to 
the  see  of  Baltimore  Father  Neumann  was  appointed  Bishop  of 
Philadelphia,  peremptory  orders  requiring  him  to  accept  the 
bulls.  He  was  consecrated  on  Passion  Sunday,  1852,  by  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick.  The  diocese  of  Philadelphia  had,  under  the  able 
rule  of  his  predecessor,  attained  great  prosperity.  Although  the 
western  part  had  been  assigned  to  the  new  see  of  Pittsburgh,  the 
diocese  of  Philadelphia  contained  more  than  a  hundred  churches 
and  priests.  Bishop  Neumann  made  visitations,  encouraged  the 
erection  of  churches,  stimulated  the  establishment  of  parochial 
schools.  He  held  synods  to  give  his  clergy  strength,  renewing 
the  constitutions  already  in  force.  In  the  councils  of  Baltimore 
in  1852  and  1855  Dr.  Neumann  edified  his  brethren  in  the  epis- 
copate by  his  learning  and  sound,  practical  experience.  After 
visiting  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  definition  of  the  dogma  of  the 


158  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Immaculate  Conception  he  asked  to  resign  liis  see  and  return 
to  the  religious  life,  which  was  his  choice.  The  Kev.  James  F. 
Wood  was  appointed  coadjutor,  and  Bishop  Neumann,  submitting 
to  the  will  of  the  Pope,  retained  his  see.  He  set  out  to  attend 
some  business  on  the  5th  of  January,  1860,  but  was  struck  down 
in  the  street;  he  sat  down  on  the  nearest  steps  and  expired.  His 
native  city  erected  a  statue  of  him,  the  inscription  styling  him 
a  "  Servant  of  Mary."  His  virtues  were  of  so  extraordinary  cha- 
racter that  he  was  invoked  by  many  after  his  death,  and  in  1884 
steps  were  taken  to  introduce  the  process  of  his  canonization. 


MOST   REV.  JAMES  FREDERIC   WOOD, 

Fifth   Bishop    and  first  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia. 

James  Fredeeic  Wood  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  April  27, 
1813,  of  a  family  which  had  adopted  the  belief  of  the  Unitarians. 
His  parents  came  from  England  in  1809,  and,  after  he  had  ac- 
quired the  iiidiments  in  Philadelphia,  sent  him,  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  to  the  school  of  St.  Mary  de  Crypt  in  Gloucester,  where 
he  remained  five  years,  completing  his  education  in  Philadelphia. 
In  November,  1827,  he  became  clerk  in  the  United  States  Branch 
Bank  in  Cincinnati,  and  rose  to  important  positions.  In  1833  he 
entered  the  Franklin  Bank  in  that  city,  of  which,  three  years 
subsequently,  he  became  cashier.  During  this  period  his  mind 
turned  to  more  serious  things  than  finance.  The  truth  of  the 
Catholic  doctrines  became  clear  to  him,  and  he  was  baptized  by 
Archbishop  Purcell,  April  7,  1836.  In  September  of  the  ensuing 
year  he  resigned  his  position  and  entered  the  College  of  the 
Propaganda  at  Rome  as  a  student.  After  seven  years  of  serious 
study  he  was  ordained,  March  25,  1844,  by  Cardinal  Fransoni, 
Prefect  of  the  Propaganda.  On  his  return  to  Cincinnati  in  Oc- 
tober he  was  appointed  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  for  nearly 
ten  years  was  a  laborious  priest  in  that  capacity.     He  was  theH 


DIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  till  lie  was  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
JS'eumann,  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  26th  of  April,  1857,  he  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Purcell  Bishop  of  Antigona.  The 
financial  affairs  of  the  Philadelphia  diocese  were  soon  reduced  to 
order  by  him,  and  the  great  works  of  the  diocese  placed  on  a 
safe  footing  for  their  speedy  completion.  By  the  death  of  Bishop 
Neumann  in  January,  1860,  Bishop  Wood  succeeded  to  the  see 
and  to  the  whole  burden  of  the  episcopate.  He  completed  the 
cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  which  was  dedicated,  No- 
vember 20,  1864,  with  great  solemnity,  a  medal  struck  to  com- 
memorate the  event  being  the  only  fine  numismatic  work  of  art 
the  Church  has  given  in  this  country.  To  meet  the  wants  of  edu- 
cational and  charitable  institutions  he  introduced  the  Sisters  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  Servants  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary, 
Sisters  of  the  I'hird  Order  of  St.  Francis,  the  Little  Sisters  of 
the  Poor,  and  developed  the  work  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy 
Child  Jesus.  He  established  a  Catholic  Home  for  Destitute 
Orphan  Girls  and  enlarged  St.  Vincent's  Orphan  Asylum. 

In  1862  he  attended  the  canonization  of  the  Japanese  Martyrs 
in  Rome,  and  in  1867  the  centenary  of  St.  Peter.  He  was  present 
at  the  opening  of  the  Vatican  Council,  and  took  part  in  its  sessions 
till  a  severe  illness  compelled  him  to  return  home  ;  he  left  his 
recorded  vote  in  favor  of  a  distinct  declaration  of  the  infallibility 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  when  defining  ex  cathedra.  In  1868  the 
diocese  of  Philadelphia  was  reduced  by  the  erection  of  the  dio- 
ceses of  Harrisburg,  Scranton,  and  Wilmington.  On  the  15th  of 
February,  1875,  Dr.  Wood  was  made  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia, 
and  a  new  ecclesiastical  province  was  formed,  the  Bishops  of 
Pittsburg,  Harrisburg,  Scranton,  and  AVilmington  being  his  suf- 
fragans; Allegheny,  which  received  a  bishop  in  1876,  being  then 
added.  After  taking  part  in  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  he  celebrated  in  1882  the  silver  jubilee  of  his  episco- 
cal  consecration.  One  of  the  great  acts  of  his  later  life  was  the 
erection  of  the  fine  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Bori'omeo  at  Over- 
brook,  formally  opened  September  16,  1871. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1883  the  aged  archbishop  was 
attacked  with  that  fatal  malady,  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys, 
and  in  June  the  case  became  critical.     He  at  once  appointed 


16^0  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Vicar-Geneml  Walsh  administrator,  and,  making  a  solemn  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  the  presence  of  his  physicians  and  members  of 
the  clerc^y,  moving  all  to  tears,  he  received  the  last  sacraments  and 
prepared  to  meet  his  end.  He  expired  on  the  20th  of  June, 
shortly  after  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 


MOST   REV.    PATRICK   JOHN   RYAN, 

Second  ArcKbisliojp   of  Philadelphia. 

The  Most  Rev.  Patrick  John  Ryan  was  born  in  Thurles, 
in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Ireland,  in  1831,  of  a  pious  and 
worthy  family  of  farmers.  He  lost  his  father,  Jeremiah,  at  an 
early  age,  but  his  mother  placed  him  at  the  school  of  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers  in  Thurles,  where  he  studied  diligently.  Showing 
a  decided  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  he  was  sent  to  a  classical 
school  in  Dublin,  where  his  talents  and  industry  soon  attracted 
attention,  and  he  was  selected  to  read  the  address  of  the  school 
to  Daniel  O'Connell,  then  in  prison.  Young  Ryan  entered  Car- 
low  College  to  study  for  the  priesthood  as  an  ecclesiastic  of 
the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  to  which  he  had  offered  himself.  In  hi* 
course  of  philosophy,  theology,  and  canon  law  he  showed  more 
than  ordinary  abilities,  and  essays  which  he  contributed  to  peri- 
odicals attested  his  talent  in  presenting  the  knowledge  he  had 
acquired  in  an  attractive  form.  Having  received  deacon's  orders, 
he  came  to  St.  Louis  in  1853,  not  having  yet  attained  the  age 
requisite  for  the  priesthood.  After  a  short  stay  in  the  seminary 
at  Carondelet  he  was  ordained  by  the  archbishop  in  1853  and 
stationed  at  the  old  cathedral.  He  w^as  made  pastor  of  the 
church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese 
some  years  later.  Accompanying  the  archbishop  to  Rome  in  I8'i8, 
he  preached  the  Lenten  sermons  in  that  city,  wanning  the  highest 
admiration  for  his  learning  and  eloquence.  When  the  venerable 
archbishop  sought  a  coadjutor  the  Very  Rev.  P.  J.  Ryan  was 
elected  Bishop  of  Tricomia,  February  15,   1872,  and  was  conse- 


DIOCESE  OF  PHILADELPHIA. 


161 


crated  on  the  14th  of  April.  After  discharging  for  twelve 
years  much  of  the  diocesan  work  at  St.  Louis,  and  earning  the 
reputation  of  a  most  eloquent  and  able  bishop,  he  was,  in  1884, 
transferred  to  the  see  of  Philadelphia.  His  reception  in  that  city- 
was  an  ovation  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  this 
country.  He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore 
in  November,  1884,  preaching  with  his  wonted  eloquence  the 
opening  sermon  on  "The  Church  in  her  Councils." 

This  archdiocese,  in  1891,  shows  the  following  significant  sta- 
tistics: 317  priests  and  151  ecclesiastical  students,  155  churches, 
94  chapels  and  stations,  3  seminaries  and  3  colleges,  30  academies 
and  77  parochial  schools,  27,432  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  400,000  souls. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  ROSATI, 

First  Bishop  of  St.  Louis. 

Joseph  Rosati  was  born  at  Sora,  in  Italy,  January  30,  1789, 
of  a  respectable  and  pious  family.  After  his  studies  lie  entered 
the  novitiate  of  the  Priests  of  the  Mission  at  Rome,  and  made  his 
theological  course  at  Monte  Citorio  under  the  apostolic  Father 
de  Andreis,  and  after  his  ordination  was  frequently  his  com- 
panion.  When  Bishop  Du  Bourg  visited  Rome  in  1815  to  ob- 
tain priests  for  the  diocese  of  Louisiana,  Father  de  Andreis  was 
selected  as  one  of  the  missionaries.  He  at  once  wrote  to  Father 
Rosati,  asking  him  to  join  them  if  he  wished.  Father  Rosati  at 
once  resolved  to  go ;  he  made  the  journey  to  Toulouse,  and,  ac- 
companying Father  de  Andreis  thence  to  Bordeaux,  embarked 
June  12,  1816.  They  reached  Baltimore  after  a  voyage  of  six 
weeks,  and  proceeded  to  Bardstown,  where  they  set  to  work  to 
learn  English.  Father  Rosati  the  next  year  began  his  labors  by 
a  mission  at  Vincennes,  and  then  proceeded  to  St.  Louis.  When 
the  first  log  seminary  of  the  Lazarists  was  established  at  the 
Barrens,  Father  Rosati  was  made  superior,  manfully  meeting  all 
the  poverty  and  hardships  incident  to  a  new  institution  on  the 
frontier.  In  1820  he  became  superior  of  the  Lazarists  in  this 
country,  and  three  years  afterwards  opened  a  college,  never  ceas- 
ing constant  missionary  work  amid  all  his  other  responsibilities. 
With  the  increasing  community  under  his  direction.  Dr.  Rosati 
did  much  to  give  Catholicity  order  and  life  in  Missouri.  Bishop 
Du  Bourg,  seeking  a  division  of  his  diocese,  proposed  Father 
Rosati  as  vicar-apostolic  of  Florida;  but  the  Lazarist  declined 
the  appointment,  preferring  to  remain  at  his  post  in  Missouri. 
In  1823  he  was  ajDpointed  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Du  Bourg,  and  it 

162 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 

was  ordained  that  in  1826  a  see  should  be  established  at  New 
Orleans  and  another  at  St.  Louis,  Bishop  Du  Bourg  to  select 
which  he  preferred,  the  other  to  be  filled  by  his  coadjutor.  Fa- 
ther Kosati  was  accordingly  consecrated  Bishop  of  Tenagra  on 
the  25th  of  March,  1824,  but  continued  to  reside  in  Missouri.  On 
the  resignation  of  Bishop  Du  Bourg  he  administered  the  diocese 
till  he  was  made  first  Bishop  of  St.  Louis  in  1827,  and  a  new 
bishop  was  consecrated  for  New  Orleans.  Able  at  last  to  devote 
himself  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  he  aided  the  Jesuit  Fathers  in 
their  good  work  and  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  introduced 
the  Sisters  of  Joseph,  Visitation  Nuns,  and  Sisters  of  Charity, 
thus  endowing  Missouri  with  communities  for  education  and 
works  of  mercy.  He  began  a  cathedral,  and  by  his  energy  soon 
had  a  large  and  elegant  edifice,  which  was  dedicated  with  great 
pomp  in  October,  1834,  five  bishops  taking  part  in  the  ceremony. 
Bishop  Kosati  held  a  synod  of  his  clergy  in  1839,  adopting  wise 
statutes.  Though  not  in  the  province  of  Baltimore,  he  took  part 
in  the  first  four  Provincial  Councils  held  in  that  city.  After  the 
close  of  the  fourth  council,  in  1840,  he  visited  Rome,  and  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  then  confided  to  him  a  mission  to  the  republic 
of  Hayti  to  arrange  for  the  re-establishment  of  episcopal  sees  in 
that  island.  Meanwhile  he  had  obtained  the  appointment  of  the 
Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick  as  coadjutor,  and,  returning  to  the 
United  States,  consecrated  him  at  Philadelphia.  Bishop  Rosati 
then  proceeded  to  Hayti,  where  his  negotiations  were  most  suc- 
cessful, and  the  terms  of  a  concordat  were  agreed  upon,  which 
was  to  be  signed  at  Rome  by  a  Haytian  envoy.  After  confirm- 
ing a  great  number  in  Hayti  he  set  out  for  Rome  to  make  his  re- 
port to  Pope  Gregory  XVL  He  was  seized  with  a  serious  illness 
in  the  Eternal  City,  but,  recovering,  set  out  for  liis  diocese  by  the 
way  of  Paris.  There  his  disease  returned,  and  his  physicians 
counselled  a  return  to  Rome.  He  reached  it  only  to  die  on  the 
25th  of  September,  1843.  Bishop  Rosati  was  eminent  for  his 
holy  life,  his  zeal  as  a  priest,  his  successful  administration  as  a 
bishop,  his  learning,  his  eloquence.  He  built  up  the  diocese  from 
a  very  slender  beginning,  organized  the  Indian  missions,  and  ex- 
tend<id  the  work  of  the  Church  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains, 


164  THE  CATHOLIC  IIIEKAKCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  * 

MOST  REV.  PETER  RICHARD  KENRICK, 

Second  Bishop  and  fir  at  ArcJihishop  of  St.  Louis. 

The  Most  Rev.  Peter  Richard  Kenrick,  a  younger  brother 
of  Francis  Patrick,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia  and  Archbishop  of 
Baltimore,  was  born  in  Dublin,  xVugust  17,  1806.  At  the  close  of 
his  studies  the  piety  instilled  into  him  from  his  youth  led  him  to 
embrace  the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  entered  the  seminary  and 
was  ordained  priest. 

Coming  to  the  United  States,  to  which  his  brother  had  been 
sent  from  Rome,  he  was  in  1833  received  into  the  diocese  of  Phil- 
adelphia and  became  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  in  1835  pas- 
tor. His  learning  and  abilities  led  to  his  selection  as  superior  of 
the  diocesan  seminary,  in  which  he  filled  also  the  chair  of  dog- 
matic theology.  As  vicar-general  he  aided  greatly  in  reorganiz- 
ing the  diocese;  become  thus  widely  known,  he  was  chosen  by 
Bishop  Brute,  of  Vincennes,  as  his  theologian  at  the  Third  Pro- 
vincial Council  of  Baltimore.  When  Rev.  Father  Timon  de- 
clined the  appointment  of  coadjutor  of  St.  Louis,  Bishop  Rosati 
selected  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Kenrick,  "whose  apostolic  zeal,"  he 
declared,  "had  been  so  conspicuous,  and  to  whose  merits  all  the 
prelates  of  the  American  Church  had  on  several  occasions  given 
honorable  testimony."  An  exj)ress  command  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  precluded  every  way  of  shrinking^  from  the  dignity  to 
which  he  had  been  called.  Submitting  to  an  honor  he  had  not 
sought,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Drasa  by  Dr.  Rosati,  assist- 
ed by  Bishop  Francis  P.  Kenrick  and  Bishop  Lefevere,  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Philadelphia,  on  St.  Andrew's  day,  November  30, 
1841.  Bishop  Rosati  proceeded  to  Hayti,  to  which  he  had  been 
sent  by  the  Holy  See,  and  Bishop  Kenrick  rej^aired  to  St.  Louis 
to  assume  the  administration  of  the  diocese  during  his  absence. 
Bishop  Rosati  never  returned  to  Missouri;  his  health  failed,  and 
he  died  at  Rome  September  25,  1843,  when  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Kenrick  succeeded  to  the  see  of  St.  Louis.  From  his  arrival  in 
the  diocese  he  had  given  an  impulse  to  all  good  works.  He  en- 
couraged the  building  of  churches,  and,  with  far-seeing  wisdom, 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 

erected  some  where  not  a  house  was  to  be  seen,  but  where  thriv- 
ing  towns  soon  gathered.  He  gave  a  series  of  lectures  on  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  which  attracted  general  attention,  and 
established  Tlie  Catholic  Cabinet,  a  magazine  to  diffuse  reli- 
gious knowledge  among  his  flock.  The  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  when 
Dr.  Kenrick  reached  it,  embraced  the  States  of  Missouri,  Arkan- 
sas, half  of  Illinois,  and  the  Territories  now  constitutins:  Kansas, 
Nebraska,  and  Indian  Territory,  with  all  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  city  of  St.  Louis  had  six  churches  and  chapels,  a  theo- 
logical seminary,  a  university,  convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  two 
asylums,  four  free  schools,  and  16,000  Catholics  out  of  a  popula- 
tion of  30,000.  The  diocese  contained  65  churches  and  74  priests, 
and  had  several  Indian  missions.  The  erection  of  the  sees  of 
Little  Rock  in  1843,  Chicago  in  1844,  of  the  vicariates-ai^ostolic 
of  Indian  Territory  and  of  Nebraska  in  1851,  of  St.  Joseph  in 
1868,  and  of  Kansas  City  in  1880,  have  in  his  time  reduced  his 
diocese  greatly,  so  that  in  1885  it  comprises  only  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

Bishop  Kenrick  introduced  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian 
Schools,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  other  orders  to  aid  in 
education  or  works  of  mercy.  In  1847  Pope  Pius  IX.  made  St, 
Louis  an  archiepiscopal  see,  to  which  the  bishops  of  Dubuque, 
Nashville,  Chicaoro,  and  Milwaukee  were  assigned  as  suffras^ans. 
Archbishop  Kenrick  held  a  synod  of  his  diocese  in  1850,  and  in 
September,  1855,  convened  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  St. 
Louis,  which  was  attended  by  the  bishops  of  the  sees  already 
named,  and  of  those  of  Santa  Fe  and  St.  Paul,  who  had  also  been 
made  suffragans,  and  by  the  vicar-apostolic  of  Indian  Territory. 
A  second  council  was  held  in  September,  1858.  Both  by  their 
wise  provisions  bear  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  prudence  of  Arch- 
bishop Kenrick.  During  the  civil  war  the  I'^tate  became  a  battle- 
field ;  the  citizens  were  divided  in  their  sympathies,  and  bitter 
feelings  prevailed.  The  archbishop,  with  his  clergy  and  reli- 
gious, was  unremitting  in  attending  all,  especially  the  sick  and 
wounded,  without  distinction ;  but  Catholics  suffered  from  the 
petty  fanaticism  of  bigots  in  temporary  power.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  a  new  constitution,  carried  by  excluding  thousands  of 
citizens  from  the  polls,  forbade  any  bishop,  priest,  or  religious  to 
preach,  officiate,  or  teach,  unless  a  test  oath  of  a  stringent  charac* 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIEKARCHr  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ter  as  to  men's  very  thoughts  was  first  taken.  Archbishop  Ken- 
rick,  in  a  circular,  directed  his  clergy  not  to  take  it,  and  several 
priests  and  Sisters  were  indicted  under  the  shameful  provision 
before  the  Supreme  Court  declared  its  nullity. 

Archbishop  Kenrick  took  an  active  part  in  the  three  Plenary 
Councils  held  at  Baltimore,  and  at  the  Vatican  Council  was  one 
of  those  who  opposed  the  definition  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope  as  unnecessary  and  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the  Church. 
His  arguments  show  the  full  liberty  of  discussion  given  in  the 
CEcumenical  Council,  and  his  prompt  acceptance  of  the  dogma 
when  defined  o-ave  his  character  new  lustre.  To  aid  him  in  the 
administration  of  his  diocese  he  obtained,  in  1857,  a  coadjutor  in 
the  person  of  the  Right  Rev.  James  Duggan,  who  became  Bishop 
of  Chicago  two  years  after,  and  at  a  later  period  in  the  person 
of  Patrick  John  Ryan,  who  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Tricomia, 
April  14,  1872.  Dr.  Ryan  was  the  eloquent  and  trusted  assistant 
of  the  venerable  archbishop  till  he  was  transferred  to  the  see  of 
Philadelphia  in  1884. 

In  1876  the  Catholics  of  St.  Louis  celebrated  the  centenary 
of  the  erection  of  the  first  church  in  their  city. 

The  progress  of  the  diocese  under  the  care  of  Archbishop 
Kenrick  may  be  seen  in  its  condition  in  1891,  when  it  contained 
283  priests,  40  ecclesiastical  students,  233  churches  and  chapels. 
The  religious  orders  are  well  represented :  Lazarist  Fathers  di- 
rect the  theological  seminary  and  a  college ;  the  Jesuits  have  the 
university ;  the  Christian  Brothers  a  college ;  Redemptorists  and 
Franciscan  Fathers  labor  chiefly  among  the  Germans.  There  are 
academies  conducted  by  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Visita- 
tion Nuns,  Sisters  of  Loretto,  Ursulines,  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  ; 
Carmelite  Nuns  follow  their  contemplative  life;  Sisters  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  reclaim  the  fallen ;  Sisters  of  Charity  and  of 
Mercy  minister  to  all  human  miseries  and  care  for  the  orphan  ; 
the  Servants  of  the  Divine  Heart  attend  the  sick  at  their  homes. 
There  are  orphan  asylums ;  a  Protectorate  for  Boys ;  94  parochial 
schools,  with  20,000  pupils,  conducted  by  Christian  and  Francis- 
can Brothers,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame, 
St.  Joseph,  the  Precious  Blood,  Christian  Charity,  St.  Francis, 
Oblates  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  Loretto ;  and  the  total  population  of 
the  diocese  is  estimated  at  280,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  GARCIA  DIEGO,   O.S.F., 

Bishop  of  the  Two  Californias. 

Wheist  California  was  reached  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who 
founded  their  reductions  of  converted  Indians  in  the  lower  penin- 
sula, and  little  Spanish  settlements  grew  up  near  the  crosses  they 
planted,  jurisdiction  over  the  peninsula  was  claimed  by  different 
sees ;  but  the  distance  and  difficulty  of  travel  prevented  any 
bishop  from  visiting  it.  Ultimately  the  superior  of  the  mission 
was  made  a  prefect-apostolic  by  the  Holy  See,  with  power  to  con- 
fer the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation.  A  similar  power  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  venerable  Franciscan  Father  Juniper  Serra  when 
he  founded  the  missions  in  the  Upper  Province.  At  the  solici- 
tation of  the  Mexican  government  the  Two  Californias  were 
erected  into  a  diocese  by  Pope  Gregory  XVI  in  1840.  Father 
Francis  Garcia  Diego  y  Moreno,  the  first  bishop,  was  born  at 
Lagos,  in  the  State  of  Jalisco,  and  pursued  his  course  of  Latin, 
rhetoric,  and  philosophy  at  Guadalajara,  and  entered  the  order  of 
St.  Francis  in  the  Apostolical  College  at  Zacatecas.  Here  he 
was  ordained  about  the  year  1824,  and  became  master  of  no- 
vices and  vicar.  As  a  missionary  he  was  distinguished  for  his 
strict  observance  of  his  nile,  his  eloquence  and  zeal.  In  1832  he 
was  appointed  prefect  of  the  California  mission,  and  made  Santa 
Clara  his  abode.  The  grand  missions,  that  once  numbered  more 
than  thirty  thousand  Catholics,  were  sinking  under  the  Mexican 
misgovernment  which  had  robbed  them  and  turned  the  Indians 
adrift.  The  j^refect  did  all  in  his  power  to  save  these  Catholic 
Indians  and  animate  them  to  persevere.  Even  the  Pious  Fund 
of  California  for  the  support  of  the  missions  was  seized  and  its 
income  withheld,  so  that  Fathers  died  of  actual  starvation.  Fa- 
ther Garcia  went  to  Mexico  to  endeavor  to  obtain  redress  for  all 

169 


170  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  [N  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

these  evils,  but  was  detained  at  Zacatecas  by  duties  confeiTed  on 
him  in  his  order.  Meanwhile  he  was  appointed  bishop,  and  ac 
cepted  only  on  a  solemn  promise  from  the  Mexican  government 
that  the  income  of  the  Pious  Fund  should  be  restored,  and 
because  the  salary  promised  him  would  support  several  mis- 
sionaries. He  was  consecrated  bishop  October  4,  1840,  but  the 
preliminaries  to  his  taking  ^^ossession  of  his  diocese  were  pro- 
longed so  that  he  did  not  reach  San  Diego,  which  was  named  in 
the  bull  as  his  residence,  till  December,  1841.  He  found  the 
desolation  complete,  most  of  the  missions  in  ruins  and  abandoned, 
the  fertile  mission  lands  and  vineyards,  with  the  herds  of  cattle, 
seized,  the  Indians  reduced  to  about  four  thousand  and  utterly 
destitute.  Obtaining  all  the  aid  he  could,  the  good  bishop 
traversed  the  province,  endeavoring  to  save  his  flock.  He  began 
a  seminary  at  Santa  Ynez,  having  obtained  at  last  a  grant  of 
thirty-five  thousand  acres.  As  San  Diego  was  in  ruins,  he  took 
up  his  residence  at  Santa  Barbara.  He  was  not,  however,  per- 
mitted by  Providence  long  to  survive  ;  his  health  failed  in  1845, 
and  on  the  night  of  April  13  in  the  ensuing  year  he  died  piously 
amid  his  faithful  missionaries.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the 
church  at  Santa  Barbara. 


MOST   KEV.   JOSEPH   SADOC   ALEMANY,   O.S.D., 

First  Bisliop  of  Monterey  and  First  ArcJihisTiop  of  San  Francisco, 

Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany  was  born  in  1814  in  Yich,  a  city  in 
the  province  of  Catalonia  which  has  sent  many  zealous  mission- 
aries to  America.  After  making  his  primary  studies  young  Ale- 
many  entered  the  Dominican  Order  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  Upon 
completing  his  theological  course  at  a  very  early  age  he  was 
ordained  at  Yiterbo  in  1887  by  Bishop,  afterwards  Cardinal, 
Pianetto.  The  young  priest  was  then  made  sub-master  of  novi- 
ces at  Yiterbo,  and,  having  been  summoned  to  Rome,  was  an 
assistant  to  the  rector  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  sopra  Mi- 
nerva till  the  yeai'  1841,  when  he  solicited  the  American  mis- 


DIOCESE  OP  SAN  FRiiNCISCO.  171 

sion.  Soon  after  reaching  St.  Joseph's  Convent  in  Ohio  Father 
Alemany  was  sent  to  Tennessee  at  the  request  of  Bishop  Miles, 
and  began  his  missionary  career  in  Nashville,  but  was  soon  as- 
sistant at  Memphis,  aiding  to  erect  the  first  Catholic  churcli  in 
that  city.  He  remained  in  this  severe  mission,  attending  the  few 
Catholics  scattered  over  a  large  district,  till  1847,  when  he  was 
(  elected  provincial  and  returned  to  Ohio.  Having  gone  to  Rome 
in  1850  to  attend  a  General  Chapter  of  the  order,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Monterey,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Montgomery  having 
declined  the  nomination.  He  was  consecrated  by  Cardinal  Fran- 
zoni  in  the  church  of  San  Carlo,  June  13,  1850,  and  set  out  for 
his  diocese,  taking  with  him  Father  Vilarrasa  to  found  a  con- 
vent of  Friar  Preachers,  and  Mother  Mary  Goemare  to  establish 
one  of  Dominican  Nuns.  A  new  population  of  American  and 
other  English-speaking  people  had  by  this  time  flocked  into  Ca- 
lifornia, including  many  Catholics,  so  that  Bishop  Alemany  had 
to  provide  priests  for  Sj^anish,  English,  and  Indian  tongues. 
The  new  population  was  in  the  more  northerly  districts,  San 
Francisco  growing  rapidly  to  be  a  great  city.  Bishop  Alemany 
had  few  priests,  few  churches,  no  institutions  for  charity  or  edu- 
cation. The  abundant  provision  which  the  Spanish  monarchs 
and  pious  Catholics  in  their  day  had  made  for  the  maintenance 
of  religion  was  gone.  The  year  before  his  consecration  a  little 
wooden  shanty  had  been  reared  as  the  first  Catholic  church  in 
San  Francisco.  The  year  of  his  arrival  the  two  priests  there 
had  to  cope  with  the  cholera,  and  the  priest  at  Sacramento,  Fa- 
ther Anderson,  a  native  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  a  convert,  died 
while  attending  the  sick.  In  1852  the  bishop  attended  the  First 
Plenary  Council,  and  exerted  himself  to  j^rocure  priests  and  re- 
ligious, and  succeeded  to  some  extent,  obtaining  several  Sisters  of 
Charity  from  Emmittsburg,  two  of  whom  died  on  the  way.  The 
others  courageously  went  on,  and  soon  opened  an  asylum  for  the 
many  orphans. 

/I he  extent  of  California  and  the  diversity  of  population 
called  for  a  division  of  the  diocese  of  Monterey.  In  July,  1853, 
San  Francisco  was  erected  into  an  archiepisoopal  see,  to  which 
Dr.  Alemany  was  transferred,  and  Bishop  Amat  succeeded  him 
at  Monterey.     The  archbishop  then  devoted  him  wholly  to  the 


172  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERAKCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

wants  of  the  increasing  flock.  Presentation  Nuns  and  Sisters 
of  Mercy  came;  a  diocesan  seminary  was  begun  under  Kev.  Dr. 
Eugene  O'Connell ;  the  cathedral  was  completed  and  dedicated. 
As  cities  and  towns  grew  up  a  new  division  of  the  diocese  be- 
came necessary,  and  in  1860  the  Holy  See  set  off  the  northwest- 
ern portion  of  the  diocese  as  the  vicariate-apostolic  of  Marys- 
ville,  and  the  northeastern  as  that  of  Colorado.  By  this  time 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  who  had  entered  the  diocese  had  founded 
their  college  at  Santa  Clara;  academies  and  parochial  schools 
were  increasing  in  number  and  efficiency.  Reduced  as  the  dio- 
cese has  been,  the  15  priests  and  24  churches  of  California  in 
1850  have  developed,  in  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco  alone,  in 
1884  to  128  churches  and  175  priests,  with  a  seminary,  6  col- 
leges, 18  academies,  and  200,000  Catholics ;  with  Jesuits,  Domi- 
nicans, Marists,  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  Presentation, 
Ursuline,  and  Dominican  Nuns,  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Mercy,  of 
Notre  Dame,  of  the  Holy  Names. 

Archbishop  Alemany  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Third 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  delivered  a  Latin  sermon  to 
the  clergy  on  the  virtues  that  should  adorn  the  priesthood. 
Soon  after  its  close  he  resigned  his  see  and  returned  to  Spain, 
dying  at  Valencia  in  1888. 


n 


MOST  REV.  PATRICK  W.  RIORDAN, 

Second  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco. 

Patrick  William  Riordan  was  born  August  27,  1841,  and 
was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Chicago  in  his  seventh  year.  He 
made  his  studies  at  the  university  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake, 
and,  feeling  himself  called  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  asked  to 
V)e  received  as  a  seminarian.  His  talents  led  to  his  bein^  sent 
to  the  American  College  at  Rome,  but,  having  suff'ered  greatly 
from  malaria,  he  left   Rome  and  completed   his  course  in  Paris 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO.  178 

and  Lou  vain.  He  was  ordained  in  Belgium  in  1865  by  Cardi- 
nal Sterckx,  and  after  his  return  to  the  United  States  was  ap- 
pointed in  1866  professor  of  ecclesiastical  history  and  canon  law 
in  the  theological  seminary  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake  at  Chi- 
cago; the  next  year  he  filled  the  chair  of  dogmatic  theology. 
From  1868  to  1871  he  was  in  the  active  discharge  of  mission- 
ary duties  at  Joliet,  after  which  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St. 
James'  Church  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  Here  he  gave  all  his 
energy  to  the  spiritual  good  of  his  people,  upholding  and  ex- 
tending the  parochial  schools  under  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  His 
abilities  and  zeal  marked  him  as  one  destined  to  render  great 
services  to  the  Church. 

While  pastor  of  St.  James'  Church  in  1883  he  received  the 
notification  of  his  appointment  as  titular  Bishop  of  Cabasa, 
and  coadjutor,  with  the  right  of  succession,  to  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Alemany,  of  San  Francisco.  He  was  consecrated 
in  St.  James'  on  Sunday,  September  16,  1883,  by  Archbishop 
Feehan.  Bishop  Riordan  reached  San  Francisco  on  the  6th  of 
November,  and  was  received  by  a  delegation,  who  conveyed  him 
to  the  residence  of  the  archbishop. 

Archbishop  Riordan  at  once,  by  visitations  and  otherwise, 
relieved  Archbishop  Alemany  of  many  of  the  heavier  burdens 
of  the  episcopate,  and  took  part  with  Archbishop  Alemany  in 
the  great  Plenary  Council  of  1884.  By  the  resignation  of  that 
venerable  prelate  he  became  the  second  archbishop  of  San  Fran, 
cisco. 

At  the  present  time  (1891)  this  archdiocese  contains  180 
priests  and  25  seminarians,  65  churches,  91  chapels  and  stations, 
8  colleges,  and  19  academies;  60  parochial  schools,  with  15,000 
pupils;  5  orphanages,  3  hospitals  and  2  asylums,  in  a  Catholic 
population  of  about  220,000. 


DIOCESE  OF   SANTA  FE. 


MOST  KEV.  JOHN  B.  LAMY, 

First  Bishop  and  First  Archhishop  of  Santa  Fe. 

John  Baptist  Lamy  was  born  in  1814  in  Aiivergne,  France, 
and  came,  after  his  ordination,  to  the  United  States  to  give  his 
services  to  the  cause  of  religion.     In  1839  he  was  stationed  at 
Sapp's  Settlement,  Ohio,  afterwards  called  Danville,  where  he 
erected  a  fine  church  dedicated  to  St.  Luke ;  the  next  year  he 
was  attending  also  Mount  Vernon  and  a  German  settlement  at 
Newark,   obtaining  sites  for  churches,   and   in  the  former  had 
already  begun  a  large  and  handsome  edifice,  which  he  completed 
only  to  see  it  destroyed  by  fire ;  but  he  set  to  work  to  rebuild  it, 
extending  his  missions  to  Millersburgh,  in  Licking  County.     In 
this  field  he  labored  till  about   1848,  when  he  was  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Covington,  Ky.,  then  in  the  diocese 
of  Cincinnati.     When  the  province  of  New  Mexico  was  acquired 
by  the  United  States  religion  had  greatly  declined  among  its  in- 
habitants.    No  bishop  had  visited  New  Mexico  for  eighty  years ; 
the  Franciscans  who  had  ministered  for  centuries  to  the  Spaniards 
and  Indians  had  been  removed ;  schools  had  ceased.     The  Holy 
See,  to  remedy  the  evils,  formed  the  territory  into  a  vicariate- 
apostolic,  and   the   Rev.   John  Baptist    Lamy  was   consecrated 
Bishop  of  Agathonica,  November  24,  1850.     The  territory  con- 
tained sixty  thousand  whites  and  eight  thousand  Indians,  with 
twenty-five  churches  and  forty  cha]3els.    Bishop  Lamy  endeavored 
to  obtain  exemplary  priests  to  revive  the  faith  of  the  neglected 
flock.     Sisters  of  Loretto  opened  an  academy  with  the  commence- 
ment of  the  year  1853.     On  the  29th  of  July  in  that  year  the 
see  of  Santa  Fe  was  erected,  and  Dr.  Lamy  was  elected  the  first 
bishop.     He  visited  Europe  to  obtain  aid,  and  returned  with  four 
priests,  a  deacon,  and  two  subdeacons.     H-e  soon  after  obtained 

174 


DIOCESE  OF  SANTA  Ft.  177 

Brothers  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  who  in  time  founded  a  col- 
lege; Sisters  of  Charity  for  hospitals  and  asylums ;  and  in  1867 
Jesuit  Fathers,  who  oj^ened  a  college  at  Las  Vegas  and  estab- 
lished a  Catholic  journal.  In  1875  the  see  was  made  archiepis- 
copal,  with  Dr.  Lamy  as  archbishop.  In  1885  the  diocese  con- 
tained 34  parish  churches,  203  chapels  regularly  attended,  56 
priests,  with  111,000  Catholics  of  Spanish  origin,  3,000  English- 
speaking  Catholics,  and  12,000  Pueblo  Indians.  One  of  Arch- 
bishop Lamy's  great  labors  has  been  to  defeat  the  government 
in  its  proselytizing  schemes  which  aimed  at  converting  the  Catho- 
lic Pueblo  Indians  to  Pi'otestantism.  He  resigned  the  See  July 
18,  1885,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Most  Rev.  John  B.  Salpointe, 
on  the  same  date.  Archbishop  Lamy  died  February  13,  1888, 
after  a  life  of  useful  devotion  to  the  iuterests  of  the  Church  in  his 
arci\(liocese. 


178  THE   CATHOLIC    HIEEAECHY    I2f   THE   UXITED   STATES. 


MOST  KEV.  JOHN  B.  SALPOINTE, 

Second  Archhishop  of  Santa  Fe. 

John  B.  Salpoixtb  was  born  in  France  on  the  2 2d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1825,  and  made  Ins  classical  studies  in  the  preparatory  semi- 
nary of  Agen  in  the  Department  of  Creuse,  and  of  Clermont  in 
that  of  Puy  de  Dome.  After  passing  through  a  thorough  theo- 
logical course  at  the  seminary  of  Clermont  Ferrand,  he  was  or- 
dained priest  December  21,  1851.  He  spent  three  years  in  the 
parochial  exercise  of  the  sacred  ministry,  and  five  more  as  teacher 
in  the  preparatory  seminary  of  Clermont.  He  left  his  native 
land  to  devote  himself  to  the  missions  of  New  Mexico,  on  the  4th 
of  August,  1859,  and  was  sent  to  Arizona  as  vicar -general  by 
llight  Rev.  Bishop  Lamy  in  1866.  Arizona  was  made  a  vicariate- 
apostolic  in  1869,  and  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Salpointe,  having  been  ap 
pointed  Bishop  of  Doryla,  on  the  25th  of  September,  1868,  was 
consecrated  at  Clermont,  France,  June  20,  1869.  The  vicariate 
comprised  Arizona,  the  southern  part  of  New  Mexico,  known  as 
the  Mesilla  valley,  and  the  county  of  El  Paso  in  Texas.  There 
were  churches  at  Tucson  and  St.  Xavier  del  Bac,  and  Las  Cruces, 
which  had  priests,  as  had  the  chapel  of  San  Agustin.  Churches 
were  needed  for  the  new  population,  and  these  soon  rose  at  Col- 
orado City  and  other  points.  Bishop  Salpointe  labored  to  save 
his  Spanish  and  Indian  flock  from  perversion,  the  United  States 
government  having  assigned  the  Catholic  Indians  to  Protestant 
sects  in  order  to  debauch  their  faith.  The  vicar-apostolic  intro- 
duced Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  who  established  schools  and  hospitals; 
Sisters  of  Mercy  and  of  Loretto  to  open  academies.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  1884  he  had  sixteen  priests,  eighteen  churches  built 
and  five  more  going  up,  fifteen  chapels,  six  parochial  schools,  a 
white  Catholic  population  of  thirty  thousand,  and  one  thousand 
Catholic  Indians.  On  the  8th  of  June,  1884,  Pope  Leo  XIIL 
transferred  Bishop  Salpointe  to  Santa  Fe,  and  made  him  coadju- 
tor to  Archbishop  Lamy,  whom  he  succeeded,  July  18,  1885. 


DIOCESE  OF  ALBANY. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JOSEPH  CONROY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Albany. 

John  Joseph  Conroy  was  born  in  Clonaslee,  Queen's  County, 
Ireland,  about  the  year  1  829,  and  came  to  this  country  at  the  age 
of  twelve.  He  received  his  earlier  training  in  New  York  City, 
where  his  uncle  was  for  many  years  a  zealous  priest.  His  clas- 
sical studies  he  pursued  under  the  Sulpitians  at  Montreal ;  his 
higher  course  and  theology  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's 
Seminary,  Fordham.  His  ability  was  such  that  he  was  made  a 
professor  before  his  graduation.  He  was  ordained  priest  June 
4,  1842,  and  was  made  vice-president  of  St.  John's  College  at 
Fordham  in  the  following  year,  and  subsequently  president  of 
that  institution.  In  March,  1844,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  old 
St.  Joseph's  Church,  Albany,  and  held  that  position  till  he  was 
raised  to  the  episcopate.  During  his  rectorship  he  rebuilt  the 
church,  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  founded  St.  Vin- 
cent's Orphan  Asylum.  His  abilities  and  zeal  made  the  parish 
prosper,  and  he  was  in  time  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese 
about  the  year  1857,  and  during  the  absence  of  the  bishop  he 
acted  as  administrator.  When  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  McCloskey 
was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New  York,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Conroy 
administered  the  diocese  of  Albany  till  July  7,  1865,  when  he 
was  appointed  bishop,  receiving  episcopal  consecration  October 
15  in  the  same  year. 

Bishop  Conroy  governed  the  diocese  for  several  years, 
churches,  priests,  and  institutions  of  all  kinds  increasing.  Among 
these  may  be  noted  the  establishment  of  an  Industrial  School, 
St.  Peter's  Hospital,  St.  Agnes'  Rural  Cemetery,  and  the  intro- 
<1  notion  of  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor.  He  attended  the  First 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian,  and  sat  in  the  second 

J  79 


180  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

as  bistop  of  Albany.  He  visited  Kome  on  the  occasion  of  the 
centenary  of  St.  Peter,  and  took  part  in  the  sessions  of  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican.  In  August,  1869,  he  held  a  diocesan 
synod  in  which  salutary  regulations  were  adopted.  But  in  1872 
infirmities  made  it  a  matter  of  prudence  for  Bishop  Conroy  to 
secure  a  coadjutor.  After  the  appointment  of  Bishop  McNeirny, 
Dr.  Conroy  continued  as  far  as  possible  to  direct  the  diocese  till 
January,  1874,  when  he  relinquished  the  administration  to  his 
coadjutor.  On  the  16th  of  October,  1877,  he  resigned  the  see 
and  removed  to  New  York  City.  The  Sovereign  Pontiif  subse- 
quently appointed  him  to  the  see  of  Curium.  He  has  since  on 
several  occasions  rendered  essential  service  to  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  of  New  York,  and  attended  the  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  S.  McNEIRNY, 

llih'd  BisTiop  of  Albany. 

Francis  S.  McNeirny  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  on 
the  25th  of  April,  1828,  and  began  his  studies  in  the  school  of 
Mr.  Harrow,  a  Catliolic  teacher.  In  September,  1841,  he  was 
sent  to  Montreal,  and  entered  the  college  in  that  city  directed  by 
the  priests  of  the  community  of  St.  Sulpice.  Here  he  I'emained 
till  he  terminated  the  course  of  philosophy.  He  then  resolved 
to  enter  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and  pursued  his  theological  stud- 
ies  in  the  Grand  Seminary  from  1849  to  1854,  acting  as  procura- 
tor  of  the  institution  for  one  year,  and  for  two  years  directing 
the  class  of  bellesdettres  in  the  college.  Returning  to  New  York, 
he  received  the  tonsure,  minor  orders,  and  subdeaconship  at  the 
hands  of  Archbishop  Hughes  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral.  He  was 
ordained  deacon  on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  1854,  and  priest 
two  days  later.  The  young  clergyman  was  immediately  stationed 
at  the  cathedral  and  made  chaplain  to  the  archbishop.  His  per- 
fect knowledge  of  the  rites  and  offices  of  the  Church  caused  Rev. 


DIOCESE   OF  ALBANY.  183 

Mr.  McNeirny  to  be  selected  on  all  solemn  occasions  as  master 
of  ceremonies,  and  he  did  much  to  give  dignity  to  the  services  of 
the  Church.  In  1857  he  was  made  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of 
New  York,  and  from  1859  he  was,  as  secretary  to  Archbishop 
Hughes  or  secretary  of  the  diocese  or  the  council,  constantly  and 
intimately  connected  Avith  the  management  of  affairs.  When  the 
health  of  Bishop  Conroy,  of  Albany,  required  relief  fi'om  duty, 
the  Rev.  ]\Ii\  McNeirny  was  appointed ;  he  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Rhesina  and  coadjutor  of  Albany  April  21,  1872.  On 
the  18th  of  January,  1874,  the  administration  of  the  diocese  was 
confided  to  him,  and  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Conroy,  Octo- 
ber 16,  1877,  he  became  third  Bishop  of  Albany.  Under  his 
careful  and  prudent  administration  the  diocese  has  prospered  and 
acquired  order  and  solidity.  Although  the  diocese  of  Ogdens- 
burg  was  set  off  in  1872,  the  churches  and  chapels  have  increased 
from  170  to  210;  the  priests  from  120  to  197;  the  parochial 
schools  number  twelve  thousand  pupils,  while  the  religious  orders 
have  been  increased  by  the  accession  of  Brothers  of  the  Good 
Works,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity, 
Sisters  of  St.  Dominic,  and  Presentation  Nuns.  The  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers, Augustinians,  and  Franciscan  Conventuals  have  houses  in 
the  diocese  of  Albany,  and  in  it  is  situated  the  first  Provincial 
Seminary  at  Troy,  a  large  theological  institution  with  an  able 
corps  of  professors.  There  are  also  houses  of  the  Nuns  of  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

In  1886  the  number  of  priests  in  the  diocese  had  increased  to 
212,  and  on  the  26th  of  November  in  that  year  a  new  diocese  was 
formed  by  the  division  of  that  of  Albany,  with  an  episcopal  see 
at  Syracuse. 

The  diocese  of  Albany  seven  years  after  its  division  (1893) 
contained  184  priests,  '66  ecclesiastical  students,  132  churches,  1 
seminary  and  1  college,  8  academies,  40  parochial  schools,  and  an 
estimated  Catholic  population  of  200^000. 

Bishop  McNeirny  passed  to  his  final  reward,  after  a  brief  ill- 
ness, in  January,  1894.  He  left  his  diocese  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion, which  was  largely  the  result  of  his  untiring  energy  and 
vigilance  during  the  twenty  years  of  his  administration. 


DIOCESE  OF  ALTON. 


EIGHT  REV.  HENRY  DAMIAN  JUNCKER, 

First  Bisho2)  of  Alton. 

Henry  Damian  Jtjncker  was  bom  on  August  22,  1809,  at  Fe^ 
netrange,  in  the  province  of  Lorraine,  while  it  was  still  part  of 
the  French  territory.  During  his  studies  he  felt  called  to  devote 
himself  to  the  American  mission,  and,  coming  to  this  countiy,  en- 
tered the  seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  showing  ability  as 
a  student  and  as  a  teacher.  He  was  ordained  priest  March  16, 
1834,  being  the  first  one  who  received  holy  orders  from  the  hands 
of  Bishop  Purcell.  He  was  appointed  to  Holy  Trinity,  the  first 
German  church  in  Cincinnati,  and  in  1836  became  pastor  of  St. 
John's  Church,  Canton,  the  next  year  of  Chillicothe,  and  from  1844 
to  1857  of  Emmanuel  Church,  Dayton.  In  1854  the  Holy  See  di- 
vided the  diocese  of  Chicago  and  established  a  see  at  Quincy.  The 
clerg}^men  nominated  to  the  new  bishopric  declined  the  mitre,  and 
the  diocese  was  temporarily  administered  by  Bishop  O'Regan.  On 
the  9th  of  January,  1857,  the  see  was  transferred  to  Alton,  the  new 
diocese  retaining  the  same  limits  as  that  of  Quincy.  Rev.  Mr. 
Juncker  was  appointed  first  Bishop  of  Alton,  and,  having  received 
consecration  from  Archbishop  Purcell  on  the  26th  of  April,  1857,  he 
proceeded  to  organize  the  Alton  diocese,  in  which  he  found  only 
eighteen  priests;  in  the  first  year  he  obtained  twenty-four  oth- 
ers, and  eight  new  churches  were  erected.  After  acquainting  him- 
self with  the  wants  of  the  diocese,  Bishop  Juncker  visited  Eu- 
rope to  obtain  aid,  and  on  the  19th  of  April,  1859,  gathered  his 
flock  to  witness  the  dedication  of  the  cathedral  by  Archbishop 
Kenrick.  Bishop  Juncker's  visitations  were  constant;  in  many 
places  he  was  the  pioneer  missionary  priest,  gathering  Catholics 
and  organizing  congregations,  administering  the  sacraments,  and 

184 


DIOCESE  OF  ALTON.  185 

preparing  the  way  for  the  pastor,  whom  it  was  his  next  care  to 
send  them.  By  the  year  1868  he  had  brought  the  diocese  to  a 
flourishing  condition,  with  colleges,  academies,  hospitals,  and  asy- 
lums ;  fifty-six  parochial  schools,  one  hundred  priests,  and  123 
churches ;  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  Ursuline  Nuns,  Sisters  of 
St.  Jose2:)h,  School  Sisters  of  IS^otre  Dame,  Sisters  of  Charity,  as 
well  as  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis,  joining  in  the  good 
work. 

After  a  long  and  severe  illness  Bishop  Juncker  was  removed 
from  the  scene  of  his  energetic  labors  October  2,  1868. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  JOSEPH  BALTES, 

Second  Bishop  of  Alton. 

Peter  Joseph  Baltes  was  born  in  the  village  of  Ensheim,  in 
the  diocese  of  Spire,  Bavaria,  April  7,  1827,  and  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  when  only  six  years  old.  The  family 
settled  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  their  son  made  his  classi- 
cal course  in  New  York  and  at  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
Worcester,  completing  his  theology  in  the  University  of  St.  Mary's 
of  the  Lake,  Chicago.  Desiring  to  devote  his  life  to  the  service 
of  God,  he  was  accepted  for  the  diocese  of  Chicago,  and,  after 
a  theological  course  at  the  Sulpitian  Seminary  in  Montreal,  was 
ordained  May  21,  1853.  His  first  mission  labors  were  at  Water- 
loo, Monroe  County,  from  which  he  was  transferred  to  Belle- 
ville, both  in  the  new  diocese  of  Quincy.  He  remained  at  Belle- 
ville, devoting  himself  to  his  missionary  duties  and  acquiring  a 
reputation  for  ability  and  zeal,  till  the  death  of  Bishop  Juncker, 
when  he  was  made  administrator  of  the  diocese.  The  appoint^ 
ment  foreshadowed  his  election  to  the  bishopric  by  Pope  Pius  IX., 
September  24,  1869.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  23d  of  Janu. 
ary,  1870,  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Belleville,  where  he  had  so  long 
ministered,  and  was  the  first  bishop  consecrated  in  the  State  oi 
Illinois,  though  Catholicity  had   flourished   there  foj  %ifeft:ly  two 


186  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

centuries.  Bishop  Baltes  has  been  a  watchful  and  energetic 
bishop,  laboring  earnestly  to  guard  his  flock.  Under  his  care 
the  religious  orders  already  in  the  diocese  developed,  and 
Brothers  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  of  Mercy, 
of  the  Precious  Blood,  of  Loretto,  and  of  St,  Dominic,  with  the 
Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ,  came  to  labor  in  his  bishopric.  In 
1884  the  diocese  had  two  colleges  under  the  Franciscan  Fathers, 
nine  academies,  100  parochial  schools  with  11,000  pupils,  three 
asylums,  eleven  hospitals,  169  priests,  and  190  churches.  The 
diocese  sustained  a  terrible  loss  in  1884  by  the  conflagration  of 
St.  Joseph's  Convent  and  Academy  of  Notre  Dame  in  the 
bishop's  former  parish  of  Belleville,  where  27  lives  were  lost. 
Bishop  Baltes  has  held  a  synod,  and  by  wise  regulations  pro- 
vided for  the  maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  diocese  confided 
to  him. 

His  health  began  to  decline,  but  early  in  1886  he  was  sup- 
posed to  be  recovering  from  a  disease  of  the  liver,  when  he  sud- 
denly grew  worse,  and  died  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  February  15,  1886.  At  his  solemn  obsequies 
Archbishops  Kenrick,  Feehan,  and  Heiss,  with  Bishop  Hogan, 
attended.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rt.  Rev.  James  Ryan,  May  1, 
1888. 


DIOCESE  OF  BROOKLYN. 


RIGHT  EEY.  JOHN  LOUGHLIN, 

Fh'st  Bishop  of  BrooMyn. 

Zows  LouGHLEsr  was  born  in  the  County  Down,  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1816,  and  came  at  an  early  age  to  this  country.  His 
boyhood  was  spent  in  Albany,  To  secure  him  a  thorough  Ca- 
tholic education  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Emmittsburg, 
where  as  a  student  and  teacher  he  attracted  attention  by  his 
ability.  On  completing  his  divinity  course  he  was  ordained 
priest  by  Bishop  Hughes,  at  his  first  ordination,  October  18, 1840. 
Rev.  Mr.  Loughlin  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  at  St.  Pat- 
rick's Cathedral,  and  in  1844  became  rector.  Five  years  later 
he  was  chosen  by  Bishop  Hughes  vicar-general  of  the  diocese, 
and  discharged  the  im^^ortant  duties  to  the  satisfaction  of  that 
great  prelate.  When  Long  Island  was  formed  into  a  diocese 
with  Brooklyn  as  the  episcopal  see,  the  Very  Rev.  John  Lough- 
lin was  chosen  the  first  bishop.  He  was  consecrated  by  Arch- 
bishop Cajetan  Bedini,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  on  the  30th  of 
October,  1853.  He  was  installed  in  St.  James'  Church,  which  he 
had  taken  as  his  pro-cathedral,  on  the  9th  of  November,  and  be- 
gan the  labors  which,  extending  over  more  than  thirty  years,  have 
raised  so  many  monuments  of  his  zeal. 

On  taking  possession  of  his  diocese  Bishop  Loughlin  had  ten 
churches  in  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburg,  and  eleven  others  in 
the  rest  of  Long  Island,  attended  by  twenty -three  priests.  There 
were  two  orphan  asylums  and  a  few  schools  under  the  Brothers 
of  the  Christian  Schools  and  Sisters  of  Charity.  In  1855  he 
introduced  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and 
the  Visitation  Nuns  founded  a  monastery  of  their  order  in 
Brooklyn.  Under  the  impulse  of  his  zeal  churches  were  es- 
tablished in  all  parts  of  Long  Island,  and  especial  efforts  made 


188  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  give  cLildren  a  really  Catholic  training.  On  the  20th  of  June, 
1868,  the  corner-stone  of  a  cathedral  church  under  the  invoca- 
tion of  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  solemnly  laid  by  Arch- 
bishop McCloskey.  The  site  is  on  Lafayette  Avenue,  between 
Clermont  and  Vanderbilt  Avenues,  and  the  edifice  has  gone 
slowly  on  ever  since. 

In  July,  1869,  the  corner-stone  of  the  college  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  on  Willoughby  Avenue  was  laid.  The  edifice  was  soon 
completed,  and  the  institution  opened  under  the  direction  of  the 
Lazarists,  or  Priests  of  the  Mission.  About  the  same  time  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  began  an  asylum  for  penitent  wO' 
men.  The  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Poor  opened  St.  Francis' 
Hospital,  and  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor  an  Asylum  for  the 
Aged,  which  was  unfortunately  destroyed  by  fire  in  March,  1876, 
with  the  loss  of  several  lives  in  spite  of  the  heroic  efforts  of  the 
Sisters.  The  diocese  has  also  been  endowed  with  a  Home  for 
Boys. 

Bishop  Loughlin  took  part  in  several  councils  of  Baltimore, 
two  of  them  Plenary,  as  well  as  in  the  Provincial  Councils  of 
New  York,  and  held  a  Diocesan  Synod  for  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing in  his  diocese  the  decrees  of  the  councils. 

In  1884  the  city  of  Brooklyn  had  45  churches.  Kings  County 
9,  Queens  County  25,  and  Suffolk  County  12  ;  the  priests  of  the 
diocese  of  Brooklyn  numbered  156;  there  were  76  parish  schools 
with  21,500  pupils;  seven  orphan  asylums  under  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph,  of  St.  Dominic,  of  Mercy,  and  of  Charity;  hospitals 
under  Sisters  of  Charity,  St.  Dominic,  and  the  Franciscan  Sisters 
of  the  Poor ;  an  Institute  for  Deaf  Mutes,  two  Homes  for  Desti- 
tute Children,  a  Nursery,  an  Invalids'  Home,  and  a  House  of  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

In  1891  there  were,  in  the  diocese  of  Brooklyn,  183  priests, 
158  churches  and  chapels,  1  seminary,  with  30  ecclesiastical  stu- 
dents ;  2  colleges,  17  academies,  90  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catho- 
lic population  of  200,000. 

After  presiding  over  the  diocese  for  thirty-eight  years.  Bishop 
Loughlin  died  December  29,  1891,  and  was  succeeded  by  Bishop 
McDonnell,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  will  be  found  in  this  volume. 


DIOCESE  OF  BUFFALO. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  TIMON,  CM., 

First  Bishop  of  Buffalo. 

John  Traoisr  was  born  in  Conewago,  Pennsylvania,  of  Irish 
parentage,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1797.  When  a  young  man 
he  went  to  St.  Louis  with  his  family  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
life,  but  in  April,  1823,  he  entered  the  Lazarist  Seminary  of  St. 
Mary's  of  the  Barrens  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  X3riest. 
Having  been  received  into  the  order,  he  was  ordained  in  1825, 
He  had  already  made  an  essay  of  mission  life,  accompanying  Rev. 
Mr.  Odin  on  an  excursion  through  Arkansas  and  Texas.  Rev. 
Father  Timon's  first  missions  were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Barrens, 
extending  to  Cape  Girardeau,  Jackson,  and  New  Madrid.  In 
his  labors  he  encountered  opposition,  and  was  occasionally  com- 
pelled to  enter  the  lists  with  Protestant  ministers.  In  1835  he 
was  appointed  visitor  of  the  Lazarists  in  the  United  States. 
This  office  entailed  new  and  difficult  labors  on  him,  requiring  a 
visit  to  the  East  and  to  Europe,  from  which  he  returned  in  1837 
with  several  missionaries.  The  due  organization  of  the  order  at 
this  time  was  mainly  his  work.  The  next  year  he  established  a 
theological  seminary  in  Louisiana,  and,  at  the  request  of  Arch- 
bishop Blanc,  visited  Texas  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  the 
Church  there.  His  visit  was  a  laborious  mission  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Catholics  in  that  territory.  Returning  to  Missouri,  Father 
Timon  began  a  series  of  missions  in  that  State  and  Illinois,  amid 
which  he  received  bulls  appointing  him  coadjutor  of  St.  Louis, 
but  he  refused  the  dignity.  In  April,  1840,  he  received  letters 
naming  him  Prefect- Apostolic  of  Texas,  with  power  to  admin- 
ister confirmation.  He  accepted  the  position  and  sent  Rev.  Mr. 
Odin  to  Texas,  and  soon  after  wrote  to  Rome  to  request  the 
appointment  of  that  clergyman  as  prefect.     He  went  to  Texas 


190  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

himself  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and  gained  the  good-will  of  the 
members  of  the  government  of  the  Republic  of  Texas,  from  whom 
he  solicited  a  confirmation  of  the  right  of  the  Church  to  the 
property  held  by  it  under  Spain.  Having  visited  the  chief 
towns  in  Texas,  he  left  Rev.  Mr.  Odin  in  charge  of  the  missions 
and  returned  to  Missouri,  from  which  business  of  the  order  soon 
required  him  to  set  out  for  France. 

Father  Timon  maintained  this  life  of  incessant  activity  as 
superior  of  the  Lazarists  till  he  received,  on  the  5th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1847,  bulls  appointing  him  Bishop  of  Buffalo.  His  humility 
prompted  him  to  decline  the  honor ;  but  prudent  priests  urged 
him  to  accept,  and  he  yielded  because  his  duty  as  visitor  had 
become  extremely  onerous.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  17th  of 
October  in  the  cathedral  of  New  York,  and  at  once  proceeded 
to  his  diocese,  taking  up  his  residence  at  the  church  of  St.  Louis 
till  the  trustees  requested  his  departure.  The  first  year  he  spent 
in  the  visitation  of  his  diocese,  giving  missions  and  confirming. 
In  the  course  of  this  constant  travel  he  was  thrown  from  a  sleigh 
and  severely  injured.  When  fully  acquainted  with  his  diocese 
and  its  wants  he  attempted  to  establish  a  college,  but  his  first 
efforts  failed ;  he  founded  a  hospital,  introduced  the  Ladies  of 
the  Sacred  Heart,  who  opened  an  academy,  and  also  the  Sisters 
of  Our  Lady  of  Charity  and  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The  charit- 
able Nicholas  Devereux,  of  Utica,  was  instrumental  in  obtaining 
from  Rome  a  colony  of  Recollects,  or  Reformed  Franciscans,  who 
in  time  established  a  prosperous  seminary  and  college  at  Alle- 
gany. The  trustees  of  St.  Louis'  Church  renewed  the  insubor- 
dinate conduct  which  had  already  caused  scandal,  and  they  re- 
fused to  submit  even  to  the  delegate  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 
Their  rebellion  led  to  the  closing  of  the  church,  and  for  years 
was  a  source  of  pain  to  Bishop  Timon.  In  1857  the  Lazarists, 
to  the  bishop's  joy,  opened  the  seminary  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels,  near  Niagara  City — an  institution  which  has  prospered. 
Besides  his  labors  in  the  diocese,  in  which  Bishop  Timon  held 
several  synods,  he  went  to  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  definition  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  on  the  anniversary  of  St.  Peter,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  canonization  of  the  Japanese  martyrs  ;  he  also 
attended  the  Provincial  Councils  of  New  York. 


n 


n 


DIOCESE  OF  BUFFALO.  193 

Jn  1852  lie  laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral, 
which  was  dedicated  in  1855.  Bishop  Timon  continued  his 
labors  till  he  was  attacked  in  1866  with  erysipelas — a  disease  that 
in  his  enfeebled  state  was  highly  dangerous.  He  took  medical 
advice,  but  continued  to  discharge  his  duties  till  Monday  in 
Holy  Week,  when  at  the  close  of  the  devotions  he  asked  prayers 
for  a  happy  death.  With  great  difficulty  he  reached  his  bed, 
and  died  piously  the  next  day,  April  16,  1867. 


RIGHT  REV.  STEPHEN  VINCENT  RYAN,  CM., 

Second  Bishop  of  Buffalo. 

Stephen  Vinceis^t  Ryain"  was  born  near  the  villa2:e  of  Al- 
monte.  Upper  Canada,  January  1,  1825,  his  parents  having  emi- 
grated some  time  before  from  the  County  of  Clare,  in  Ireland. 
While  he  was  still  a  child  the  family  removed  to  Pottsville,  in 
Schuylkill  County,  Pennsylvania.  In  1840,  Avhen  Stephen  was 
about  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  sent  to  St.  Charles'  Seminary, 
Philadelphia.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1844,  he  entered  the  order  of 
the  Lazarist  Fathers  at  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  and  completed 
his  studies  for  the  ministry  at  St.  Maiy's  of  the  Barrens.  He 
was  ordained  priest  in  St.  Louis,  June  24,  1849,  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  Kenrick.  The  young  priest  remained  for  a  time 
in  Perry  County,  Missouri,  as  professor  and  prefect  in  St.  Mary's 
of  the  Barrens,  and  was  subsequently^  professor  at  Cape  Girardeau. 
He  then  became  president  of  St.  Vincent's  College,  and  filled  that 
important  position  until  the  year  1857,  when  he  was  made  visi- 
tor of  the  Congregation  of  the  Mission  in  the  United  States. 
While  holding  this  position  he  resided  at  St.  Louis  till  it  was 
decided  to  remove  the  mother-house  and  novitiate  of  the  com- 
munity to  Germantown,  Philadelphia.  The  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Ryan 
took  an  important  part  in  creating  the  new  establishment,  and 
made  it  his  residence  till  he  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Buffalo. 
He  was  consecrated  in  his  episcopal  cit}^,  by  Archbishop,  now 
Cardinal,  McCloskey,  on  the  8th  of  November,  1868.     The  origi- 


194 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UjnITED  STATES. 


nal  diocese  of  Buffalo  had  been  diminished  by  the  erection  of  a 
see  at  Rochester,  and,  when  Bishop  Ryan  assumed  the  admin- 
istration, comprised  only  the  counties  of  Erie,  Niagara,  Genesee, 
Orleans,  Chautauqua,  "Wyoming,  Cattaraugus,  Steuben,  Chemung, 
Tioga,  Allegany,  and  Schuyler.  It  contained  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  probably  90,000  souls,  who  had  a  hundred  churches,  at- 
tended by  more  than  a  hundred  priests.  Besides  the  seminary 
established  at  the  bishop's  house,  the  Fathers  of  the  Congregation 
of  the  Mission  had  a  fine  seminary,  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels,  at  the  Suspension  Bridge,  and  the  Reformed  Franciscans 
had  a  college  and  seminary  at  Allegany ;  Redemptorists,  Passion- 
ists,  and  Oblates  had  establishments ;  the  Christian  Brothers  and 
several  orders  of  Sisters  were  engaged  in  training  the  young  or 
employing  the  resources  of  Catholic  charity  for  the  relief  of 
human  miseries.  In  a  few  years  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus  from  Germany  came  to  open  Canisius  College,  in  Buffalo. 

The  Catholic  population  has  not  of  late  years  increased  much 
by  immigration,  and  the  natural  progress  by  births  has  been  re- 
duced by  the  removal   of  many  westward. 


DIOCESE   OF  BURLINGTON. 


EIGHT  KEY.  LOUIS  DE  GOESBRIAND, 

First  Bishop   of  Burlington. 

Louis  de  Goesbeiand  was  born  at  St.  Urbain,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Quimper,  in  the  Catholic  province  of  Brittany,  France,  on 
the  4th  of  August,  1816.  After  pursuing  a  classical  course  at 
Quimper  and  Pont  Croix-Finisterre  he  entered  the  seminary  at 
Quimper,  and  there  and  at  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  went  through  a 
thorough  theological  course.  He  was  oMained  priest  in  Paris 
on  the  13th  of  July,  1840,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Rosati,  Bishop 
of  St.  Louis,  and,  devoting  himself  to  the  American  mission,  came 
to  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  where  he  exercised  the  ministry  from 
September,  1840,  to  October,  1847,  chiefly  as  pastor  of  St.  Louis' 
Church,  near  Canton,  and  St.  Genevieve's,  in  Holmes  County,  and 
at  Toledo,  whence  he  attended  Manhattan,  Providence,  Napoleon, 
and  Decatur.  On  the  erection  of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland 
Bishop  Rappe  made  Rev.  Mr.  de  Goesbriand  his  vicar-general 
and  rector  of  his  cathedral,  which  positions  he  discharged  zeal- 
ously till  he  was  appointed  bishop  of  the  newly-erected  see  of 
Burlington,  Vermont.  Catholicity  had  made  slow  progress  in 
that  State,  although  a  French  fort  and  chapel  were  built  on  Isle 
La  Motte  as  early  as  1666.  Rev.  Mr.  Matignon  visited  the  Ver- 
mont Catholics  in  1815,  followed  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Mignault,  Paul 
McQuade,  James  Fitton,  and  Bishop  Fenwick.  About  1830,  for 
the  first  time,  the  Catholics  in  Vermont  had  a  resident  pastor, 
Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callaghan.  Their  numbers  increased  in  spite 
of  opposition,  and  converts  began  to  come  into  the  Church. 
When  Bishop  de  Goesbriand  took  possession  of  his  see  on  the 
6th  of  November,  1853,  there  were  in  the  whole  State  only  eight 
churches  and  five  priests,  but  not  a  school  or  institution  of  any 
kind.     With  his  missionary  experience  in  the  West,  Bishop  de 

195 


196  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Goesbriand  began  the  work  of  building  up  a  diocese  with  all  the 
zeal  of  a  chivalric  French  priest  of  ancestral  renown. 

He  ai^pealed  to  France  for  priests,  and  from  that  country  and 
elsewhere  gradually  gathered  a  set  of  devoted  clergymen.  Very 
soon  after  he  assumed  the  administration  he  introduced  Sis- 
ters of  Providence,  who  opened  a  day-school,  took  charge  of 
the  orphans,  and  visited  the  sick.  Bishop  de  vloesbriand  was  al- 
ready making  progress  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  twenty-five 
thousand  Catholics.  By  1860,  though  the  number  of  the  faith- 
ful had  not  increased  raj)idly,  there  were  twenty-nine  churches 
and  thirteen  priests.  The  next  decade  showed  an  increase  of 
Catholic  population  to  34,000,  with  38  churches  and  28  priests. 
The  Sisters  of  Providence  extended  their  houses  to  Winooski, 
and  there  were  Catholic  schools  in  Burlington,  Winooski,  Rut- 
land, and  Burlington.  The  ej)iscopal  city  had  a  fine  Gothic  ca- 
thedral, built  of  stone  quarried  on  Isle  La  Motte,  the  cradle  of 
Catholicity  in  Vermont.  In  the  next  fifteen  years  the  population 
had  increased  steadily,  the  Catholic  baptisms  in  1883  being  2,037 
out  of  7,350  infants  born  in  the  State  in  the  year.  The  churches 
had  nearly  doubled,  numbering  71  in  1884,  with  37  priests,  15 
parochial  schools  with  2,846  pupils.  The  Sisters  of  Providence 
are  aided  by  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  Sisters 
of  the  Congregation  of  Our  Lady. 

The  latest  statistics  from  authentic  sources  are  as  follows:  52 
priests,  13  seminarians,  76  churches,  18  parochial  schools  with 
4,000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  50,000. 


DIOCESE  OF   CHARLESTON. 


nmnT  EEV.  JOHN  ENGLAND, 
Firsi  bishop  of  Charleston. 

John  England,  destined  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  Ameri. 
can  bisliops,  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  September  23,  1786,  of  a 
family  tliat  had  suffered  severely  under  the  unchristian  penal 
laws.  Inheriting  their  piety,  he  grew  up  deeply  attached  to  his 
faith.  After  spending  two  years  at  the  study  of  law  John 
England  renounced  the  world  and  entered  Carlo w  College  to 
prepare  for  the  priesthood.  While  a  seminarian  he  showed  his 
missionary  spirit  by  undertaking  the  spiritual  instruction  of  the 
militia  quartered  near  the  college,  and  by  founding  an  asylum 
for  unprotected  women  and  a  free  school.  Before  his  ordina- 
tion he  pleached  in  Carlow  cathedral,  and  was  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Cork.  After  his  ordina- 
tion, October  10,  1808,  he  delivered  a  series  of  lectures  in  the 
cathedral,  and  became  chaplain  of  the  prison.  Soon  after  he 
was  placed  at  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  Theological  Seminary  by 
Bishop  Moylan,  and  appointed  by  his  successor.  Bishop  Murphy, 
parish  priest  of  Bandon,  a  most  bigoted  place,  where  Catholics 
and  their  clergy  were  subjected  to  every  form  of  insult. 

When  the  diocese  of  Charleston  was  established,  embracing 
the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  Dr.  England  was  selected  for  the 
mitre,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  21st  of  September,  1820,  by 
Bishop  Murphy  in  Cork.  On  reaching  his  diocese  Bishop  Eng- 
land found  only  two  churches  and  two  priests.  He  made  a  visi* 
tation  of  his  diocese,  gathering  Catholic  families  together,  en. 
'  couraging  them  to  persevere  in  the  faith  till  he  could  obtain 
priests  for  them.  To  recruit  his  clergy  he  established  a  classical 
school  in  Charleston,  the  teachers  being  candidates  for  holy 
orders,  who  pursued  their  theology  under  the  bishop.     He  re 

197 


198  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

vived  classical  studies  in  tlie  Soutli  and  took  part  in  scientific 
and  literary  associations.  As  a  preacher  he  was  uni\'ersally 
admired,  Protestants  flocking  to  hear  his  discourses.  So  deeply 
did  the  Catholic  bishop  impress  them  that,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Southern  members,  he  was  invited  to  preach  before  the  members 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  at   Washington. 

The  diocese  committed  to  Dr.  England's  charge  involved 
great  exertion  and  labor,  from  which  he  never  shrunk,  but  he  was 
alive  to  the  wants  of  the  Church  in  the  whole  republic.  He 
identified  himself  with  the  country  from  his  consecration,  and 
became  thoroughly  American  in  feeling.  He  endeavored  to 
organize  the  Church  in  each  of  the  States  under  his  care  by 
giving  it  an  annual  convention  of  the  clergy  with  lay  delegates 
from  the  various  congregations.  In  these  conventions  affairs  of 
general  interest  were  discussed.  He  was  the  first,  too,  to  estab- 
lish a  Catholic  paper,  so  as  to  give  the  Church  a  medium  for 
spreading  information,  exciting  faith  and  perseverance,  and  refut- 
ing error  by  the  clear  assertion  of  dogmatic  truth.  The  United 
States  Catholic  Miscellcmy,  founded  and  conducted  by  Bishop 
England,  met  and  repelled  attacks  on  the  Church  with  wonderful 
ability,  forcing  men  who  wished  a  fair  fame  to  be  guarded  in 
repeating  the  oft-refuted  and  stale  calumnies  against  Catholics. 
Bishop  England's  articles  were  read  and  copied  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  producing  incalculable  good.  But  while  his  mind 
was  given  to  the  greatest  topics,  he  never  neglected  his  duties  as 
bishop  or  as  what  he  had  always  to  be — a  hard-working  mis- 
sionary priest.  He  was  devoted  in  his  attention  to  his  flock,  and 
when  the  yellow  fever  and  other  epidemics  visited  Charleston 
he  was  untiring  in  his  attention  to  the  sick,  hastening  in  the  hot- 
test days  to  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  from  whom  all  others 
shrunk  in  horror.  The  condition  of  the  colored  people  excited 
all  his  sympathy,  but  his  efforts  to  educate  and  improve  them 
were  at  that  time  too  little  in  unison  with  the  public  spirit  to 
be  maintained.  He  made  sacrifices  to  save  some  from  the  evils 
of  slavery.  In  one  case  a  Catholic  had  bought  a  beautiful  quad- 
roon, and,  finding  her  possessed  of  a  refined  and  pure  mind,  mar- 
ried her.  Their  two  daughters  were  educated  in  the  best  schools 
of  the  North,  and  possessed  all  the  accomplishments  and  manners 


DIOCESE  OF  CHARLESTON. 

of  cultivated  ladies.  On  their  father's  death  they  supposed 
themselves  heiresses  of  his  property,  but,  to  their  indescribable 
horror,  found  that  their  father  had  neglected  to  make  out  the 
legal  papers  freeing  their  mother.  They  were  slaves  and  part  of 
their  father's  property,  which  all  devolved  on  a  distant  relative. 
The  hard-hearted  man  not  only  took  the  property,  but  sent  the 
two  girls  to  be  sold,  that  he  might  add  the  price  to  his  wealth. 
Bishop  England  gave  all  his  own  means  and  what  he  could  pro- 
cure to  rescue  the  girls  from  the  terrible  fate  before  them. 

Bishop  England,  in  1834,  obtained  a  colony  of  Ursuline  nuns 
from  Ireland,  and  organized  the  community  of  Sisters  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mercy,  founded  in  1829  by  Misses  Mary  and  Honora 
O'Gorman  and  Teresa  Barry.  This  order  still  maintains  its  good 
work. 

Bishop  England  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  promoters  of 
the  project  of  a  Provincial  Council,  and  sat  in  the  first  four  held 
at  Baltimore,  where  his  learning  and  sound  judgment  contri- 
buted greatly  to  the  good  accomplished.  He  thus  exercised  an 
influence  on  the  whole  Church  in  the  United  States ;  and  the 
Holy  Father  employed  him  even  beyond  the  limits  of  our  terri- 
tory, appointing  him,  March  15,  1833,  Visitor- Apostolic  of  Santo 
Domino;o.  He  twice  visited  that  island  to  nesjotiate  such  arrans^e- 
ments  as  would  enable  the  Pope  to  appoint  bishops  for  that  long- 
bereaved  Church.  In  fulfilment  of  the  duties  thus  imposed  upon 
him  Dr.  England  twice  visited  the  island  where  the  first  bish- 
opric  in  America  had  been  established,  and  did  much  to  prepare 
for  a  revival  of  discipline. 

Besides  all  these  labors  Bishop  England  found  time  to  write 
important  v/orks  on  religious  subjects.  His  incessant  labors  at 
last  told  on  a  frame  naturally  vigorous.  Returning  from  Europe 
in  1841,  he  was  no  fewer  than  fifty -two  days  at  sea,  and  when 
dysentery  broke  out  on  the  vessel  he  was  constantly  beside  the 
sick  till  he  himself  was  prostrated.  Landing  at  Philadelphia  in 
an  exti-emely  enfeebled  condition,  he  refused  all  rest,  but 
preached  and  lectured  with  all  his  wonted  brilliancy  in  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore.  After  reaching  Charleston  he  rallied, 
but  the  recovery  was  only  transient.  He  prepared  for  the  last 
moment  with  calmness.     After  addressing  his  clergy  he  received 


200  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  last  sacraments,  and  expired  April  11,  1842,  mourned  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city. 

His  successor.  Bishop  Reynolds,  collected  the  writings  of 
Bishop  England  in  six  volumes,  which  form  one  of  the  most 
prized  works  in  the  libraries  of  the  clergy.  A  selection  of  the 
most  remarkable  writings  of  Bishop  England,  edited  by  Hugh 
P.  McElrone,  was  published  at  Baltimore  in  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  CLANCY, 

Sisliop  of  Oriense,  Coadjutor  of  Charlesto7i,  and   Vicar-Ajposto- 

lie  of  Britisli  Guiana. 

William  Clancy,  a  native  of  Cork,  Ireland,  a  graduate  of 
Carlow  College,  after  acting  as  curate  at  that  institution  and 
filling  a  chair  of  theology,  was  selected,  October  30,  1834,  as 
coadjutor  to  Bishop  England,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Oriense  in  Carlow  cathedral,  February  1,  1835,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Nolan.  Owing  to  a  serious  illness  he  did  not  reach 
Charleston  till  November  21.  He  remained  only  a  short  time 
in  the  diocese,  but  aided  Bishop  England  materially,  and  sat  in 
the  Third  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  in  April,  1S37.  On 
the  12th  of  that  month,  however,  he  had  been  appointed  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  British  Guiana,  and  proceeded  to  that  province. 
His  administration  proved  so  unsatisfactory  that  he  incurred 
censure,  and  the  management  of  the  vicariate  was  in  1838  com- 
mitted to  another.  Bishop  Clancy  returned  to  Ireland,  and  died 
there  in  1847. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHARLESTON.  I'Ol 

RIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  ALOYSIUS  REYNOLDS, 

Second  Bishop  of  Charleston. 

Igxatius  Aloysius  Reynolds  was  born  near  Bardstown,  Ken- 
tucky, August  22,  1798,  of  one  of  the  Catholic  families  that  emi- 
grated from  Maryland  to  that  State.  Trained  under  Bishop 
Flaget  and  Dr.  David,  he  early  showed  a  real  vocation,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  students  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Bards- 
town. Completing  his  course  at  St.  Mary's,  Baltimore,  the 
young  Kentuckian  was  ordained  there  October  24,  1823.  Re- 
turning to  his  native  State,  he  became  professor  and  subsequently 
president  of  St.  Joseph's  College  and  professor  in  the  seminaiy. 
He  bore  his  share  in  the  missionary  duties,  especially  during  the 
visitations  of  the  cholera.  He  succeeded  Bishop  David  as  eccle- 
siastical superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  was  for  many 
years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  before  and  after  the  removal 
of  the  see  to  Louisville. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Fifth  Council  of  Baltimore  nominated 
Rev.  Mr.  Reynolds  as  successor  to  Dr.  England,  and  he  was  con- 
secrated, by  Archbishop  Purcell,  Bishop  of  Charleston  March 
19,  184-1,  in  the  cathedral  of  Cincinnati.  He  made  frequent  visi- 
tations of  his  diocese,  gathered  the  scattered  Catholics,  besides 
winning  many  converts  to  the  faith.  His  flock  numbered  about 
twelve  thousand  in  a  population  of  t^vo  millions,  but  the  diocese 
of  Charleston  was  heavily  in  debt ;  the  frame  cathedral  and 
bishop's  house  were  fast  falling  into  ruins.  Bishop  Reynolds 
visited  Europe  to  obtain  aid,  and  on  his  return  assembled  his 
clergy  for  a  retreat.  He  began  to  collect  means  for  a  suitable 
cathedral,  and  secured  a  site,  but  the  work  was  not  begun  till 
May,  1850.  Bishop  Reynolds  had  the  consolation  of  seeing  it 
dedicated  in  April,  1854.  His  labor  in  his  diocese  was  active 
and  unremitting,  although  his  health  was  never  rugged.  He  at- 
tended the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Councils  of  Baltimore  and  the 
Fii-st  Plenary  Council ;  but  his  strength  failed  and  he  died  of 
congestion  of  the  lungs,  March  9,  1855,  having,  as  his  fellow- 
bishops    declared,  "  worn    himself    out    in    the    service   of    his 


202  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Church."     The  whole  diocese  of  Charleston  deplored  the  loss  of 
the  kind,  generous,  and  laborious  bishop. 


n 


EIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  NIESEN  LYNCH, 

2%ird  Bishop  of  Charleston. 

Patrick  Niesen  Lynch  was  born  at  Clones,  Ireland,  March 
10,  1817,  but  when  only  two  years  old  was  brought  to  this 
country  by  his  parents,  who  settled  at  Cheraw,  South  Carolina. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter  the  seminary  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  when  it  was  opened  by  Bishop  England  in  Charleston, 
and  after  his  preparatory  training  there  was  sent  to  the  College 
of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome.  There  he  took  rank  as  one  of  the 
remarkable  scholars,  winning  his  doctor's  cap  with  honor,  and 
storing  his  mind  with  theological  and  scientific  learning.  After 
his  ordination  in  1840  he  returned  to  Charleston  and  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  cathedral.  In  1844  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Mary's 
Church,  of  which  he  was  pastor  for  eleven  years,  securing  the 
love,  respect,  and  admiration  of  his  flock,  especially  during  the 
yellow  fever  of  1848.  Besides  his  parochial  duties  he  was  jDrin- 
cipal  of  the  Collegiate  Institute,  and  for  many  years  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  Reynolds  the  Very  Rev. 
Dr.  Lynch  became  administrator  of  the  diocese,  and  on  the  11th  of 
December,  1857,  was  elected  to  the  see.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  14th  of  the  ensuing  March.  Catholicity  had  not  grown  in 
the  Southern  States,  as  it  had  at  the  North,  by  immigration,  and 
difficulties  of  many  kinds  embarrassed  the  bishojDS.  Dr.  Lynch 
took  up  his  burden  zealously,  but  the  Civil  War,  which  began 
near  his  episcopal  city,  jDroved  almost  fatal  to  his  diocese.  In 
the  first  year  of  the  war  his  cathedral,  his  residence,  with  the  fine 
library  and  the  diocesan  archives,  were  swept  away  by  a  confla- 
gration, and  the  bombardment  and  siege  of  Charleston  ruined 
and  scattered  his  flock.  In  the  burning  of  Columbia  by  Sher- 
man  the    church,   college,   and    convent   in   that  city  perished. 


DIOCESE  OF  CHARLESTON. 

During  the  war  Bishop  Lyncli  visited  Europe  in  the  interests  of 
the  Confederacy,  and  bore  to  the  Pope  a  letter  from  President 
Davis.  He  returned  to  his  diocese  to  find  all  in  ruins,  priests 
and  people  scattered,  a  debt  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  a  debt  of  even  larger  amount  to  be  incurred  to  re- 
store what  was  absolutely  necessary ;  for  the  governments  creaked 
after  the  peace  were  more  ruinous  even  than  the  desolating  ar- 
mies. Kesources  in  his  own  diocese  there  were  none.  Bishop 
Lynch  was  forced  into  a  kind  of  exile  to  raise  means  to  pay  oiff 
the  load  of  debt,  and  by  his  exertions  he  reduced  it  to  a  com- 
paratively small  amount.  His  mission  duty  in  his  diocese,  espe- 
cially in  the  yellow  fever  of  1871,  was  urn-emitting.  In  1877  he 
underwent  a  surgical  operation  in  Boston  which  gave  him  tem- 
porary relief  from  a  distressing  malady,  but  in  a  year  or  two  the 
difiiculty  returned,  and  it  was  evident  that  it  would  ultimately 
prove  fatal.  Physicians  urged  quiet,  but  the  necessities  of  the 
diocese  required  on  the  part  of  the  bishop  almost  constant  travel 
in  visitations  through  the  diocese  or  collecting  tours  without. 
Bishop  Lynch  returned  from  a  visitation  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  of  South  Carolina  in  December,  1881,  so  prostrated 
that  he  was  brought  to  the  brink  of  the  grave.  He  rallied,  and 
there  was  hope  that  a  change  of  air  might  restore  him ;  but  his 
strength  waned,  and  he  prepared  for  death.  He  made  his  pro- 
fession of  faith,  asked  forgiveness  for  all  his  shortcomings,  and, 
having  received  the  last  sacraments,  he  gave  his  last  benediction 
to  his  clergy,  and  expired  Feb.  26,  1882.  He  had  previously  for- 
bidden all  display,  and  especially  any  sermon,  at  his  funeral. 
Bishop  Lynch  was  a  learned  and  forcible  writer,  and  for  years 
contributed  to  Catholic  publications.  His  articles  on  the  Vatican 
Council,  the  Liquefaction  of  the  Blood  of  St.  Januarius,  and  on 
Galileo  are  among  the  most  notable. 


204  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  l:^  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  P.  NORTHROP, 

Seootid   Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Carolina  and  Fourth  Bishop 

of  Charleston. 

Henry  Pinckney  Northrop  was  born  in  Charleston,  S.  C, 
in  1842,  and,  after  preliminary  studies  in  his  native  city,  en- 
tered Georgetown  College,  and  concluded  liis  university  course 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  gi'aduated.  Feeling  himself 
called  to  the  priesthood,  young  Northrop  entered  the  seminary  at 
Emmittsburg,  but  soon  proceeded  to  Rome,  where  he  received 
the  saered  order  of  priesthood  in  June,  1865.  After  his  ordi- 
nation in  Rome  he  remained  some  time  in  that  city  pursuing 
special  studies  till  his  father's  death  recalled  him  to  his  native 
land.  Entering  on  his  life  as  a  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  North- 
rop was  stationed  at  Wilmington  and  then  at  New  Berne,  N.  C. 
In  1871  he  was  called  to  Charleston  and  made  assistant  at  the 
cathedral.  There  he  remained  till  1877,  when  he  was  made  pas- 
tor of  St.  Patrick's.  His  piety,  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his 
priestly  duties,  and  his  skill  in  management  of  affairs  led  to  his 
election  as  Bishop  of  Rosalia  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Ca- 
rolina in  1881.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Balti- 
more by  Archbishop  Gibbons  on  the  8th  of  January,  1882.  He 
carried  on  the  good  work  so  successfully  begun  in  that  State  by 
Archbishop  Gibbons,  but  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Lynch  he  was, 
by  a  brief  of  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  translated,  on  the  27th  of  January, 
1883.  to  the  see  of  Charleston,  stiU  remaining  administrator 
of  North  Carolina.  He  has  17  priests  with  26  churches  and 
chapels  in  South  Carolina ;  and  9  priests  attending  20  churches 
and  chapels  in  the  North  State.  The  Catholic  population  of 
South  Carolina  is  about  10,000,  that  of  North  Carolina  2,200. 

There  were,  in  1891,  in  the  diocese  of  Charleston,  14  priests,  3 
seminarians,  27  churches  and  chapels,  7  parochial  schools,  and 
over  8,000  adherents. 


DIOCESE   OF   CLEVELAND. 


EIGHT  REV.  AMADEUS  RAPPE, 

First  Bishop  of  Cleveland. 

Amadeus  Rappe  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Arras,  France,  on 
February  2,  1801,  and  enjoyed  so  few  educational  advantages  that 
he  began  life  as  a  shepherd  boy.  He  possessed  talent  and  am- 
bition, and  acquired  an  education.  After  his  ordination  he  came 
to  America  and  Joined  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati  about  1840. 
He  was  assigned  to  laborious  missions — Delaware,  Pikestown,  and 
Portsmouth — but  soon  had  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  Maumee,  with 
Manhattan,  Providence,  Napoleon,  and  Defiance  as  stations.  By 
1845  he  had  churches  at  Providence  and  Defiance.  Soon  after 
he  obtained  as  assistant  the  Rev.  Louis  de  Goesbriand,  now 
Bishoj)  of  Burlington,  the  tw^o  priests  living  at  Toledo  and  at- 
tending all  the  Catholics  in  the  valley  of  the  Maumee.  When 
the  portion  of  Ohio  lying  north  of  latitude  40°  41'  was  erected 
into  a  separate  diocese  in  1847,  with  a  see  at  Cleveland,  the 
energy  and  zeal  of  Rev.  Mr.  Rappe  induced  his  selection  to  wear 
the  mitre.  He  was  consecrated  bishop  of  Cleveland  at  Cincin- 
nati on  the  10th  of  October,  1847.  His  diocese,  when  he  took 
possession  of  it,  contained  about  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics, 
having  thirty-four  churches  attended  by  twenty-eight  priests, 
including  some  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Some  Sisters  of 
the  same  rule  maintained  an  academy.  Ti-ained  as  a  hard-w^ork- 
ing  missionary,  he  labored  to  give  his  flock  more  priests  and 
churches,  establishing  a  theological  seminary  at  an  early  date. 
In  1850  he  founded  an  orphan  asylum  and  introduced  Sisters 
of  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine  to  direct  an  hospital  at  Cleveland. 
The  next  year  the  Ursulines  opened  an  academy  in  the  same 
city,  and  in  a  few  years  others  at  Toledo  and  Tifiin.  St.  John's 
College,  succeeded  by  a  Preparatory  Seminary,  was  founded  in 


206  .   THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

1854.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  (Madame  cl'Youville's)  came  the 
next  year.  Then  Brothers  of  Mary  and  Brothers  of  the  Holy 
Cross.  Next  the  Sisters  of  the  Humility  of  Mary  in  1868,  and 
in  the  following  year  the  Franciscans  at  Cleveland,  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  at  Toledo,  all  came  to  labor  among  the  Catholics  of 
his  diocese,  who  had  by  1870  increased  to  the  number  of 
one  hundred  thousand.  The  34  chui'ches  and  28  priests  were 
represented  by  107  priests  and  160  churches.  The  schools  in 
the  diocese  of  Cleveland  numbered  ninety,  and  charitable  insti- 
tutions abounded ;  Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters 
of  the  Poor,  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Poor  directing  institutions 
for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  erring.  Bishop  Rappe  had  built  up 
the  diocese,  and  might  have  expected  iu  his  declining  years  to 
enjoy  a  happy  old  age  amid  the  clergy  and  people  whom  he  had 
guided  as  a  faithful  pastor  for  twenty  years ;  but  this  was  not  to 
be.  An  ungrateful  o]3position  sprang  up,  calumny  assailed  even 
the  venerable  bishop,  who  with  a  broken  heart  resigned  his  see 
on  the  22d  of  August,  1870,  and  retired  to  the  diocese  of  his 
good  friend  Bishop  de  Goesbriand,  of  Burlington.  There  he  re- 
sumed his  old  missionary  life,  laboring  assiduously  among  the 
peoj)le,  giving  missions  and  retreats,  and  earnestly  advocating 
the  cause  of  temperance.  He  died  piously  at  St.  Alban's,  Ver- 
mont, on  the  8th  of  September,  1877.  Cleveland  claimed  the 
remains  of  her  first  bishop,  which  were  conveyed  to  that  city 
and  interred  with  all  the  honor  due  to  his  life  and  services. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  GILMOUR, 

Second  Bishop  of  Cleveland. 

RiCHAED  GiLMOUR  was  bom  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  on  the 
28th  of  September,  1824,  of  a  family  of  stanch  Covenanters. 
When  four  years  of  age  his  parents  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia,  and 
a  few  years  later  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  When  young  Gil- 
mour  was  about  nineteen  he  one  Sunday  entered  a  Catholic 
church  some  five  miles  from  his  home,  and  w^as  so  struck  by  the 


DIOCESE  OF  CLEVELAND.  207 

sermen  iie  heard  and  by  the  devotion  of  the  people  that  he 
began  to  read,  and,  corresponding  to  the  grace  of  God,  became  a 
Catholic.  Resolving  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
altar,  Mr.  Gilmour  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Em- 
mittsburg,  Md.,  and  was  ordained  priest  by  Archbishop  Pur- 
cell,  August  30,  1852.  He  was  first  appointed  to  missions  in 
southern  Ohio — Portsmouth,  Ironton,  Gallipolis,  AVilkesville — 
laboring  for  five  years  to  give  every  mission  a  church  and  a 
school.  When  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Chui'ch,  Cin- 
cinnati, in  1857,  he  set  to  work  to  erect  a  school-house,  and  in 
time  had  the  finest  building  of  the  kind  in  the  State.  ISo  one 
took  a  more  active  part  towards  advancing  Catholic  education 
than  Rev.  Mr.  Gilmour.  Besides  his"  labors  in  building  schools, 
he  compiled  "  School  Recreations,"  a  collection  of  songs  and  hymns, 
a  Bible  History,  and  a  series  of  readers.  After  being  assigned 
to  a  professor's  chair  in  the  seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  of 
the  West,  Rev.  Mr.  Gilmour  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's 
Church,  Dayton,  and  there  at  once  prepared  the  plans  for  a 
school-house.  On  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Rappe  the  bishops  of 
the  province  of  Cincinnati  nominated  this  zealous  priest  for  the 
see  of  Cleveland,  and  he  was  elected  to  it  on  the  15th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1872,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of  April  in  the  ca- 
thedral of  Cincinnati  by  Archbishop  Purcell.  From  his  en- 
trance into  his  diocese  Bishop  Gilmour  advanced  Catholic  inte- 
rests with  all  the  activity  and  energy  of  his  nature.  Catholic 
education  was  made  paramount,  and,  to  defend  the  interests  and 
principles  of  the  Church  against  the  bigots  who  swarmed  in  that 
part  of  the  State,  he  founded  the  Catholic  Universe,  a  journal 
so  ably  conducted  that  it  soon  became  one  of  the  ablest  pa- 
pers of  the  country.  The  increase  of  Catholic  churches  and 
schools  excited  the  bitterest  feelings,  and  the  advocates  of  the 
Protestant  system  of  public  schools  attempted  to  hamper,  if 
not  crush,  them  by  heavy  taxation.  Bishop  Gilmour  met  them 
in  the  courts  and  won  a  complete  victory.  The  Catholics  of 
the  diocese,  roused  to  the  importance  of  preserving  the  faith  in 
their  families,  are  active  and  alert.  At  the  close  of  the  year 
1884  the  population  of  the  diocese  of  Cleveland  was  estimated  at 
170,000;  the  annual  baptisms  at  7,965;  the  average  number  of 


208  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERAKCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

children  attending  the  123  parochial  schools  is  2G,000.     One  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven  priests  attend  225  churches,  21  chapels,  and  j 
71   stations;    and  a  theological    seminary,    with    fifty-two   semi- 
narians, promises  priests  to  fill  vacancies  and  continue  the  work 
of  the  ministry. 

Bishop  Gilmour  died  at  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  April  13,  1891, 
after  faithfully  serving  the  Church  in  his  diocese  for  nineteen 
years. 

The  diocese  of  Cleveland  presents  tlie  following  statistics  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1891:  priests,  208;  seminarians,  48; 
churches,  229;  chapels  and  stations,  94;  parochial  schools,  127, 
with  26,492  pupils;  and  an  estimated  Catholic  population  of 
209,325;  annual  baptisms,  8,374. 


DIOCESE   OF  COLUMBUS. 


EIGHT  EEV.  SYLVESTEE  H.  EOSECEANS, 

First  Bishop   of   Columbus. 

Sylvestee  Horton  Eosecrans  was  born  in  Homer,  Licking 
County,  Ohio,  February  5, 1827,  his  parents,  Crandall  and  Johanna 
Eosecrans,  of  Wilkesbarre,  Eennsylvania,  being  both  Protes- 
tants. Stephen  Hopkins,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  was  one  of  his  maternal  ancestors.  While  a 
student  at  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  young  Eosecrans  received  a 
letter  from  his  brother,  then  an  officer  in  the  United  States 
Army  and  professor  at  West  Point,  announcing  his  conversion 
to  the  Catholic  faith,  and  giving  his  reasons  for  the  grave  step. 
Sylvester  too  examined,  prayed,  and  was  convinced.  He  was 
received  into  the  Church,  and  completed  his  university  course  at 
St.  John's  College,  Fordham.  Bishop  Purcell,  of  Cincinnati,  re- 
ceived him  as  a  seminarian,  and  sent  him  to  Eome  to  study  at 
the  Propaganda.  After  his  ordination  in  1852  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  St.  Thomas'  Church,  Cincinnati,  but  was  soon  made 
assistant  at  the  cathedral.  There  for  seven  years  he  discharged 
his  duties  as  a  missionary  priest,  besides  giving  his  daily  attend- 
ance as  a  professor  in  the  theological  seminary.  One  night, 
returning  from  the  seminary,  he  was  attacked  by  two  ruffians 
and  received  a  pistol-ball  in  his  body.  Without  informing  any 
one  on  reaching  the  house,  he  attempted  to  extract  the  ball,  but 
was  discovered  and  a  surgeon  summoned.  From  1859  to  1861 
he  was  president  of  a  college  connected  with  the  seminary,  and 
edited  the  Catliolic  Telegraph.  In  1862  he  was  appointed  Bishop 
of '  Pompeiopolis  and  Auxiliary  of  Cincinnati,  and  was  conse- 
crated by  Archbishop  Purcell  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation. 
For  six  years  Bishop  Eosecrans  continued  to  aid  the  venerable 
archbishop  in  the  affairs  of  the  diocese  in  which  he  was  so  well 

209 


210  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

known.  On  tlie  election  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  to  tlie  see 
of  Little  Rock,  Dr.  Rosecfans  assumed  tlie  pastorship  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's Church,  Columbus,  and  a  few  months  afterwards  the  dio- 
cese of  Columbus  was  created.  It  embraced  the  part  of  the 
State  south  of  40°  41',  and  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  Scioto 
rivers,  as  well  as  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Delaware,  and  Mor- 
row. The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Rosecrans  became  Bishop  of  Colum- 
bus March  3,  1868.  The  j^ortion  of  the  State  thus  assigned  to 
his  exclusive  care  contained  about  forty  churches  and  as  many 
priests,  with  forty  thousand  Catholics.  St.  Joseph's,  with  its 
Dominican  convent,  the  cradle  of  Catholicity  in  Ohio,  was  in 
his  diocese.  At  Columbus  there  were  three  Catholic  churches, 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  of  Notre  Dame,  and  Franciscan 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  the  first  organization  of  the  faithful  dating 
back  to  1833.  Soon  after  the  erection  of  the  see  the  Dominican 
Sisters,  aided  by  two  chai'itable  gentleman,  erected  their  aca- 
demy of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Springs  near  Columbus.  Bishop 
Rosecrans  soon  began  the  erection  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral  near 
the  State  House,  and  made  it  the  most  substantial  and  imposing 
edifice  in  the  capital  of  the  State.  In  1871  St  Aloysius'  Semi- 
nary for  young  men,  erected  by  his  efforts,  was  opened  for 
scholars.  Bishop  Rosecrans  fixed  on  the  20th  of  October,  1878, 
for  the  consecration  of  his  cathedral,  and  the  solemnity  was  at- 
tended by  eight  bishops  and  some  fifty  priests.  In  the  after- 
noon, about  the  time  of  Vespers,  he  was  seized  with  a  hemor- 
rhage, and,  though  medical  aid  was  summoned,  it  was  soon  evi- 
dent that  the  case  was  hopeless.  After  receiving  the  last  sacra- 
ments Bishop  Rosecrans  expired  on  Monday,  the  21st,  the  next 
solemn  function  in  the  cathedral  being  his  own  funeral  rites. 

Bishoj)  Rosecrans  was  a  man  of  solid  learning  and  an  active 
administrator.  In  life  he  was  simple,  averse  to  all  ostentation, 
living  at  the  orphan  asylum,  and  making  the  fatherless  his 
companions. 

The  diocese  during  his  episcopate  did  not  increase  greatly 
in  the  number  of  Catholics,  but  he  left  52  priests,  77  churches, 
and  28  parochial  schools,  with  hospitals  and  asylums  for  the 
fifty  thousand  Catholics  under  his  care. 


DIOCESE  OF  COLUMBUS.  213 

RIGHT   REV.    JOHN  AMBROSE   WATTERSON, 

Second  Bishop  of  Columbus. 

John  Ajvibrose  Watterson  was  born  at  Blairsville,  Indiana 
County^  Pennsylvania,  May  27,  1844.  At  an  early  age  lie  was 
sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's,  Emmittsburg,  in  which  time-honored 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  1865.  After  pursuing  theological 
studies  there  he  was  ordained  priest  at  St.  Vincent's  Abbey  by 
Bishop  Domenec,  August  8,  1868.  By  permission  of  his  bishop 
he  returned  to  Emmittsburg  and  became  a  member  of  the  facul- 
ty of  his  Alma  Mater.  In  October,  1877,  he  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed the  Rev.  John  McCloskey,  D.D.,  as  president  of  the  college, 
and  on  the  24th  of  June  following  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Di- 
vinity was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  faculty  of  Georgetown 
College.  He  was  selected  in  1880  to  succeed  Bishop  Rosecrans 
in  the  see  of  Columbus,  and,  even  before  his  consecration,  was 
called  upon  to  grapple  with  the  financial  difficulties  of  the  dio- 
cese to  which  he  had  been  called.  He  was  consecrated  on  Sun- 
day, August  8,  1880,  in  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral,  Columbus,  by  the 
Right  Rev.  William  H.  Elder,  administrator  of  Cincinnati.  As 
he  passed  out  of  the  sanctuary  he  stepped  aside  to  raise  his  con- 
secrated hands  in  benediction  over  the  head  of  the  mother  who 
had  taught  him  his  first  prayer  to  God. 

The  diocese  of  Columbus  is  a  compact  one,  increasing  by 
natural  growth  rather  than  by  immigration.  Feeling  that  the 
future  of  his  flock  depends  on  the  education  of  the  young,  Bish- 
op Watterson,  who  had  so  long  been  engaged  in  training  youth, 
had  by  the  close  of  1 884  established  a  Catholic  college  at  Co- 
lumbus, and  has  besides  th;-ee  academies,  thirty-two  parochial 
schools  attended  by  6,482  children — a  very  large  proportion  out 
of  a  population  which  the  parish  reports  fixed  at  50,500,  the  an- 
nual baptisms  being  2,291. 

There  were,  in  this  diocese,  in  1891 :  priests,  88;  seminarians, 
13;  churches,  94;  chapels  and  stations,  37;  parochial  schools,  37, 
with  7,322  pupils;  and  a  Catholic  population  of  54,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  GEORGE  A.   CARRELL, 

Fi7'St  Bishop  of  Covington. 

George  Aloysius  Carrell  was  born  in  tlie  Penn  mansion, 
Philadelphia,  June  13,  1803,  of  a  family  that  had  settled  in  that 
city  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  was 
sent  tp  Mount  St.  Mary's,  but  was  graduated  at  Georgetown.  He 
then  entered  the  Society  of  Jesus,  but  completed  his  theological 
course  at  Mount  St.  Mary's,  and  was  ordained  in  PhiladeljDhia  in 
1829.  After  being  assistant  at  St.  Augustine's,  in  that  city,  at- 
tending missions  in  New  Jersey,  and  afterwards  pastor  of  Holy 
Trinity,  he  was  stationed  at  "Wilmington,  Delaware.  There  for 
several  years  he  effected  great  good,  establishing  an  academy 
and  a  school  on  a  solid  basis.  Having  been  admitted  to  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  he  was  appointed  professor  in  the  University  of 
St.  Louis,  and  subsequently  president  of  that  institution,  and  at 
a  later  date  of  one  near  Cincinnati.  AVhen  the  eastern  part  of 
Kentucky  was  formed  into  a  diocese,  with  a  see  at  Covington,  Fa- 
ther Carrell  was  elected  to  it,  July  29,  1853,  and  received  con- 
secration on  All  Saints'  Day.  The  district  was  large,  but  con- 
tained only  ten  churches  and  seven  priests.  His  first  care  was  to 
meet  the  wants  of  his  flock,  especially  by  giving  them  schools ; 
for  this  purpose  he  introduced  the  Ursuline,  Benedictine,  and 
Visitation  Nuns,  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
of  St.  Francis.  Self-denying  and  laborious.  Bishop  Carrell  lived 
to  gather  thirty-three  priests  in  his  diocese,  to  see  forty-two 
churches  and  many  stations  attended  by  them.  The  Benedictine 
Fathers  came  to  minister  to  the  Germans,  Rev.  Dom  Louis  M. 
Fink  being  prior.  Though  Kentucky  was  the  scene  of  many 
military  operations  during  the  Civil  War,  the  diocese  of  Coving- 
ton was  spared  much  of  the  horrors,  and  religion  steadily  ad- 

214 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 


vanced.  Bishop  Carrell  lived  to  repair  to  some  extent  the  evil 
caused  by  the  war.  He  died  on  the  25th  of  September,  1868, 
after  having  long  endured  with  cheerful  patience  the  sufferings 
caused  by  a  complication  of  diseases. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTUS  MARY  TOEBBE, 

Second  Bishop  of  Covington. 

Augustus  Mary  Toebbe  was  born  on  the  l7th  of  January, 
1829,  at  Meppen,  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover.  After  passing 
through  the  Gymnasium  in  that  place  he  began  to  prepare  for 
commercial  life,  but  his  pious  inclinations  led  him  to  seek  to 
serve  God  in  the  ecclesiastical  state.  To  this  end  he  came  to 
America  in  1852,  and  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Cincinnati. 
He  was  ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  September  14,  1854, 
and  assigned  to  a  laborious  district  extending  from  Columbia  to 
Ripley.  Here  he  labored  night  and  day  with  the  utmost  zeal 
till  January,  1857,  when  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Boniface's 
Church,  Cumminsville ;  after  about  a  year's  duty  here  Rev.  Mr. 
Toebbe  became  rector  of  St.  Philomena's  Church  in  Cincinnati. 
Esteemed  as  a  learned  no  less  than  a  zealous  priest,  he  was  one 
of  the  theologians  at  the  First  Plenary  Council.  On  the  27th 
of  September,  1869,  bulls  issued  naming  Rev.  Mr.  Toebbe  to 
the  see  of  Covington,  and  he  was  consecrated  on  the  9th  of 
January,  1870,  in  St.  Philomena's  Church,  by  Bishop  Rosecrans. 
On  taking  possession  of  his  see  Bishop  Toebbe  gave  his  attention 
to  those  Catholics  who,  isolated  from  churches,  neglected  their 
duties  and  were  overlooked.  By  this  good  work  he  rescued 
many,  and,  inspiring  parents  with  a  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
their  children,  saved  another  generation.  Under  his  prudent 
and  careful  direction  churches  increased,  and  the  clergy  emu- 
lated his  zeal.  He  visited  Rome  in  1878,  returning  by  way  of 
Germany,  France,  and  Ireland.  On  the  14th  of  September, 
1879,  he   celebrated  the  silver   jubilee  of   his  priesthood,  and 


216  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

two  (lays  after  oj^ened  liis  Diocesan  Synod.  He  introduced  the 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 
His  life  was  one  of  labor,  privation,  and  prayer.  He  lived  to 
see  fifty -two  churches  in  his  diocese  for  his  forty  thousand  Ca- 
tholic souls,  attended  by  fifty-six  priests,  with  orphan  and  found- 
ling asylums,  a  hospital,  and,  best  of  all,  thirty-five  parochial 
schools.     He  died,  universally  regretted,  May  2,  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  GAMILLUS  PAUL  MAES, 

Third  Bislio])  of  Covington. 

The  third  Bishop  of  Covington,  Right  Rev.  Camillus  Paul 
Maes,  is  a  native  of  Belgium,  born  at  Courtrai,  in  West  Flanders, 
March  18,  1846.  He  made  his  classical  studies  in  the  college  of 
his  native  city,  and  entered  the  seminary  at  Bruges  to  prepare 
for  the  priesthood.  Desirous,  however,  of  devoting  himself  to  the 
missions  in  this  country,  he  proceeded  to  the  American  College 
at  Lou  vain,  where  he  completed  his  theological  course  and  was 
ordained  for  the  diocese  of  Detroit,  December  18,  1868.  On  his 
arrival  in  Michigan  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  Mount  Cle- 
mens ;  and,  after  two  gears'  service  there,  was  assigned  to  Monroe, 
one  of  the  oldest  seats  of  Catholicity.  Here  he  became  pastor 
of  St.  Mary's  Church  in  1871,  and  two  years  later  of  St.  John's. 
In  this  city  he  was  soon  known  as  a  learned  and  studious  priest, 
full  of  zeal,  in  the  discharge  of  his  ministry,  and  devoted  to 
everything  that  bore  on  education  and  charity.  His  leisure  was 
given  to  study,  and  he  became  greatly  interested  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Church  in  this  country.  He  obtained  a  mass  of 
papers  relating  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Nerinckx,  a  Belgian  priest 
who  labored  as  a  saint  on  the  Kentucky  mission  and  founded 
the  Sisters  of  Loretto ;  but  they  were  given  to  him  on  condition 
that  he  should  write  the  life  of  that  pioneer  priest.  His  work 
is  one  of  the  most  thorough  and  iuterestino;  in  the  Catholic 
libraries.     In  1880  Rev.  Mr.  Maes  became  secretary  to   Bishop 


DIOCESE  OF  COVINGTON. 

Borgess,  and  in  that  capacity  he  organized  the  collections  for  the 
support  of  the  diocesan  seminary  and  rendered  essential  services 
in  every  department  of  administration. 

In  September,  1884,  he  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Covington, 
and  attended  the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  After  its  close 
he  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Covington  by  Arch- 
bishop Elder,  of  Cincinnati,  assisted  by  Bishop  Borgess  of  De- 
troit and  Bishop  McCloskey  of  Louisville,  on  the  25th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1885. 


t 


DIOCESE  OF  DAYENPORT. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  McMULLEN, 

First  Bishop  of  Davenport. 

John  McMullen  was  born  on  the  8tli  of  March,  1833,  at 
Ballinahinch,  County  Down,  Ireland.  When  he  was  in  hia 
fourth  year  his  family  emigrated  to  Canada,  but  finally  settled  at 
Chicago.  There  John  was  graduated  from  St.  Mary's  College  in 
1853,  and,  proceeding  to  Rome,  studied  in  the  Urban  College. 
He  was  ordained  in  1858  and  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Luke's,  but 
took  an  active  part  in  erecting  churches  on  the  suburbs  of  Chi- 
cago. He  was  president  of  the  University  of  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Lake  for  four  years,  and  was  then  for  three  years  professor  of 
Hebrew  and  philosophy  at  the  seminary.  In  October,  1870,  he 
was  named  pastor  of  the  cathedral,  and  in  1877  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese.  During  the  illness  of  Bishop  Duggan  his  position 
was  one  of  difficulty  and  trial,  and  he  appealed  to  Rome  before 
it  was  generally  recognized  that  the  unfortunate  bishop  was  not 
responsible.  On  the  death  of  Bishop  Foley  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mc- 
Mullen became  administrator  of  the  diocese,  but  in  July,  1881, 
the  pope  selected  him  to  fill  the  important  see  of  Davenport. 
He  was  consecrated  bishop  on  July  25,  1881.  His  incessant 
toil  in  making  the  visitations  of  his  diocese,  during  which  he  con- 
filmed  six  thousand  persons,  and  his  endeavors  to  meet  all  the 
wants  which  he  discovered,  broke  down  his  health,  and  physi- 
cians, unable  to  decide  what  his  malady  really  was,  recommend- 
ed a  change  of  climate.  After  a  short  stay  at  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, Bishop  McMullen  returned  to  Davenport,  where  he  was 
soon  prostrated  again,  cancer  in  the  stomach  having  declared 
itself.  Incessant  care  and  anxiety,  with  litigation  which  he 
found  necessary,  had  told  fatally  on  his  constitution.  He  lin- 
gered for  a  few  months,  bearing  his  sufferings  with  heroic  firm- 


DIOCESE  OF  DAVEXPORI.  219 

ness.  Fortified  by  all  the  sacraments,  Bishop  McMullen  expired 
at  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  1883.  From  his  en- 
trance into  the  diocese  Dr.  McMullen  had  won  the  esteem  of 
the  Protestant  community  and  the  loving  veneration  of  his  own 
flock  for  his  life-long  devotion  to  works  of  piety  and  charity. 


RIGHT  REV.  HENRY  COSGROVE, 

Second  Bishop  of  Davenport. 

Henry  Cosgeove  was  born  in  Williamsport,  Pa.,  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1834.  His  parents,  John  and  Bridget  Cosgrove, 
had  emigrated  to  this  country  some  years  before,  but,  when  their 
son  was  eleven  years  of  age,  removed  to  the  West  and  settled 
at  Dubuque.  There  Henry  was  often  an  acolyte  in  the  cathe- 
dral when  Bishop  Loras  officiated,  and  when  he  was  fifteen 
he  began  his  studies  for  the  priesthood  under  Very  Rev.  Mr. 
Cretin.  After  going  through  his  higher  and  theological  course 
at  St.  Mary's,  Perry  County,  and  the  seminary  at  Carondelet, 
Henry  Cosgrove  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Smythe,  being  the  first 
to  receive  holy  orders  at  his  hands.  On  the  6th  of  September, 
1857,  eleven  days  after  his  ordination,  the  young  priest  was  sent 
to  Davenport  as  assistant  to  Rev.  A.  Trevis,  of  St.  Marguerite's ; 
but  for  a  year  he  was  in  full  charge,  the  pastor  being  absent  in 
Europe.  In  1862  he  became  pastor,  and  j)i*oceeded  to  make  his 
church  and  school  meet  the  wants  of  the  large  congregation 
that  had  grown  up  in  the  parish.  In  1865  he  enlarged  the 
church,  and  in  1869  erected  a  large  and  handsome  brick  school- 
house.  Ever  devoted  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  flock,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Cosgrove  found  them  equally  devoted  to  him  and 
ready  to  carry  out  all  his  projects.  On  the  28th  of  August, 
1882,  they  surprised  him  by  a  celebration  of  his  silver  jubilee, 
many  of  the  priests  of  the  diocese  joining  in  the  popular  ova- 
tion. When  Dr.  McMullen  was  made  bishop  he  selected  St. 
Marguerite's  Church  as  his  cathedral,  and  appointed  Rev.  Mr. 


220 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Cosgrove  vicar-general  of  tlie  diocese.  In  that  position  he  gave 
Bishop  McMullen  most  important  and  constant  aid.  Recog- 
nizing this,  and  regarding  him  as  one  of  the  most  devoted  and 
useful  priests  in  the  West,  Bishop  McMullen  left  a  sealed  let- 
ter to  be  opened  after  his  death,  in  which  the  Very  Rev.  Henry 
Cosgrove  was  aj)23ointed  administrator  sede  vacante.  The  bishops 
of  the  province  proposed  him  to  the  Holy  See  as  successor  of 
Bishop  McMullen,  and  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  almost  unani- 
mously solicited  his  appointment.  The  Holy  Father  issued  the 
bulls,  and  he  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  day  of  September,  1884, 
and  as  Bishop  of  Davenport  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil. Bishop  Cosgrove  was  the  first  native  of  the  United  States 
who  has  filled  a  see  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  His  diocese 
in  the  commencement  of  the  year  1885  contained  seventy-nine 
priests,  who  had  under  their  care  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
churches.  The  Catholic  population  had  been  estimated  in  1883 
at  45,690,  and  in  1885  there  were  nearly  five  thousand  childre» 
in  the  Catholic  parochial  schools. 

The  diocese  of  Davenport  contained,  in  1891,  the  following, 
viz.:  93  priests,  18  seminarians,  143  churches,  47  chapels  and  sta- 
tions, 34  parochial  schools  with  3,940  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  51,750. 


DIOCESE  OF  DETROIT. 


EIGHT  KEV.  FKEDERIC  RESfi, 

First  Bishop  of  Detroit. 

Feedekic  Kese  was  born  at  Hildesheim,  in  tlie  kinodom  of 
Hanover,  in  1797,  and  during  the  wars  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion was  drawn  into  the  military  service.  As  a  di'agoon  he 
fought  under  Bliicher  at  Waterloo.  With  the  return  of  peace 
he  sought  a  far  different  career.  Proceeding  to  Rome,  he  be- 
came a  student  at  the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  resolved  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  missions.  His  first  experience  was  in  Africa, 
but  he  soon  selected  the  American  field.  Bishop  Fenwick,  who 
wished  German  priests,  gladly  accepted  him  for  his  state,  and 
he  came  to  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati  with  that  prelate  in  1825. 
He  entered  on  the  mission  work  with  zeal  and  energy.  As  sec- 
retary he  rendered  great  services  to  the  bishop,  and  was  sent 
by  him  to  Europe  in  1827  to  obtain  priests  for  his  extended 
diocese.  It  Avas  due  to  this  urgent  appeal,  especially  in  behalf 
of  the  scattered  German  Catholics  in  the  United  States,  that 
the  Leopold  Society  was  founded  in  Austria.  After  sending 
over  several  priests  and  aid  for  the  missions  the  Rev.  Mr  Rese 
returned  to  Ohio  in  1828,  and  resumed  his  work  in  that  State 
and  Michigan.  He  was  soon  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese ; 
and  when  it  was  resolved  to  erect  Detroit  into  an  episcopal  see, 
no  one  seemed  more  worthy  than  the  zealous  German  priest. 
He  was  consecrated  October  6,  1833,  and  soon  after  took  his 
seat  in  the  Second  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore.  His  dio- 
cese comprised  Michigan  and  Northwest  Territory,  now  AVis- 
con'sin.  It  contained  fourteen  priests  and  some  ten  or  twelve 
churches.  Dr.  Rese  established  a  college  at  Detroit  and  in- 
troduced the  Franciscan  Sisters  known  as  Poor  Clares,  who 
opened  academies  at  D'^troit  and  Green  Bay.     He  made  efforts 


222 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


to  revive  the  faitli  of  tlie  Catholic  Indians,  and  established 
schools  among  them.  But  his  administration  was  not  on  the 
whole  prosperous;  he  lost  self-control  and  resolved  to  resign 
his  see.  When  the  Third  Provincial  Council  met  in  April,  1837, 
Bishop  Rese  addressed  the  archbishop  and  his  suffragans,  ten- 
dering: his  resiofnation  of  the  see  of  Detroit,  and  askins:  their 
influence  to  have  it  accepted.  He  retained,  however,  the  title 
of  Bishop  of  Detroit,  and,  proceeding  to  Europe,  resided  for 
some  years  in  Rome,  but  in  1848  returned  to  his  native  place, 
where  he  died  December  27,  1871. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  PAUL  LEFEVERE, 

Bishop  of  Zela  and  Administrator  of  Detroit. 

Peter  Paul  Lefevere  was  born  at  Roulers,  in  the  diocese  of 
Bruges,  April  30,  1804.  After  a  classical  course  in  his  own  Bel- 
gian province  of  West  Flanders  he  studied  theology  at  Paris, 
and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1828  and  was  ordained  by 
Bishop  Rosati  at  St.  Louis  in  1831.  He  was  first  stationed  at 
New  Madrid,  but  was  soon  sent  to  the  northern  part  of  Mis- 
souri, his  mission  district  extending  into  Iowa  and  Illinois.  We 
find  the  zealous  Belgian  priest  for  several  years  at  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Salt  River,  Ralls  County,  extending  his  services  to  Pike, 
Lincoln,  Monroe,  Marion,  Lewis,  Clarke,  and  Shelby  counties. 
Ere  long  Rev.  Mr.  Lefevere  was  erecting  churches  at  Cincinnati 
town,  Louisville,  Sandy  Creek,  and  W3'aconda.  In  1840  he  at- 
tended the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theoloo^ian 
of  the  Bishop  of  Vincennes,  and  subsequently  visited  Europe  to 
appeal  for  aid  for  the  missions.  Meanwhile  his  name  had  been 
forwarded  to  Rome  for  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Rese,  of  Detroit,  and 
administrator  of  the  diocese.  His  bulls  a^vaited  his  return.  He 
was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Kenrick  in  Philadelphia,  November 
21,  1841.  The  diocese  had  been  for  four  years  without  a  bishop, 
and  contained  twenty  tliousand  Catholics,  for  whom  there  were 
some  twenty  churches  attended  by  seventeen  priests.     Bishop 


DIOCESE  OF  DETROIT.  223 

Lefevere  began  to  restore  order  in  the  long-widowed  diocese. 
In  1844  he  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  and  dedicated  it  June  29,  1848.  Meanwhile  Wis- 
consin was  taken  from  the  diocese  of  Detroit  in  1844,  when  a  see 
was  erected  at  Milwaukee.  The  State  of  Michigan,  thus  left 
under  his  care,  contained  thirty-seven  churches  and  chapels, 
fourteen  priests,  sixteen  academies  and  schools,  with  several  In- 
dian missions,  all  with  schools.  In  1845  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  already  directed  an  academy,  opened  also  a  hospital ;  the 
next  year  the  bishop  founded  the  theological  seminary  of  St. 
Thomas.  In  1848  the  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary 
opened  an  academy  at  Monroe,  and  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
one  at  Bertrand.  Three  years  after  Bishop  Lefevere  added  to 
the  teaching  orders  in  his  diocese  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  the  Christian  Brothers,  who  were  soon  followed  by 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  In  1853  the  northern  peninsula  of 
Michigan,  lying  along  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  was 
formed  into  an  apostolic-vicariate.  The  diocese  of  Detroit, 
thus  again  reduced,  contained  sixty  churches,  thirty-four  priests, 
an  ecclesiastical  seminary,  three  academies  for  young  ladies, 
twenty-four  Catholic  schools,  and  an  hospital,  with  a  Catholic 
population  of  85,000. 

Bishop  Lefevere  was  anxious  to  establish  in  Europe  a  semi- 
nary that  would  train  candidates  for  the  American  mission.  The 
project  was  not  generally  supported,  but  he  persevered,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  the  great  Bishoj^  Spalding,  of  Louisville,  was  able  to 
see  his  plan  carried  into  operation  by  the  establishment  of  the 
American  College  at  Louvain,  which  has  furnished  so  many  ex- 
cellent priests.  He  introduced  the  Redemptorists  once  more  into 
his  diocese,  and  continued  year  by  year  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  flock  confided  to  him.  After  taking  part  in  the  con- 
secration of  Bishop  Mrak,  February  7,  1869,  Dr.  Lefevere  was 
taken  seriously  sick,  and  expired  on  the  4th  of  March.  During 
Bishop  Lefevere's  long  and  able  direction  of  the  Church  in 
Michigan  Catholicity  had  grown  rapidly  in  tlie  southern  penin- 
sula, so  that  he  left  eighty  churches  with  eiglity-eight  priests  in 
place  of  the  twenty  churches  and  seventeen  priests  that  he  found 
on  his  arrival.     He  extended  tlie  system  of  parochial  schools, 


224  THItS  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  left  a  hospital,  a  house  for  the  insane,  and.  orphan  asylums, 
for  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  150,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  CASPAR  H.  BORGESS, 

Second  Bishop  of  Detroit. 
Caspar  Henry  Borgess  was  born  on  the  1st  of  August,  1826, 
at  Essen,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Oldenburg.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  in  April,  1839,  in  his  thirteenth  year.  After  hav- 
ing made  the  preliminary  course  of  studies  and  finished  philosophy 
in  St.  Charles's  Seminary,  Philadelphia,  he  entered  St.  Xavier's 
College,  Cincinnati,  in  October,  1845,  and  studied  theology  under 
the  able  professor.  Rev.  L.  Nota,  S.J.  He  was  ordained  by 
Archbishop  Purcell  on  the  8th  of  December,  1848,  and  said 
his  first  Mass  in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  He  was 
then  made  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Holy  Cross  in  Co- 
lumbus. After  ten  years'  service  at  this  church  and  its  mis- 
sions the  Rev.  Mr.  Borgess  was  made  rector  of  the  cathedral  of 
Cincinnati  and  chancellor  of  the  diocese.  The  important  func- 
tions thus  imposed  upon  him  he  discharged  for  eleven  years,  till 
the  venerable  Pontiif  Pius  IX.,  on  the  8th  of  February,  1870,  ap- 
pointed him  Bishop  of  Calydon  and  administrator  of  the  diocese 
of  Detroit.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of  April,  in  the 
cathedral  at  Cincinnati,  by  Bishop  Rosecrans,  assisted  by  Bish- 
ops Luers  and  Feehan.  The  new  coadjutor  assumed  direction  of 
the  diocese,  and  in  December,  1871,  became  by  succession  second 
Bishop  of  Detroit.  Under  his  able  management  the  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers have  established  a  college  at  Detroit,  and  the  Franciscans 
a  central  house  and  scholasticate ;  the  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
and  Nuns  of  the  Good  Shepherd  arrived.  Bishop  Borgess  had  at  the 
commencement  of  the  year  1885  79  churches,  104  priests,  a  col- 
lege, 3  academies,  45  parochial  schools  under  Brothers  of  the 
Christian  Schools,  Franciscan  Brothers,  Sisters  of  the  Immaculate 
Heart  of  Mary,  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  of  St.  Dominic,  of  Chris- 
tian Charity,  Sisters  of  Providence,  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes,  Polish 
Franciscan  Sisters,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  with  more  than 
10,000  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  102,655 — the  annual 
baptisms  being  5,346. 


DIOCESE  OP  DETROIT.  225 

On  the  5tli  of  September,  1886,  the  Diocesan  Preparatory  Sem- 
inary was  opened  in  the  city  of  Monroe. 

The  administration  of  Bishop  Borgess  was  disturbed  by  the 
turbulent  conduct  of  the  congregation  of  a  Polish  church  in  De- 
troit. He  resigned  the  see  on  the  16th  of  April,  1887,  and  took 
up  his  residence  at  Cottage  Grove,  Wayne  Co.,  the  Very  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Joos  becoming  administrator.     He  died  May  3,  1890. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  S.  FOLEY,  D.D., 
Third  Bishop  of  Detroit, 

Iisr  1888  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop 
Borgess,  elected  to  the  see  of  Detroit  the  Rev.  John  S.  Foley. 

This  clergyman  was  of  a  family  from  Enniscorthy,  Ireland,  his 
gi-andfather  having  fought  sturdily  at  Vinegar  Hill.  His  parents 
came  to  the  United  States  in  1817,  and  took  up  theii"  residence  in 
Baltimore,  where  John  S.  was  bom,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1833. 
He  entered  St.  Mary's  College  in  1842,  and  after  a  brilliant  com'se 
received  his  desfi'ee  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  before  he  was  seventeen. 
Like  his  brother  Thomas,  who  rose  in  time  to  be  Bishop  at  Chicago, 
John  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  ser^dce  of  the  altar.  He 
entered  the  seminaiy  at  Baltimore,  but  was  subsequently  sent  to 
Rome,  where  he  was  the  first  American  student  at  the  Apollinaris, 
the  Diocesan  Seminary,  Rome.  He  was  ordained  priest  by  Cardinal 
Patrizi,  November  20,  1856,  and  remained  a  year  in  Rome  to  com- 
plete his  studies  and  win  the  doctor's  cap.  On  his  return  to  his 
native  diocese  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Bridget's  Church,  Canton, 
attending  Port  Deposit  and  Havre  de  Grace.  In  1857  he  was 
appointed  to  Ellicott  City,  Md.,  where  he  remained  six  years. 
Having  been  summoned  to  Baltimore,  he  organized  St.  Martin's 
parish  and  erected  the  church.  Dr.  Foley  has  long  been  regarded 
as  a  man  of  conspicuous  zeal  and  ability,  and  held  important  posi- 
tions in  the  diocese.  At  tiie  thii-d  Plenary  Council  he  acted  as 
Chancellor. 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE. 


EIGHT  KEV.  MATTHIAS  LOKAS, 

First  Bishop  of  Dahuque. 

Matthias  Loeas  was  born  in  Lyons,  France,  in  July,  1792, 
of  a  family  eminent  for  their  piety  and  social  position.  His 
father  fell  a  victim  to  the  infidel  revolutionists  soon  after  his 
birth,  but,  trained  by  his  mother,  young  Matthias  studied  for  the 
priesthood,  and  was  ordained  about  1817.  Notwithstanding  hi? 
youth  he  was  soon  after  made  superior  of  the  seminary  of  Lar- 
gentiere.  and  resigned  the  position  only  to  join  a  band  of  excel- 
lent priests  who  gave  missions  in  the  parishes.  When  Bishop 
Portier,  in  1829,  visited  France  to  seek  missionaries,  Eev.  Mr. 
Loras  oifered  his  services  and  reached  Mobile  with  the  bishop 
January  3,  1830.  For  seven  years  he  was  pastor  of  the  cathedral 
and  vicar-general  of  the  diocese ;  but  when  the  Holy  See,  on  the 
28th  of  July,  1837,  erected  Iowa  and  Minnesota  into  a  diocese, 
Rev.  Mr.  Loras  was  appointed  the  first  bishop,  and  was  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Portier  on  the  10th  of  December.  In  the  dio- 
cese assigned  to  him  there  was  but  one  half-finished  church  and 
one  priest.  Bishop  Loras  proceeded  first  of  all  to  France,  where 
he  obtained  two  priests  and  four  seminarians,  and  with  these 
started  for  Dubuque,  and  was  installed  as  bishop  April  29,  1839. 
He  at  once  began  with  his  few  priests  to  build  churches  and 
schools,  calling  the  Sisters  of  Charity  to  aid  as  teachers.  He 
made  a  thorough  visitation  of  his  diocese,  finding  many  Cana- 
dians and  half-breeds,  whom  he  brought  back  to  their  religious 
duties.  He  also  established  missions  among  the  Sioux,  Foxes, 
and  Winnebagoes.  Under  the  care  of  Bishop  Loras  the  com- 
munity of  Sisters  of  Charity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  founded  in 
Philadelphia  by  Very  Rev.  T.  C.  Donaghoe,  was  greatly  devel- 

!tt7 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

oped,  rendering  essential  service  to  tlie  diocese  of  Dubuque. 
Bisliop  Loras  encouraged  and  guided  Catliolic  immigration,  so 
as  to  afford  the  incoming  settlers  every  facility  for  23ractising 
tlieir  religion  and  bringing  up  their  children  in  the  faith.  Thus 
he  built  up  the  Church  by  personal  supervision,  spending  much 
of  his  time  in  going  through  the  diocese,  not  as  on  a  visitation,  but 
personally  beginning  the  erection  of  a  needed  church  or  school, 
or  aiding  to  complete  it  for  dedication.  This  work  he  continued 
till  Minnesota  was  formed  into  a  separate  diocese  in  1851.  Be- 
sides this  mission  work  Bishop  Loras  established  a  theological 
seminary,  introduced  the  Trappist  monks  and  Visitation  nuns. 

Bishop  Loras  sat  in  the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  and  the 
^our  preceding  Provincial  Synods. 

In  1857  he  established  a  hospital,  and  during  his  long  career 
was  eminent  for  his  charity  and  love  of  the  poor  and  afflicted. 
How  Catholicity  developed  in  Iowa  under  his  prudent  and  con- 
Btant  supervision  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  in  the  Iowa  part 
of  his  diocese,  where,  upon  his  arrival,  he  found  one  priest  and 
one  church,  he  left  sixty  churches,  forty  priests,  several  religious 
orders,  many  academies  for  higher  education,  and  schools  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  54,000. 

His  constant  labors  called  at  last  for  one  to  hold  up  his  hands 
in  liis  ministry,  and  in  1857  the  Right  Rev.  Clement  Smyth  was 
consecrated  coadjutor.  In  February  of  the  ensuing  year  Bishop 
Loras  was  stricken  down  with  illness,  and  though  medical  skill 
seemed  at  first  to  control  the  disease,  his  recovery  was  but  delu- 
sive. On  the  18th  of  February  he  retired  to  his  room  in  the 
evening,  and  was  soon  after  found  insensible  on  the  floor,  stricken 
with  paralysis.  The  good  bishop  lingered  till  the  next  morning, 
when  he  expired.  , 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE.  229 

RIGHT  REV.   CLEMENT  SMYTH, 

Second  Bishop  of  Dubuque. 

Timothy  Smyth  was  born  at  Finlea,  in  the  county  of  Clare 
Ireland,  on  tlie  24tli  of  January,  1810.  After  studying  in  Lis 
native  place  and  at  Limerick  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
where  he  was  graduated.  Renouncing  the  pursuits  open  to  him, 
he  joined  the  Presentation  Brothers  at  Youghal,  but,  feeling 
called  rather  to  the  contemplative  than  the  active  life,  he  sought 
admission  among  the  Tra23pists  at  Mount  Melleray.  His  wish  was 
gratified,  and  he  became  Brother  Clement.  AVith  the  permission 
of  his  abbot  he  some  years  after  established  a  poor-school  at  the 
abbey ;  but  though  he  desired  to  remain  a  lay  member,  he  was 
ordered  to  commence  studies  for  the  priesthood.  He  was  or- 
dained in  1844,  and  five  years  later  was  sent  with  a  Brother  to 
found  a  house  of  his  order  in  America,  the  distressed  condition  of 
Ireland  giving  no  hope  of  extension  in  that  island.  Bishop  Loras 
welcomed  the  Cistercians,  and  Father  Smyth  founded  a  New 
Melleray  near  the  city  of  Dubuque,  ('hurch,  monastery,  and  poor- 
school  soon  rose,  and  a  community  of  forty-seven  members  were 
in  time  edifying  all  by  their  strict  monastic  discipline.  The  Avill 
of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  drew  Father  Smyth  from  his  seclusion, 
and  the  Trappist  prior  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Thanasis,  May 
3,  1857.  Assuming  the  duties  with  zeal.  Bishop  Smyth  com- 
pleted the  cathedral  and  was  active  in  visitations  of  the  diocese. 
He  succeeded  Bishop  Loras  in  the  see  of  Dubuque  in  February, 
1858.  Bishop  Smyth  rarely  went  beyond  the  limits  of  his  dio- 
cese, and  then  only  at  the  call  of  duty,  as  on  the  occasion  of  his 
visit  to  Europe  in  1862.  After  a  short  but  painful  illness,  which 
he  bore  with  Christian  courage,  he  expired  on  the  23d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1865. 


m 


230  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

EIGHT  KEV.  JOHN  HENNESSY, 
Third  Bi)sliop  and  First  Archbishop  of  Duhiique. 

John  Henistessy  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  made  this  country 
his  home,  with  the  high  ambition  of  laboring  to  keep  fresh  in  all 
hearts  the  faith  of  his  ancestors.  He  began  his  labors  as  a  mis- 
sionary priest  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis  in  1850  as  pastor  of  the 
church  of  8t.  John  the  Baptist  at  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  for  a 
few  years  subsequently  of  St.  Peter's  at  Gravois,  in  St.  Louis 
County.  While  still  retaining  this  charge  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hen- 
nessy  was  appointed  professor  of  dogmatic  theology  and  Holy 
Scrij)ture  in  the  theological  seminary  at  Carondelet,  and  in  1857 
became  superior  of  that  institution,  his  learning  and  experience 
fitting  him  for  the  position.  He  was  subsequently  attached  to 
the  cathedral,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  civil  war  was  pastor 
of  St.  Joseph's  Church  in  the  now  episcopal  city  of  St.  Josef)h's. 
Having  been  elected  Bishop  of  Dubuque  on  the  24th  of  April, 
1866,  he  was  consecrated  on  the  30th  of  September  in  that  year. 
The  important  diocese  confided  to  Bishop  Hennessy  comprised 
the  whole  State  of  Iowa,  with  a  rapidly  growing  Catholic  popu- 
lation Avhich  already  exceeded  a  hundred  thousand  souls,  with 
about  sixty  priests  and  seventy-nine  churches. 

Early  in  his  administration  Bishop  Hennessy  founded  the 
Mercy  Hospital  at  Davenport  on  property  secured  by  Kev.  Mr. 
Pelamourgues.  He  endeavored  to  establish  a  college,  but  it  was 
not  till  1873  that  St.  Joseph's  College  was  opened.  It  is  now  in 
a  flourishing  condition. 

The  same  year  the  Fathers  of  the  ancient  ^rder  of  St.  Bene- 
dict, with  Father  Augustine  Burns  as  superior,  founded  St 
Malachy's  Priory  at  Creston,  in  Union  County,  the  first  English- 
speaking  community  of  Benedictines  in  the  United  States. 

In  1881  the  diocese,  which  had  increased  greatly,  was  divided, 
and  a  new  see  established  at  Davenport.  The  diocese  of  Dubuque 
thus  reduced  comprised  the  portion  of  tlie  State  of  loualying 
north  of  the  counties  of  Harrison,  Shelby,  Audubon,  Guthrie, 
Dallas,  Polk,  Jasper,  Poweshiek,  Iowa,  Johnson,  Cedar,  and  Scott. 


DIOCESE  OF  DUBUQUE.  231 

By  1884  tlie  episcopal  city  of  Dubuque  liacl  a  fine  cathedral,  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Raphael,  and  twenty-six  other  churches ;  the  Mercy 
Hospital  and  Marine  Hospital,  both  under  the  care  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy ;  an  asylum  for  orphans  of  German  parentage,  St.  Joseph's 
College,  convents  of  Visitation  and  Presentation  nuns  and  of 
Franciscan  Sisters,  with  several  academies  and  parochial  schools. 
The  total  number  of  priests  was  one  hundred  and  fifty,  the 
churches  nearly  equalling  that  number,  giving  the  sixty  thousand 
Catholics  of  the  diocese  every  advantage  for  hearing  Mass  and 
approaching  the  sacraments ;  while  the  care  of  the  growing  youth, 
on  whose  fidelity  to  the  faith  so  much  depended,  was  evinced  by 
the  fact  that  more  than  seven  thousand  six  hundred  attended 
Catholic  schools.  Bishop  Hennessy  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

The  United  States  Census  for  1890  reports  in  the  episcopal 
city  of  Dubuque:  37  Catholic  churches,  and  Church  property 
valued  at  $9(39,000,  with  21,904  communicants.  The  latest  sta- 
tistics for  th3  entire  diocese  are  given  as  follows,  viz. :  184  priests, 
60  seminarians,  145  churches,  90  chapels  and  colleges,  54  parochial 
schools  with  6,676  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  100,000. 

In  1893,  Bishop  Hennessy  was  made  Archbishop  of  Dubuque, 
the  diocese  having  been  created  an  archbishopric.  At  that  time 
it  contained  215  priests,  250  churches,  90  chapels,  1  seminary,  1 
college,  8  academies,  2  orphanages,  3  hospitals,  1  asylum,  and  100 
parochial  schools  with  an  attendance  of  13,000. 


■fvi 


DIOCESE  OF  ERIE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSUE  M.  YOUNG, 

Second  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Joshua  Moody  Young  was  born  at  Shapleigh,  Maine,  Octo- 
ber 29,  1808,  and  was  brought  up  in  the  Protestant  doctrines 
which  his  parents  professed.  After  passing  through  the  district 
schools  he  entered  the  printing-offiee  of  the  Eastern  Argus  at 
Portland  in  1823.  Here  he  met  a  Catholic,  whom  he  attacked 
in  the  usual  way  on  the  score  of  religion;  but  he  found  his  fel- 
low-printer to  be  a  man  able  to  give  an  account  of  his  faith,  and 
one  who  lived  up  to  it.  Young  began  to  read  Catholic  books, 
and  the  good  seed  germinated.  After  editing  a  paper  at  Saco 
he  returned  to  Portland  about  the  time  of  Bishop  Fenwick's  visit 
in  1827.  He  soug^ht  throug^h  his  friend  an  introduction  to  the 
bishop,  and  received  a  series  of  instructions  from  that  learned 
prelate.  He  was  baptized  in  1828,  taking  the  name  of  Josue 
Maria,  and  soon  proceeded  to  Cincinnati  with  the  view  of  enter- 
ing the  priesthood.  After  a  time  spent  there  he  was  sent  to 
Mount  St.  Mary's,  and  was  ordained  in  1837.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Young  was  for  seven  years  a  laborious  missionary,  much  of  the 
time  at  Lancaster,  Ohio.  On  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Erie  in 
1852  Bishop  O'Connor  was  appointed  to  the  new  diocese;  but 
Rev.  Mr.  Young  ^vas  reluctant  to  replace  him  at  Pittsburgh,  and 
Bishop  O'Connor  returned  to  his  former  see.  Rev.  Mr.  Young 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Erie  April  23,  1854,  by  Archbishop 
Purcell,  and  besran  to  orsjanize  the  diocese  confided  to  his  care. 
He  founded  an  hospital  at  Erie,  erected  a  fine  school,  which  he 
placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Franciscan  Brothers  and  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph.  Other  academies  and  schools  and  an  infirmary,  as 
well  as  churches,  erected  in  various  parts  of  the  diocese,  proved 
his  activity  and  zeal.     He  was,  too,  an  ardent   supporter  of  the 

332 


DIOCESE  OF  ERIE.  233 

temperance  cause,  and  by  example  and  precept  endeavored  to 
withdraw  his  ilock  from  intoxicating,  drinks.  By  his  influence 
all  his  brothers  and  sisters  except  one  embraced  the  Catholic 
faith,  although  at  first  his  becoming  a  Catholic  and  a  priest 
caused  a  mysterious  horror  in  the  family.  In  the  midst  of  his 
active  administration  Bishop  Young  was  suddenly  stricken  down 
with  heart-disease,  and  survived  only  long,  enough  to  receive  the 
last  sacraments  before  his  death,  September  18,  1866. 


RIGHT  REV.   TOBIAS  MULLEN, 

Third  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Tobias  Mullen  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Urney,  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  the  youngest  of  the  six  sons  of  James  Mullen 
and  Mary  Travers.  His  earliest  days  were  spent  on  a  farm,  and 
after  attending  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home  he 
made  classical  studies  at  Castlefin.  About  1840  he  was  ex- 
amined with  others  by  Bishop  McLaughlin,  and  passed  so  suc- 
cessfully that  he  was  directed  to  prepare  for  the  Irish  College 
in  Paris.  Before  the  young  man  was  ready  to  start  he  attended 
another  examination  of  all  the  students  of  the  diocese,  and,  pass, 
ing  this  with  honor,  he  was  sent  to  Maynooth.  While  there 
young  Mullen,  with  four  other  students,  having  listened  to  an 
appeal  from  Bishop  O'Connor,  of  Pittsburgh,  they  all  resolved  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  American  missions  under  the  direction 
of  that  prelate.  After  prosecuting  his  theological  studies  for 
some  time  in  Pittsburgh  he  was  ordained  on  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, r^44,  by  Bishop  O'Connor,  and  served  for  about  two  years 
as  assistant  at  the  cathedral  in  Pittsburgh.  Rev.  Mr.  Mullen 
was  afterwards  charged  with  the  care  of  congregations  at  Johns- 
town and  in  Jefferson  County.  Nine  years  after  he  was  appoint- 
ed pastor  of  St.  Peter's,  Allegheny  City.  Here  he  remained 
thirteen  years,  and  for  a  considerable  period  \vas  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese  under  Bishop  Domenec. 


234 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Rev.  Mr.  Mullen  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Erie  on  tlie  death 
of  Bishop  Young,  and  was  consecrated  August  2,  1868.  The 
development  of  the  oil-springs  discovered  more  than  two  cen- 
turies ago  by  the  Franciscan  De  la  Roche  caused  an  influx  of 
people  into  this  diocese,  bringing  many  Catholics  ;  but  the  popu- 
lation was  not  always  permanent,  and  churches  erected  for  large 
congregations  became  in  a  few  years  scantily  attended.  Yet 
during  the  administration  of  Bishop  Mullen  the  population  has 
increased  from  thirty  to  forty  five  thousand,  and  the  churches 
from  fifty-five  to  eighty-four.  On  his  installation  the  diocese 
had  but  thirty -five  priests ;  it  has  now  sixty  secular  clergymen 
and  seven  Benedictine  Fathers.  The  Con2:re2:ation  of  the  Most 
Holy  Redeemer  has,  within  a  few  years,  established  a  prepara- 
tory college  at  Northeast,  There  are  academies  for  young  ladies 
under  Benedictine  nuns,  under  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  and  j^aro' 
chial  schools  under  their  care  and  that  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Hu 
mility  of  Mary.  There  are  in  the  fifty-eight  parochial  school? 
5,687  pupils.  Besides  this  the  diocese  has  two  hospitals  and  an 
asylum. 

The  numbers  had  increased  in  1 891  to  the  following :  72  prieol,^ , 
10  seminarians,  105  churches,  46  chapels  and  stations,  and  60,000 
adherents. 


DIOCESE  OF  FORT  WAYNE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  HENRY  LUERS, 

First  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 

John  Henry  Luees  was  born  near  the  city  of  Mlinster,  Ger- 
many, September  29,  1819,  and  emigrated  witli  his  family  to  the 
United  States  in  1833.  He  was  soon  placed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
at  Piqiia,  Ohio  ;  but  he  desired  to  become  a  priest.  An  acci- 
dental meeting  with  Bishop  Purcell  encouraged  the  hopes  of  the 
young  man  and  enabled  him  to  enter  the  Lazarist  Seminary 
of  St.  Francis  Xavier.  He  was  ordained  priest  November  11, 
1846,  and  was  stationed  in  the  parish  of  St.  Joseph,  where  a 
half-finished  church  needed  an  active  hand.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Luera 
completed  the  sacred  edifice,  and  beside  it  erected  a  substantial 
school-house,  into  which  he  gathered  the  children  of  the  parish 
after  making  a  careful  census.  Here  he  labored  for  years,  seek- 
ing the  -Salvation  of  his  flock. 

When  the  see  of  Fort  Wayne  was  erected  the  Rev.  Mr.  Luers 
was  chosen  bishop,  to  his  own  great  surprise,  and  was  consecrated 
January  10,  1858.  His  diocese  contained  a  small  frame  build- 
ins:  for  his  cathedral  and  nineteen  other  churches,  attended  bv 
fourteen  priests,  though  the  diocese  comprised  thirty-eight  coun- 
ties. During  his  administration  a  cathedral  was  erected,  but  he  was 
more  anxious  to  preserve  the  religion  of  his  flock,  and  by  con- 
stant visits  to  parts  where  Catholics  had  settled  he  encouraged 
the  erection  of  parochial  churches.  Bishoj^  Luers  obtained 
priests  to  meet  their  wants,  and,  holding  a  synod,  established 
sound  regulations.  On  a  visit  to  Rome  in  1864  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  Pope  Pius  IX.  with  the  task  of  drawing  up  a  constitu- 
tion and  rules  for  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  The  Congrega- 
tion of  Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross  found  in  him  a  warm  and  ear- 
nest  friend,  and  that  community,  under  the  guidance  of  the  vene- 

«i35 


•^ 


236  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

rable  Father  Sorin,  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  important 
bodies  of  regular  priests  in  the  country,  the  University  of  Notre 
Dame  being  one  of  our  greatest  Catholic  institutions.  Bishop 
Luers  attended  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Cincinnati  and  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore.  In  June,  1871,  he  went  to  Cleve- 
land to  ordain  some  of  the  seminarians,  and  while  on  his  way  to 
the  episcopal  residence  on  the  morning  of  the  2^th,  before  taking 
a  train  to  another  diocese,  the  charitable  bishop  was  stricken 
down  with  apoplexy.  He  was  carried  to  the  bishop's  house  and 
expired  a  few  moments  after  receiving  the  last  sacraments. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  DWENGER, 

Second  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Joseph  Dwenger,  was  born  in  1837  at  St.  John's,  near  Min- 
ster, Ohio,  of  parents  who  had  recently  emigrated  from  Ankum, 
in  Hanover.  He  lost  his  father  at  the  age  of  three,  and  on  his 
mother  removino;  to  Cincinnati  he  was  sent  to  tbe  school  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  lost  his  mother  also,  but 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kunkler  took  the  talented  orphan  boy  and  placed 
him  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Precious  Blood.  Yoiino;  Dweno-er 
began  his  studies  for  the  priesthood,  and  completed  them  in  the 
Seminary  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West.  He  was  ordained 
priest  in  the  chapel  of  that  institution  by  Archbishop  Purcell  on 
the  4th  of  September,  1859.  How  highly  he  was  esteemed  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  was  appointed  professor  and 
director  in  the  seminary  of  the  Precious  Blood,  and  retained  the 
position  for  three  years.  He  was  then  placed  in  charge  of  the 
congregations  at  Wapakoneta  and  St.  Mary's,  and  showed  him- 
self a  zealous  missionary  priest,  ever  anxious  for  the  welfare  of 
his  flock.  He  was  also  secretary  and  consultor  in  his  order,  and 
the  founder  of  the  seminary  at  Carthageua.  From  1867  to  1872 
he  was  employed  in  giving  missions  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  In- 
diana. Having  been  selected  to  succeed  Bishop  Luers,  he  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Toebbe 


DIOCESE  OF  FORT  WAYNE.  237 

and  Borgess,  on  the  14tli  of  April,  1872,  and  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  hierarchy.  The  development  and  proper  organi- 
zation of  the  parochial  schools  has  been  the  great  object  of  his 
attention.  He  established  a  Diocesan  School  Board,  which  intro- 
duced into  the  schools  uniformity  of  teaching  and  grading  as  well 
as  in  text-books,  and  has  since  exercised  a  wise  supervision  over 
them.  The  reports  are  annually  printed,  and  stimulate  the  faith- 
ful to  sujDport  the  schools.  In  1884  there  were  sixty  schools 
with  eight  thousand  pupils — nearly  nine  per  cent,  of  the  total 
Catholic  population  of  85,000.  His  diocese  had  also  the  uni- 
versity of  Notre  Dame,  under  the  Priests  of  the  Holy  Cross,  with 
Sisters  of  the  same  origin ;  Priests  and  Sisters  of  the  Precious 
Blood,  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  attending  schools 
and  hospitals,  Poor  Handmaids  of  Christ  similarly  employed, 
Sisters  of  Providence,  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  American  pilgrimage  to  Rome  Bishop 
Dwenger  accompanied  it  as  superior.  In  1883  he  paid  his  official 
visit  to  the  See  of  Peter.  He  had  attended  the  Second  Plenary 
Council  of  Baltimore,  as  theologian  to  Archbishop  Purcell  and  rep 
resentative  of  the  order  of  the  Precious  Blood ;  and  the  Third  Plen- 
ary Council  as  Bishop  of  Fort  Wayne.  After  its  close  he  proceed- 
ed to  Rome  on  important  matters  connected  with  it.  During  his 
episcopate  there  have  been  erected  two  hospitals,  two  orphan  asy- 
lums, one  manual-labor  school,  and  thirty-two  new  churches. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese  79  secular  and  42  regular 
priests,  with  20  seminarians  as  candidates  for  the  priesthood  ;  126 
churches  and  3  others  in  process  of  building,  also  19  chapels;  64 
parochial  schools,  attended  by  more  than  8,000  pupils ;  2  orphan 
ages  with  214  orphans,  5  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
V2,125. 

After  a  long  and  successful  episcopate,  Bishop  Dwenger  passed 
to  his  final  reward  in  1892. 


DIOCESE   OF  GALYESTOK 


I 


EIGHT  REV.  CLAUDE  MARY  DUBUIS, 

Second  Blsliop  of  Galveston. 

Claude  Mary  Dubuis  was  boru  iu  France  about  tlie  year 
1817.  He  was  one  of  the  early  missionaries  whom  Bishop  Odin 
drew  to  Texas.  He  was  stationed  in  1847  in  the  difficult  mis- 
sion of  Castroville,  where  he  suffered  greatly,  living  in  a  wretched 
hut  till  he  and  his  fellow-missionary  built  a  house  with  their 
own  hands.  An  accident  for  a  time  placed  his  life  in  danger, 
but  a  constitution  of  iron  enabled  the  zealous  priest  to  endure 
all,  where  others  sank  under  their  trials.  His  associate,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Chazelle,  died  of  typhus,  while  he  himself  was  so  ill 
that  he  was  able  to  say  Mass  only  by  resting  from  time  to  time 
before  he  could  administer  the  Holy  Viaticum  to  his  fellow-priest. 
He  persevered,  however,  and  even  established  a  school.  About 
1850  he  was  transferred  to  San  Antonio,  and  was  for  many  years 
pastor  of  San  Ferdinand's  Church,  and,  with  the  aid  of  curates, 
attended  a  large  and  scattered  flock.  Here,  too,  he  showed  zeal 
for  education,  aiding  greatly  the  Ursulines  in  establishing  a  con- 
vent. On  the  promotion  of  Bishop  Odin  to  the  see  of  New 
Orleans  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dubuis  was  chosen  as  his  successor,  and 
was  consecrated  November  23,  1862,  taking  possession  of  his 
see  during  the  difficult  period  when  the  South  was  ravaged  by  ' 
contending  armies.  When  peace  was  restored  Bishop  Dubuis 
endeavored  to  repair  the  losses  which  religion  had  sustained,  and 
by  1874  the  diocese  contained  fifty-five  churches  and  chaj^els,  with 
eighty -three  priests  and  about  100,000  Catholics.  On  the  3d  of 
September  in  that  year  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  and  the  vi- 
cariate-apostolic  of  Brownsville  were  created ;  but  Bishop  Du- 
buis' health  made  him  solicit  a  coadjutor,  and  the  Right  Rev.  P. 
Dufal,  who  had  been  ^/^nsecrated  Bishop  of  Delcon  in  1860  and 


DIOCESE  OF  GALVESTON. 


Vicar- Apostolic  of  Eastern  Bengal,  was  transferred  May  14, 
1878,  to  Texas  as  coadjutor  with  the  right  of  succession ;  he  re- 
signed, however,  in  1880,  but  Bishop  Dubuis  retired  to  France, 
and  the  next  year  resigned  the  see  of  Galveston. 


RIGHT  REV.  NICHOLAS  A.  GALLAGHER, 

Bislwp  of  Canopus  and  Administrator  of  Galveston. 

Nicholas  A.  Gallagher  was  born  at  Temperance ville,  Bel- 
mont County,  Ohio,  on  the  19  th  of  February,  1846,  and,  after 
pursuing  literary  and  divinity  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the 
West,  was  ordained  priest  at  Columbus  on  Christmas  day  in  the 
year  1868.  He  was  known  for  many  years  as  a  zealous  and 
talented  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Columbus,  where  his  piety  and 
executive  ability,  as  well  as  his  devotedness  to  his  sacred  calling, 
made  him  remarked  by  all.  From  1869  to  1871  he  was  attached 
to  St.  Patrick's  Church,  under  Bishop  Rosecrans,  and  from  it 
attended  the  chapel  of  St.  Joseph's  Cathedral  before  the  sol- 
emn opening  of  that  church  itself.  He  was  next  president  of 
St.  Aloysius'  Seminary  from  1871  to  1876,  and  when  St.  Joseph's 
became  the  bishop's  residence  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher  was  appoint- 
ed pastor  of  St.  Patrick's.  During  the  vacancy  of  the  see  from 
October,  1878,  to  August,  1880,  he  was  administrator,  and  was  then 
made  vicar-general.  The  Holy  See  selected  this  able  clergyman 
to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  diocese  of  Galveston  as  admin- 
istrator,  appointing  him  Bishop  of  Canopus.  He  was  conse- 
crated at  St.  Mary's  College,  Galveston,  on  Sunday,  April  30, 
1882,  by  the  Right  Hev.  Edward  Fitzgerald,  Bishop  of  Lit- 
tle Rock.  He  then  assumed  the  administration  of  the  diocese, 
of  which  Dr.  Dubuis  still  retained  the  title  of  bishop.  During 
the  short  period  since  his  consecration  Bishop  Gallagher,  laboring 
assiduously,  has  done  much  to  restore  order  and  meet  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  diocese  confided  to  him.  In  the  portion  of  Texas 
under  his  charge  there  were  in  1884  forty  priests,  with  fifty 
churches  and  chapels,  and,  as  is  estimated,  some  eight-and-thirty 


IWJ 


240 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  'THE  UNITED  STATES. 


thousand  Catholics.  There  are  several  female  academies  under 
the  Ursuline  nuns  and  other  religious,  and  two  charitable  in- 
stitutions, but  much  has  yet  to  be  accomplished  in  the  direction 
of  parochial  schools.  This  task  and  the  keeping  pace  with 
increasing  immigration  make  the  position  of  Bishop  Gallagher 
one  of  trial. 

There  are  reported  for  1891,  in  this  diocese :  49  priests,  at- 
tending 66  churches  and  17  chapels;  16  ecclesiastical  students,  17 
parochial  schools  with  4,148  pupils,  1  college,  12  academies,  and 
3  charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  popxil-xtion  of  42,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS. 


EIGHT  REV.  HENRY  JOSEPH  RICHTER, 

First  Bishop  of  Grand  Rapids. 

Henry  Joseph  Richter  was  born  on  tlie  9tli  of  April,  1838, 
at  Neuen  Kirclien,  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Oldenburg.  After 
studying  in  the  local  schools  he  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1854  and  entered  St.  Paul's  School,  in  Cincinnati,  in  the  succeed- 
ing year.  This  was  followed  by  five  years  of  steady  application 
in  St.  Xavier's,  the  college  at  Bardstown,  and  Mount  St.  Mary's. 
He  went  to  Rome  in  1860,  entering  the  American  College,  and 
winning  his  doctor's  cap  in  1865,  was  ordained  on  the  10th  of 
June  by  Cardinal  Patrizi.  Returning  to  Cincinnati  in  October, 
he  was  made  vice-president  of  Mount  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  where 
he  filled  the  chairs  of  dogma,  philosophy,  and  liturgy  till  1870. 
He  then  founded  the  church  of  St.  Laurence,  and  made  it  a 
thriving  parish  ;  was  director  of  the  Academy  of  Mount  St.  Vin- 
cent, and  one  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation  of  the  diocese. 
When  His  Holiness  Leo  XIII.  established  the  diocese  of  Grand 
Rapids  on  the  19th  of  May;  1882,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richter  was  se- 
lected for  the  new  see.  He  was  consecrated  and  enthroned  in 
St.  Andrew's,  Grand  Rapids,  on  the  22d  of  April,  1883,  by  the 
Right  Rev.  William  Henry  Elder,  Coadjutor  of  Cincinnati. 

The  diocese  confided  to  Bishop  Richter  contained  thirty-three 
churches  with  resident  pastors,  seventeen  parochial  schools  with 
2,867  scholars,  out  of  a  population  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  Ca- 
tholics. There  were  also  two  hos23itals  and  an  oi-phan  asylum. 
There  is  a  community  of  Franciscans  at  the  Indian  settlement  of 
Cross  Village  ;  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  of  Providence,  of  Notre 
Dame,  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  with  Franciscan  and 

243 


244 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  TE?  UNITED  STATES. 


Dominican  Sisters,  in  charge  of  academies,  schools,  and  charitable 
institutions. 

The  total  number  of  churches  in  the  diocese  in  1884  is  given 
as  ninety,  with  fiftv-two  priests,  for  a  population  of  nearly  sixty 
thousand. 

In  1891  these  numbers  had  increased  as  follows :  priests,  71 ; 
total  number  of  churches,  116 ;  chapels  and  stations,  57  ;  parochial 
schools,  39,  with  8,110  j^upils;  3  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  114,925. 


1 


DIOCESE  OF  GRASS  YALLEY. 


EIGHT  EEV.  EUGENE  O'CONNELL, 

Firat  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley. 

Eugene  O'Connell  was  born  in  tlie  parisli  of  Kingscourt,  in 
the  diocese  of  Meatli,  Ireland,  and  studied  in  the  diocesan  semi- 
nary of  Navan,  and  subsequently  at  Maynooth,  where  he  was  or- 
dained in  1842.  He  remained  at  Navan  as  professor  for  several 
years,  and  then  joined  the  community  at  All  Hallows'  College, 
where  he  rendered  very  great  service.  Here  he  spent  several 
years,  leaving  it  for  a  time  to  act  as  missionary  in  California. 
There  he  was  appointed  president  of  Santa  Inez  College  and 
president  of  St.  Thomas'  Theological  Seminary.  When  it  was 
resolved  to  divide  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco  by  erecting  the 
vicariate-apostolic  of  Marys ville,  the  Rev.  Eugene  O'Connell 
was  selected.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Flaviopolis  in  the 
college  of  All  Hallows  on  the  3d  of  February,  1861,  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  Cullen.  The  next  month  he  set  out  for  his  vicariate, 
which  comprised  the  portion  of  California  north  of  the  thirty- 
ninth  degree  and  the  Territory  of  Nevada.  In  this  district  he 
found  only  four  priests*  He  made  Marysville  his  residence  and 
took  charge  of  it  as  his  personal  mission,  attending  with  one 
priest  the  stations  in  California;  while  Nevada  at  first  gave 
greater  hopes.  Virginia  City  soon  had  two  churches,  one  under 
the  Rev.  P.  Manrgue,  the  other  directed  by  the  Passionist  Fa- 
thers. Bishop  O'Connell  established  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame 
at  Marysville,  and  Sisters  of  Mercy  at  Grass  Valley,  in  August, 
1863.  Churches  were  soon  established  at  Downieville,  Forest 
Hill,- Grass  Valley,  Mendocino,  and  Weaverville,  whence  priests 
attended  a  number  of  stations.  Orphan  asylums  were  the  bish- 
op's next  object.  On  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  Pope  Pius  IX.  es- 
tablished the  diocese  of  Grass  Valley,  comprising  the  territory 

245 


246  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

between  the  Pacific  and  the  Colorado,  between  the  39th  and  42d 
degrees.  Some  years  after  Bishop  O'Connell,  worn  out  by  his 
labors  in  the  large  and  toilsome  field,  obtained  as  a  coadjutor 
the  Right  Rev.  P.  Manogue,  and  in  1884  he  resigned  the  see  and 
was  transferred  to  Joppa,  The  progress  of  Catholicity  in  that 
portion  of  the  country  has  been  slow,  and  Nevada,  prematurely 
made  a  State,  has  declined  rapidly  in  population. 

As  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Manogue  became  in  May,  1886,  Bishop 
of  Sacramento — a  new  diocese,  including  the  former  one  of  Grass 
Valley — n  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found  under  that  head. 


DIOCESE  OF  SACRAMENTO. 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  MANOGUE,  D.D., 

Second  Bishoj)  of  Grass  Valley  and  First  of  Sacramento. 

The  vicariate-apostolic  of  Marysville  becauie  in  time  the  dio- 
cese of  Grass  Valley;  but  the  progress  of  the  Church  had  not 
been  rapid,  and,  as  some  of  the  adjacent  parts  of  California  needed 
easier  access  to  a  bishop,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  on  the  28th  of 
May,  1886,  added  to  the  diocese  of  Grass  Valley  the  counties  of 
Sacramento,  Yolo,  Tuolumne,  Amador,  Calaveras,  Mariposa,  El 
Dorado,  Placer,  Alpine,  and  Mono,  in  California,  and  Esmeralda 
County,  in  Nevada.  Sacramento  City,  the  capital  of  California, 
became  the  see  of  the  new  diocese,  and  to  it  Bishop  Manogue 
was  transferi'ed. 

Patrick  Manogue  w^as  born  in  1831  at  Desert,  County  Kil' 
kenny,  Ireland,  and  arrived  in  this  country  in  his  boyhood,  after 
preliminary  studies  at  Callan.  He  was  throwm  into  the  m.idst 
of  a  New  England  community,  where  he  found   mnn  of  nl]   id  ens, 


DIOCESE  OF  SACTlAJIE:!iTO.  247 

all  claiming  to  be  the  organs  of  perfect  religions,  and  all  agree- 
ing in  one  single  point — an  insensate  ignorance  of  everything  re- 
lating to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  consequently  a  deep-seated 
prejudice  against  it.  Called  on  constantly  to  explain  and  defend 
his  faith,  he  resolved  to  become  a  priest,  and  entered  the  uni- 
versity of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake,  Chicago.  After  pursuing  a 
classical  and  philosophical  course  in  that  institution  he  was  sent 
to  Paris,  and  made  his  theological  studies  in  the  great  seminary 
of  St.  Sulpice.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  1861  by  Cardinal  Mor- 
lot  in  the  parish  church  of  St.  Sulpice.  He  soon  after  joined 
the  California  mission,  and  about  1864  was  one  of  the  first  priests 
sent  to  Nevada.  He  erected  St.  Mary's,  a  very  fine  church,  in 
Tirginia  City,  and  established  a  house  of  Sisters  of  Charity.  He 
continued  his  mission  labors  here  for  many  years,  acting  for  no 
fewer  than  fifteen  as  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Grass  Valley, 
and  obtaining  favorable  comments  from  all  for  his  zeal  and  en- 
ergy. The  diocese  is  a  large  and  thinly  settled  one,  and  when 
the  priest  first  selected  as  coadjutor  to  Bisho]3  O'Connell  shrank 
from  the  onerous  duty,  the  Holy  See,  July  27,  1880,  selected  the 
hard-working  and  unambitious  but  able  priest  of  Vii'ginia  City. 
He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Ceramos  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1881,  by  Archbishop  Alemany  in  St.  Mary's  Cathedral,  San 
Francisco.  The  ill-health  and  infirmities  of  Eight  Kev.  Dr. 
O'Connell  devolved  much  of  the  administration  on  the  coadjutor, 
till  by  his  resignation  in  1884  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Manogue  be- 
came second  Bishop  of  Grass  Valley.  His  diocese  contains  only 
from  seven  to  ten  thousand  Catholics,  with  thii'ty-five  priests  and 
thirty-seven  churches.  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  of  Charity  and 
Mercy,  as  well  as  Dominican  nuns,  conduct  academies,  schools, 
asylums,  and  an  hospital.  Zealous  priests  have  begun  an  earnest 
work  at  the  Tndian  Reservation  to  save  the  last  remnant  of  the 
I\Iission  Indians. 

The  summary  for  1891  displays  the  following  figures:  43 
priests,  57  churches  and  90  chapels,  3  academies  for  girls,  also  10 
parochial  schools,  4  charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  25,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  GREEN  BAT. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  MELCHER. 

First  Bishop  of  Green  Bay. 

Joseph  Melcher  vras  born  in  Vienna  in  tlie  year  1807.  Af- 
ter pursuing  his  preliminary  studies  in  tliat  capital  lie  went  to 
IVIodena  to  complete  his  course,  and  there  won  the  doctor's 
cap.  After  his  ordination  in  1830  he  became  one  of  the  chap- 
lains at  the  court  of  Austria,  but  he  longed  to  devote  himself 
to  the  laborious  life  of  a  missionary  beyond  the  limits  of  Europe. 
Whe^  Bishop  Rosati  visited  Vienna  to  solicit  German  priests  for 
his  diocese,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Melcher  offered  his  services,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1843.  He  was  stationed  at  Little  Rock, 
Arkansas,  and  remained  there  till  the  next  year,  when  that  State 
was  erected  into  a  separate  diocese.  Rev.  Mr.  Melcher  was  then 
recalled  to  St.  Louis  and  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
in  which  position  he  remained  till  he  was  called  to  the  episco- 
pate. He  had  also  for  many  years  held  the  responsible  position 
of  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  On  the  erection  of  the  see  of 
Green  Bay,  March  3,  1868,  he  was  chosen  its  first  bishop  and 
was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  St.  Louis,  July  12,  1868.  His 
diocese  comprised  the  part  of  Wisconsin  from  the  east  bank  of 
the  river  of  that  name  to  Lake  Michigan,  and  running  north  from 
the  Fox  and  Manitowoc  rivers  to  the  State  line.  He  found 
sixteen  priosts  for  a  population  of  more  than  forty  thousand 
Catholics  fi'om  various  countries.  He  proceeded  to  organize  his 
diocese,  and  so  successfully  that  in  the  report  furnished  by 
him  in  1873  he  could    claim   sixty-five    churches   and   chapels, 

248 


DIOCESE  OF  GREEN  BAY.  249 

attended  by  fifty-six  priests,  two  thousand  cliildren  in  the  Ca' 
tbolic  schools,  in  a  total  Catholic  population  of  sixty  thousand. 
Bishop  Melcher  died  piously,  at  Green  Eay,  on  the  20th  of 
December,  1873. 


EIGHT  KEV.  FKANCIS  XAVIER  KRAUTBAUER, 

Second  Bishop  of  Green  Bay. 

Feancis    Xavier    Krautbauer    was   born   on   the    12th    of 
January,  1824,  at  Bruck  on  the  Oberpfalz,  diocese  of  Ratisbonne, 
and  after  pursuing  his  studies  in  his  native  country,  and  being 
raised  to  priestly  orders  on  the   16th  of  July,   1850,   he  came 
to  America  in  the  following  autumn  to  devote  himself  to  mis- 
sionary work  among  his  countrymen.     From  1851  to  1859  we  see 
him  laboring  in  a  poor  parish  at  Rochester,  then  in  the  diocese 
of  Buffalo.     He  showed  his  zeal  for  Catholic  education  by  estab* 
lishing  a  school  for  children  of  both  sexes,  placing  the  girls  under 
School   Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  deeming  it  sounder  policy  to 
retain  his  congregation  in  a  little  frame  church  till  the  school  was 
erected  and  paid  for,  rather  than  cripple  the  parish  by  erecting 
a  fine  church  beyond  its  means.     In  1859  Rev.  Mr.  Krautbauer 
went  to   Milwaukee   to    become    chaplain   and    director   at    the 
church  of   Our  Lady   of   the  Angels,   connected   with  the  mo- 
ther-house of  the  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.     Here  he  re- 
mained for  more  than  ten  years,  his  influence  being  felt  in  the 
community  of  Sisters,   who  profited   by  his  counsels.       Having 
been  selected  to  succeed  Bishop  Melcher,  Dr.  Krautbauer  was 
consecrated  June  29,  1875,  and  took  possession  of  the  see   of 
Green  Bay.     The  diocese  contained  sixty-three  priests  and  ninety- 
two  churches,  the  Servites  representing  the  religious  orders,  with 
Servite  nuns,  Ursulines,  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  Sisters  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic,  Sisters  of  St. 
Agnes.     The  population  comprised  English-speaking  Catholics, 
with  others  of  German,  French,  Hollandish,  Bohemian,  Walloon^ 


250  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Polish,  and  Indian  tongues.  Many  congregations  contained  rep- 
resentatives of  several  languages.  Bishop  Krautbauer  labored 
earnestly  to  extend  the  school  system,  and  by  1884  could  num- 
ber 96  priests,  111  churches,  and  15  chapels,  with  44  parochial 
sch6ols  in  which  5,292  children  were  saved  from  the  soul-wither- 
ering  influence  of  the  public-schools,  where  religious  teaching  is 
excluded.  The  resources  of  the  diocese  by  the  policy  of  Bishop 
Krautbauer  have  been  greatly  enhanced,  although  the  popula- 
tion had  not  increased  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  priests  and  insti- 
tutions. 

Bishop  Krautbauer  continued  his  zealous  labors  to  the  end. 
On  the  16th  day  of  December,  1885,  he  was  found  dead  in  his  bed. 

The  diocese  of  Green  Bay  shows  the  following  statistics  for 
the  year  1801 :  priests,  106  ;  seminarians,  9  ;  hospitals,  3  ;  schools, 
70,  with  10,785  pupils  reported  in  attendance;  163  churches  and 
8  chapels,  with  a  Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  HARRISBURG. 


RIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH  F.  SHAA^AHAN, 

First  Bishop  of  Harrishurg. 

Jeremiah  F.  SnAi^AHAisr  was  born  in  Susquehanna  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  pursued  all  his  studies  in  his  native  State, 
from  his  earliest  rudiments  to  the  close  of  his  ecclesiastical 
course.  He  was  ordained  priest  by  Right  Rev.  John  Nepomu- 
cene  Neumann,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  in  July,  1859.  The  ex- 
tent of  his  learning,  his  administrative  powers  and  piety,  led  to 
his  appointment  as  rector  of  the  Preparatory  Seminary  at  Glen 
Riddle,  where  boys  who  evince  the  piety  and  zeal  likely  to  pro- 
duce a  vocation  are  trained  in  classical  and  general  learning  to 
fit  them  for  entrance  into  the  diocesan  seminary,  in  case  God 
calls  them  to  the  priesthood.  Under  his  fostering  care  the  es- 
tablishment at  Glen  Riddle  sent  many  students  to  the  seminary, 
who  in  time  were  ordained  to  the  priesthood.  He  was  selected 
as  first  bishop  of  the  new  see  of  Harrisburg,  established  in  1868, 
and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
by  Archbishop  Wood,  assisted  by  Bishop  McGill,  of  Richmond, 
and  Bishop  Domenec,  of  Pittsburgh,  on  Sunday,  July  12,  1868. 

The  diocese  of  Harrisburg  was  another  taken  from  that  of 
Philadelphia,  which  once  embraced  the  whole  States  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  Delaware,  and  a  district  in  New  Jersey.  The  part 
of  Pennsylvania  confided  to  the  care  of  Bishop  Shanahan  com- 
prised the  counties  of  Dauphin,  Lebanon,  Lancaster,  York, 
Adams,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Cumberland,  Perry,  Juniata,  Mifflin, 
Centre,  Clinton,  Union,  Snyder,  Northumberland,  Montour,  and 
Columbia.  The  diocese  lying  along  the  southern  part  of  the 
State  was  not  insignificant  in  extent,  but,  though  it  comprised 

251 


252  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

within  its  limits  two  of  the  oldest  Catholic  missions  in  the  State, 
the  Catholic  j)opulation  was  comparatively  small.  Conewago  and 
Lancaster  had  at  a  very  early  day  been  visited  by  the  Jesuit  mis- 
sionaries from  Maryland,  and  those  zealous  missionaries  of  colo- 
nial days  established  residences  and  churches  there  before  the 
American  Revolution,  Father  William  Wapeler  being  the  pioneer 
priest  at  both  places,  as  early  as  1741.  When  Bishop  Shanahan 
began  to  organize  his  diocese  he  found  about  twenty-five  thou- 
sand of  the  faithful,  with  forty  churches  and  twenty-two  priests. 
There  were  convents  with  academies  at  McSherrystown,  Leba- 
non, and  Lancaster,  but  there  were  only  seven  parochial  schools. 
Harrisburg,  though  the  capital  of  the  State,  contained  but  two 
churches,  and  the  newly- consecrated  bishoj)  took  up  his  residence 
at  St.  Patrick's,  "acting  as  rector.  The  diocese  does  not  increase 
much  by  immigration,  but  develops  by  the  natural  growth  of  the 
Catholic  body.  Accordingly  the  great  care  of  the  bishop  was 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  for  religion  and  society  the  rising 
generation.  He  introduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  St.  Joseph, 
of  Christian  Charity,  of  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the  Seton  Sisters  of 
Charity  from  New  York.  The  result  has  been  consoling.  By 
1881  the  diocese  contained  seven  academies  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  girls,  twenty-nine  parochial  schools,  attended  by  more 
than  four  thousand  pupils  ;  there  were  two  asylums  to  save  orphans 
from  misery  and  loss  of  faith.  Eleven  new  churches  had  been 
erected,  and  he  had  forty-five  priests,  nearly  one  for  every  church 
in  his  diocese. 

On  December  24,  1886,  this  good  Bishop  passed  to  his  eternal 
reward.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Right  Rev.  Thomas  McGrov- 
ern,  whose  life  will  be  found  in  this  volume. 


DIOCESE   OF  HARTFORD. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  TYLER, 

First  Bishop   of  Hartford, 

William  Tyler  was  born  on  the  5tli  of  June,  1806,  at  Derby, 
Vermont,  his  father  being  a  substantial  farmer,  his  mother  a  sis- 
ter of  the  famous  convert,  Rev.  Daniel  Barber.  She  followed 
the  example  of  her  relatives,  and  soon  after  their  conversion,  in 
1816,  was  received  into  the  Church  with  her  three  sons  and  four 
daughters.  When  about  fifteen  William  entered  the  classical 
school  established  at  Claremont  by  Rev,  Virgil  Barber.  Show- 
ing a  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  he  was  taken  into  his  house  by 
Bishop  Fenwick,  and  began  his  theological  course,  receiving  or- 
dination in  Pentecost  week,  1828. 

His  first  appointment  was  in  the  cathedral,  Boston,  where  his 
zeal  and  piety,  as  well  as  his  charity,  won  all  hearts,  his  only  ab- 
sence being  a  short  missionary  service  at  Aroostook.  He  Avas  in 
time  made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  on  its  division  in 
1843  he  was  selected  as  the  first  to  wear  the  mitre  as  Bishop  of 
Hartford.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  17th  of  March,  1844,  by 
Bishop  Fenwick,  and  proceeded  to  his  diocese,  which  embraced 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  and  contained  only  six  priests. 
He  took  up  his  residence  at  Providence,  making  the  church  of  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul  his  cathedral.  The  health  of  Bishop  Tyler 
was  never  strong,  and  he  loved  retirement  and  prayer;  but  he 
was  zealous  in  his  missionary  and  episcopal  duties,  and  gradually 
increased  the  numbers  of  his  clergy  and  churches,  accomplishing 
all  the  more  by  means  of  allowances  from  the  Leopoldine  Society. 
He  attended  the  Sixth  and  Sev^enth  Councils  of  Baltimore,  pre- 
senting to  the  Fathers  of  the  latter  S5'-nod  a  cei'tificate  that  he 
could  not  long  survive,  and  asking  permission  to  resign  his  see. 


253 


25-4  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  appointment  of  a  coadjutor  was  recommended  by  the  Fathers 
of  the  council,  but  Bishop  Tyler  returned  to  his  diocese  only  to 
be  stricken  down  by  a  rheumatic  fever.  He  was  for  a  time  de- 
lirious, but  recovered  his  faculties,  and,  receiving  the  last  sacra- 
ments, gave  the  final  directions  as  to  the  affairs  of  the  diocese, 
and,  closing  his  eyes  to  all  earthly  things,  murmured  pious  ejacu- 
lations and  prayers  till  his  soul  departed,  June  18,  1849. 


% 


RIGHT  REV.  BERNARD  O'REILLY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Hartford. 

Bernard  O'Reilly  was  born  in  the  County  Longford,  Ireland, 
in  1803,  and  after  a  pious  education  declared  as  he  reached  his 
majority  that  he  felt  called  by  God  to  serve  him  in  the  priest- 
hood and  on  the  American  mission.  Sailing  for  America  Janu- 
ary 17,  1825,  the  young  Levite  entered  the  College  of  Montreal, 
and,  completing  his  theological  studies  at  St.  Mary's  College, 
Baltimore,  he  was  ordained  in  New  York,  October  13,  1831. 
He  was  appointed  to  St.  James'  Church  in  Jay  Street,  Brooklyn, 
and  was  a  faithful  pastor  during  the  cholera  of  1832,  being  twice 
prostrated  by  the  disease  while  attending  his  flock.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1832,  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Rochester, 
his  district  extending  from  Auburn  to  Niagara.  When  the  see  of 
Buffalo  was  erected,  in  1847,  Bishoj)  Timon  summoned  him  to 
that  city  and  appointed  him  vicar-general.  The  hospital  of  the 
Sisters  was  his  especial  care,  and  he  ably  defended  it  against  the 
aspersions  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lord,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman. 
The  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1849  recommended  him  as  coad- 
jutor to  Bishop  Tyler,  but  on  the  sudden  death  of  that  prelate 
he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Hartford,  on  the  10th  of  November, 
1850,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Roch- 
ester. He  took  up  the  administration  with  zeal  and  energy,  but 
found  that  his  little  flock  excited  great  hostility  from  the  popu- 
lation among  whom  they  were  scattered.     When  the  bishop  in- 


DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD.  255 

troduced  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  into  his  diocese  in  1855,  the  good 
religious  were  threatened  by  a  mob ;  but  he  fearlessly  faced  the 
furious  crowd,  declaring  that  it  was  their  home,  and  that  they 
should  not  leave  it  for  an  hour.  "  1  shall  protect  them  while  I 
have  life,  and,  if  needs  be,  register  their  safety  with  my  blood." 
He  increased  his  clergy  to  forty-two  and  his  churches  to  forty-six, 
established  five  academies  and  three  orphan  asylums,  and  beheld 
his  flock  advance  to  seventy  thousand.  To  carry  out  more  ex- 
tensive plans  for  the  spiritual  good  of  his  flock  Bishop  O'Reilly 
sailed  to  Europe  on  the  5th  of  December,  1855.  He  secured  a 
religious  community  to  direct  schools  for  boys  in  his  diocese,  and, 
paying  a  visit  to  his  aged  parents,  embarked  for  New  York  on 
the  steamer  Pacific,  Januaiy  23,  IS 56.  No  tidings  of  the  vessel 
or  her  passengers  ever  reached  either  shore.  The  good  bishop 
in  the  midst  of  his  labors  had  been  summoned  to  his  reward. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  PATRICK  McFARLAND, 

Third  Bishop  of  Haj'tford. 

Frai^cis  Patrick  McFarland  was  born  at  Franklin,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  16,  1819,  and  was  early  trained  to  piety  by  his 
parents.  Evincing  talent  and  a  desire  to  minister  at  God's  altar, 
he  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  and,  on  the  completion  of 
the  period  assigned  for  the  ecclesiastical  studies,  was  ordained 
priest  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  by  Bishop  Hughes, 
May  18,  1845.  After  acting  as  professor  at  St.  John's  College, 
Fordham,  he  was  appointed  to  the  mission  of  Watertown,  and 
subsequently  made  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Utica.  Here  he 
remained  several  years,  building  up  the  Catholic  body  by  his 
zeal  for  the  education  and  training  of  the  young,  and  his  constant 
care  of  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  whole  flock. 

When  it  became  evident  that  Bishop  O'Reilly  had  perished  at 
sea  the  Rev.  Mr.  McFarland's  name  was  i:)roposed  for  the  vacant 
bishopric.     He  was  consecrated  on  the  l-4th  of  March,  1858,  and, 


256  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

like  bis  predecessors,  made  Providence  liis  residence.  Under  bis 
administration  the  progress  of  the  faith  continued,  so  that  in 
1872  the  diocese,  which  could  boast  a  population  of  two  hundred 
thousand  Catholics,  with  more  than  a  hundred  churches  and 
priests,  ten  academies,  forty-five  parochial  schools,  and  pupils  ex- 
ceeding five  thousand,  was  divided.  A  new  see  was  erected  at 
Providence,  with  Rhode  Island  and  part  of  Massachusetts  as  a 
diocese.  Bishop  McFarland  removed  to  Hartford,  and  began  the 
erection  of  a  cathedral  with  an  episcopal  residence  and  a  convent 
for  Sisters.  His  health,  however,  failed,  and  though  he  visited 
the  South,  the  zealous  bishop  was  unable  to  remain  away  from 
his  diocese;  he  returned  to  linger  and  die  on  the  12th  of  October, 
1874.  His  administration  had  been  that  of  a  kind  and  gentle 
father,  winning  the  love  of  his  flock  and  the  respect  of  the  whole 
community  by  his  virtues,  his  learning,  and  his  modesty.  At  his 
death  Connecticut  alone  had  89  churches  and  76  priests. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  GALBERRY,  O.S.A., 

Fowrih  Bishop  of  Hartfoo'd. 

Thomas  Galberey  first  saw  the  light  at  Naas,  in  the  County 
Kildare,  Ireland,  in  1833;  but  three  years  after  his  birth  his 
parents  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Philadelj^hia.  Here 
he  received  his  early  training,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  entered 
Villanova  College.  On  his  graduation,  in  1851,  he  resolved  to 
renounce  the  world,  and  the  next  year  received  the  habit  of  the 
Hermits  of  St.  Augustine  at  Villanova.  After  a  fervent  novi- 
tiate he  began  his  divinity  studies,  and  was  ordained  priest  by 
Bishop  Neumann,  December  20,  1856.  Father  Galberry  was  for 
two  years  a  professor  at  Villanova,  then  pastor  of  St.  Dennis' 
Church,  West  Haverford.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  1860  he 
was  sent  to  Lansingburg,  New  York,  a  mission  long  in  the  hands 
of  the  Augustinians.     Here  he  v^rected  a  fine  Gothic  churcli  at  a 


DIOCESE    OF  HARTFORD.  257 

cost  of  more  than  thirty- three  thousand  dollars,  and  near  it  a 
house  for  the  Sisters  of  St.  Josej)h.  On  the  30th  of  November, 
1866,  he  was  made  superior  of  the  Commissariate  of  Our  Lady  of 
Good  Counsel,  the  mission  of  his  order  in  the  United  States. 
AYhile  holding  this  important  office  he  took  charge  at  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  completing  the  church  in  that  place,  and,  having  been 
elected  president  of  Villanova  College,  erected  a  new  edifice  and 
reorganized  the  university  course.  When  the  Augustinians  in 
the  United  States  were  formed  into  the  province  of  St.  Thomas 
of  Villanova,  in  1874,  Father  Galberry  was  elected  provincial, 
but  was  soon  after  appointed  by  the  Pope  Bishop  of  Hartford. 
Reluctant  to  sever  his  life  from  his  religious  brethren,  he  for- 
warded his  resignation  to  Rome,  but  was  required  to  obey.  He 
was  accordingly  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Williams,  March  19, 
1876.  On  assuming  the  mitre  of  Hartford  he  entered  on  his 
duties  with  his  wonted  zeal  and  devotion,  seeking  to  spread 
through  his  flock  solid  and  deep  piety  and  attachment  to  the 
faith,  as  he  had  while  superior  of  his  order  extended  the  Third 
Order  of  St.  Augustine  with  great  spiritual  fruit.  He  wag  not, 
however,  long  to  rule  the  diocese  of  Hartford.  In  Octobe*',  1878, 
feeling  that  his  health  was  breaking,  he  hoped  that  a  visit  to 
Villanova  would  enable  him  to  recruit  his  strength  and  obtain 
the  care  of  physicians  who  knew  his  constitution.  His  case, 
however,  was  far  more  criticalthan  he  supposed.  Before  the 
rapidly-moving  cars  reached  New  York  Bishop  Galberry  was 
seized  with  a  hemorrhage,  and  as  the  Grand  Central  Station  was 
entered  he  was  conveyed  to  a  hotel  and  medical  aid  was  sum- 
moned. It  was  beyond  the  power  of  science  to  arrest  the  mal- 
ady. The  faithful  bishop  prepared  to  surrender  a  life  wliich  he 
had  spent  in  the  service  of  religion  and  his  fellow-men,  and  was 
attended  by  several  of  the  city  clergy.  He  died  calmly  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  October  10,  1878,  greatly  la- 
mented by  his  fellow-religious  and  by  the  diocese  of  Hartford, 
which  had  just  begun  to  appreciate  his  worth. 


258  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

RIGHT   REV.   LAWRENCE   S.   McMAHON, 

Fifth  Bisliop  of  Hartford. 

Lawrence  S.  McMahon  was  born  in  the  British  province  of 
New  Brunswick  in  1835,  but  was  brought  to  the  United  States 
when  foui"  months  old.  His  early  studies  were  made  in  the  public 
schools  of  Boston,  but  he  subsequently  entered  the  College  of 
the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  and  remained  there  till  the 
destruction  of  that  institution  by  fii-e  suspended  its  work  for 
a  time.  He  made  the  rest  of  his  course  in  Montreal  and  Bal- 
timore. Desirous  of  devoting  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
Almighty,  he  went  to  France  and  began  his  theological  course 
at  the  college  of  Aix,  but  completed  it  at  Rome,  March  24, 
1860.  He  was  ordained  that  same  year  in  the  Basilica  of  St. 
John  Lateran  by  the  cardinal  vicar.  On  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  was  first  stationed  in  the  cathedral  at  Boston, 
but  in  1863  accompanied  the  Twenty-eighth  Massachusetts  regi- 
ment to  the  field  as  chaplain.  After  the  war  he  was  appoint- 
ed the  first  pastor  of  Bridgewater,  from  which  parish  he  was, 
on  the  1st  of  July,  1865,  transferred  to  New  Bedford.  Here 
he  erected  the  elegant  Gothic  church  dedicated  to  St.  Lawrence, 
collecting  means  as  he  advanced,  so  that  he  escaped  any  large 
indebtedness.  His  next  step  was  to  establish  an  hospital  for 
the  care  of  the  sick,  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy — 
the  first  institution  of  the  kind  in  New  Bedford — and  he  also  ac- 
quired land  for  other  pious  establishments.  When  the  see  of 
Providence  was  erected,  in  1872,  Bishop  Hendricken  made  Rev. 
Mr.  McMahon  his  vicar-general,  and  the  next  year  the  zealous 
priest  received  from  Rome  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
After  fourteen  years'  mission  work  at  New  Bedford  he  was 
chosen  for  the  see  of  Hartford,  and  was  consecrated  by  Arch- 
bishop Williams  on  the  10th  of  August,  1879.  He  completed 
the  cathedral,  and  governs  the  diocese  with  zeal  and  prudence. 
The  diocese  contained  in  1891:  184  priests,  148  churches,  and 
a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  180,000. 


i 


DIOCESE  OF  HELENA. 


RIGHT  REV.   JOHN  B.   BRONDEL, 

^ii'st  Bishop  of  Helena. 

John  B.  Brondel  was  born  at  Bruges,  in  the  Belgian 
province  of  West  Flanders,  on  the  23d  of  February,  1842,  and 
received  his  first  instructions  from  the  Xaverian  Brothers,  a 
community  but  recently  formed  in  his  native  city.  He  then 
for  ten  years  followed  the  French  and  Latin  courses  at  the 
College  of  St  Louis,  the  episcopal  seat  of  learning.  Choosing 
the  career  of  a  missionary,  he  made  his  philosophical  and 
theological  studies  in  the  American  College  at  Lou  vain,  and 
was  ordained  priest  by  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Sterckx  at 
Mechlin  on  the  lith  of  December,  1864.  He  had  been  re- 
ceived by  Bishop  Blanchet  for  the  diocese  of  Nesqually,  and 
set  out  for  it  by  the  way  of  Panama,  reaching  Vancouver  on  All- 
Hallow  Eve,  1866.  After  spending  a  year  at  the  college,  com 
bining  the  duties  of  a  professor  with  those  of  a  missionary,  he 
was  stationed  for  ten  years  at  Steilacoom,  on  Puget  Sound, 
and  after  a  year  at  Walla  Walla  returned  to  it.  During  his 
pastorship  he  built  churches  at  Olympia  and  Tacoma.  Having 
been  elected  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  he  was  consecrated 
by  Archbishop  Seghers  on  the  14th  of  December,  1879.  He 
directed  this  difiicult  diocese  till  April  7, 1888,  when  he  was  made 
also  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Montana.  He  set  to  work  to  organize  the 
Church  there.  The  eastern  j^ortion  of  the  Territory  had  been  erect- 
ed into  a  vicariate-apostolic  as  early  as  1868,  and  the  Very  Rev.  A. 
Ravoux  had  been  elected  to  preside  over  it,  but  he  declined  the 
appointment.  The  vicariate  was  then  administered  by  the  vicars- 
apostolic  of  Nebraska  till  1883,  when  the  whole  Territory  was 
formed  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  and  Bishop  Brondel  was  the  first 


262 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


vicar-apostolic.  On  the  7tli  of  March,  1884,  His  Holiness 
Pope  Leo  XHI.  erected  the  see  of  Helena  and  transferred  Bish- 
op Brondel  to  it.  The  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  became  his 
cathedral,  and  he  endeavored  to  secure  missionaries  who  would 
accomplish  among  other  tribes  what  the  Jesuit  Fathers  had 
effected  among  the  Flatheads  and  Pends  d'Oreilles.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  diocese  was  then  about  ten  thousand,  the  white 
Catholics  being  widely  scattered,  and  beside  the  thirteen  Jesuit 
Fathers  he  had  only  five  secular  priests. 

These  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following:  30 
priests,  31  churches  and  chapels,  6  hospitals,  4  seminarians,  3 
academies,  7  parochial  schools,  and  an  estimated  Catholic  populaf 
tion  of  30,000. 


DIOCESES  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSEPH'S. 


EIGHT  REV.   JOHN   JOSEPH    HOGAN, 

First  Bishop  of  Kansas  City  and  First  Bishop  of  Si 

JosepK's. 

John  J.  HoGAN  was  born  May  10,  1829,  in  the  parish  of 
Bmff,  diocese  of  Limerick,  Ireland.  At  the  age  of  five  he  was 
sent  to  the  neighboring  village  scLool  of  Holy  Cross.  At  ten  he 
was  placed  under  the  care  of  a  private  tutor  in  his  father's  house, 
where  for  four  years  he  devoted  himself  to  acquirino-  Latin, 
Greek,  and  French.  After  four  years  more  spent  in  classical 
schools  young  Hogan  came  to  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
to  enter  the  theological  seminary,  and  at  the  close  of  the  regular 
course  was  ordained  priest  in  April,  1852.  The  young  priest's 
first  mission  was  at  Old  Mines,  where  he  spent  a  year  and  a  half, 
and  was  then  transferred  to  Potosi,  where  he  became  pastoi\  In 
1854  he  w^as  called  to  St.  Louis,  and  besides  duty  as  assistant  at 
St.  John's  Church  officiated  as  chaplain  to  the  Male  Orphan 
Asylum  and  confessor  to  the  Sisters.  While  thus  engaged  he 
was  commissioned  to  organize  a  new  parish,  and  erected  St. 
Michael's  Church,  of  which  he  became  rector,  signalizing  his  pas- 
torship by  at  once  commencing  the  parochial  schools.  North- 
west Missouri,  a  Avide  district  of  country,  w^ithout  altar  or  priest, 
required  an  active  and  zealous  missionary.  He  cheerfully  left 
the  parish  which  he  had  created  to  undertake  the  difiiculties  and 
hardships  of  an  unprovided  district.  The  resolute  energy  of  the 
priest  appears  in  the  missions  founded  by  him  at  Martinsburg, 
Mexico,  Sturgeon,  Allen — now  called  Moberly — Macon  City, 
Brookfield,  Chillicothe,  and  Cameron.  Shortly  before  the  civil 
war  he  undertook  to  establish  a  settlement  in  southern  Missouri, 
on  the  borders  of  Arkansas,  but  was  unsuccessful,  the  fiery  tide 


2t)4  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  conflicting  armies  having  rolled  too  frequently  forward  and 
backward  over  the  peaceful  labors  of  the  ruined  settlers.  The 
diocese  of  St.  Louis  had  long  comprised  the  whole  State  of  Mis- 
souri, but  it  was  evident  that,  by  assigning  a  portion  of  the  terri- 
tory to  a  local  bishop,  the  interests  of  religion  would  be  better 
subserved.  Soon  after  the  restoration  of  peace  plans  were  made 
for  the  erection  of  a  new  see,  which  was  created  by  Pope  Pius 
TX.  on  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  at  St.  Joseph,  in  Buchanan  County, 
the  diocese  comprising  the  portion  of  Missouri  lying  between  the 
river  of  that  name  and  the  Chariton.  To  this  see  the  laborious 
missionary  was  appointed,  receiving  episcopal  consecration  on  the 
13th  of  September,  1868,  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Kenrick, 
in  St.  John's  Church,  St.  Louis,  the  assistant  bishops  being  the 
Rio-ht  Rev^  John  B.  Mieo-e  and  Ris^ht  Rev.  P.  A.  Feehan,  the 
eloquent  sermon  on  the  occasion  being  preached  by  Bishop  Hen- 
nessy,  of  Dubuque.  The  diocese  included  part  of  Dr.  Hogan's 
former  missions,  so  that  he  was  personally  known.  When  he  was 
installed  it  contained  only  four  thousand  Catholics,  with  eleven 
churches  attended  by  nine  priests ;  but  education  had  received  a 
solid  basis  in  the  establishment  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  and  the  Christian  Brothers  at  St.  Joseph.  Under  the 
bishop's  impulse  a  new  energy  was  infused  into  the  Catholic 
body,  priests  were  obtained  for  growing  congregations,  churches 
rose,  the  Benedictine  Fathers  came  to  found  a  priory  at  Concep- 
tion, in  Nodaway  County,  and  the  Franciscans  at  Mount  St. 
Maiy's.  Sisters  of  Charity,  Benedictine  nuns.  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph  and  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration,  help  to  carry  on  the 
needed  parochial  schools.  By  1 880  the  Catholics  of  the  diocese, 
considerably  increased  in  numbers,  had  thirty  churches  and 
twenty-six  priests. 

On  the  10th  of  September  in  that  year  the  Holy  See  erected 
another  diocese,  comprising  the  portion  of  the  State  south  of  the 
Missouri  River  and  west  of  Moniteau,  Miller,  Camden,  Laclede, 
Wright,  Douglas,  and  Ozark  counties.  The  episcopal  see  was 
fixed  at  Kansas  City,  and  to  it  Bishoj:)  Hogan  was  transfwred, 
retaining  the  charge  of  his  former  diocese  as  administrator.  This 
new  diocese  contained  forty-two  churches  and  thii-ty  priesta  and 
some  twelve  thousand  Catholics.     The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  had 


DIOCESES  OF  KANSAS  CITY  AND  ST.  JOSEPH'S.  265 

opened  at  St.  Joseph's  a  convent,  attending  an  hospital,  an 
asylum,  and  schools.  Chillicothe,  Brookfield,  Sedalia,  Concep- 
tion, Maryville,  Boonville,  Springfield,  Independence,  and  Tipton, 
all  had  schools. 

The  Redemptorist  Fathers  soon  made  Kansas  City  the  centre 
of  their  Western  missions,  establishing  there  a  novitiate  and  pre- 
paratory college;  the  Benedictine  priory  became  the  abbey  of 
New  Engelberg,  with  the  Right  Rev.  Frowenus  Conrad  mitred 
abbot ;  a  hospital  was  established  at  Kansas  City,  and  orphan 
asylums  there  and  at  St.  Joseph's ;  and  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
opened  in  the  former  city  a  house  for  those  who  were  left  in  pov- 
erty in  an  advanced  age.  In  May,  1882,  he  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  the  cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  a  fine  Corinthian 
church,  capable  of  holding  four  thousand  people.  By  1884  the 
two  dioceses  under  the  care  of  Bishop  Hogan  had  a  Catholic  pop 
ulation  of  40,000,  with  seventy-five  churches  and  eighty  priests. 
The  whole  development  was  coeval  with  the  bishop's  labors; 
and  he  has  never  relaxed  his  efforts,  aiming  to  give  his  people 
every  facility  for  the  practice  of  their  religion  and  for  the  Cath- 
olic education  of  their  children,  and  constantly  keeping  in  view 
the  training-up  of  candidates  for  the  priesthood  to  maintain  the 
work  and  meet  the  ever-increasing  audacity  of  infidelity,  which 
thrives  in  a  land  of  godless  schools. 

At  the  begmnmg  of  1891  there  were,  in  the  two  dioceses  of 
Kansas  City  and  St.  Joseph,  103  priests,  72  churches,  75  chapels 
and  stations,  41  parochial  schools  with  4,707  pupils,  3  colleges 
and  13  academies  with  1,063  students,  2  orphanages,  5  hospitals, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  64,260. 


DIOCESE  OF  LA  CROSSE. 


RIGHT  REV.   KILIAN  FLASCH, 

Second  Bishop  of  La  Crosse. 

KiLiAN  Flasch  was  born  on  the  16th  of  July,  1831,  at  the 
village  of  Retzstadt,  in  the  diocese  of  Wiii-zburg,  Bavaria.  He 
was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  neighboring 
schools  till  his  parents  emigrated  to  America,  in  1847.  He  soon 
after  entered  the  College  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana,  from  which  he 
passed  to  the  pro-seminary  at  Milwaukee,  and,  persevering  in  his 
resolve  to  devote  his  life  to  the  apostolate  of  the  Christian  priest- 
hood, he  became  a  student  in  the  Salesianum,  or  Seminary  of  St, 
Francis,  at  its  opening  in  1856.  After  pursuing  a  solid  course 
of  divinity  studies  in  that  thorough  seminary  he  was  ordained 
priest,  December  16,  1859.  His  pious  parents  lived  to  see  with 
joy  their  son  a  priest  and  three  daughters  enter  the  Sisterhood 
of  Notre  Dame,  his  mother  attaining  an  age  of  nearly  fourscore 
and  ten  to  receive  his  episcopal  blessing.  The  young  priest  was 
stationed  at  Laketown  for  about  ten  months,  but  in  October. 
1860,  was  recalled  to  the  Salesianum,  where,  as  master  of  discip- 
line and  professor,  he  remained  till  May,  1867,  when  ill-health  re- 
quired a  change.  He  sought  rest,  however,  in  mission  work,  taking 
charge  of  a  small  parish  and  an  orphan  asylum  at  Elm  Grove, 
near  Milwaukee.  In  November,  1875,  he  became  spiritual  di- 
rector at  the  seminary  and  professor  of  moral  theology,  and  in 
1879,  on  the  retirement  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wapelhorst,  Rector  of  the 
Salesianum.  When  Bishop  Heiss  was  made  coadjutor  of  Mil- 
waukee this  learned  and  experienced  priest  was  selected  for  the 
see  of  La  Crosse,  and  was  consecrated  by  his  predecessor,  August 
24,  1881.     He  was  installed  in  his  cathedral  a  week  later  and 

266 


DIOCESE  OF  LA  CROSSE. 


267 


has  since  labored  for  the  flock  committed  to  his  care,  now  num- 
bering 54,500,  with  119  churches,  attended  by  71  priests.  The 
Jesuit  Fathers  have  established  a  thriving  college  at  Prairie  du 
Chien ;  the  Franciscan  Sisters  of  the  Perpetual  Adoration  have 
a  large  community,  taking  charge  of  two  orphan  asylums,  a  hos- 
pital, and  eighteen  parochial  schools,  other,  schools  being  con- 
ducted by  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  St.  Dominic,  St.  Joseph,  and 
Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  above  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following : 
102  priests,  18  seminarians,  197  churches,  60  parochial  schools, 
6,743  pupils,  3  convents  and  6  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  popula- 
tion of  67,000. 

.  .  .  * 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Flasch  died  universally  regretted  after  a 

long  and  painful  illuess,  at  his  residence,  the  third  day  of  August, 
1891.  This  humble  and  unselfish  apostle  labored  incessantly  to 
extend  the  Church  and  increase  the  number  of  schools  in  his 
diocese. 

The  remains  of  this  saintly  prelate  lie  now  in  a  vault  beneath 
the  altar  of  the  new  Catholic  cemetery  chapel,  dedicated  to  our 
B.  V.  M.  of  the  Seven  Dolors  on  November  1,  1891. 


DIOCESE  OF  LEAYEi\WORTH. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOHN  B.  MIEGE, 

Bishop  of  Messenia  and   Vicar- Aiyostolic  of  Kansas. 

John  Baptist  Miege  was  born  September  18,  1815,  at  Chev- 
ron,  in  Upper  Savoy,  of  a  pious  and  prominent  family  which  had 
seen  many  of  its  members  in  dignities  of  Church  or  state.  He 
was  educated  mainly  by  his  elder  brother,  Urban,  who  for  nearly 
forty-two  years  presided  over  the  Episcopal  Seminary  of  Mon- 
tiers.  His  early  inclinations  pointed  to  the  sacerdotal  state,  but 
on  completing  his  studies,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  announced 
to  his  brother  his  wish  to  enter  the  army.  Urban  urged  him  to 
make  a  thorough  course  of  philosophy  before  taking  the  step, 
and  two  years  later  John  Baptist  said  to  him :  "  Brother,  with 
your  consent  I  would  like  to  enter  the  Society  of  Jesus."  He 
was  received  into  the  novitiate  at  Melan,  October  23,  1836,  and, 
after  some  years  spent  as  a  successful  teacher  of  the  young, 
studied  theology  under  Perrone,  Passaglia,  Patrizzi,  and  Ballerini. 
He  was  ordained  at  Rome  in  1847,  and  on  the  dispersion  of  the 
Italian  houses  of  the  society  in  the  following  year  asked  to  be 
sent  to  the  American  mission.  Reaching  St.  Louis  near  the 
close  of  1849,  he  became  pastor  of  St.  Charles'  Church,  professor 
of  moral  theology  at  Florissant,  and  subsequently  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  St.  Louis.  In  1850  he  received  a  package  containing  his 
appointment  as  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  He  firmly  but  respectfully  returned  the 
documents  to  Archbishop  Kenrick,  through  whom  they  had  been 
forwarded.  In  time  a  formal  order  arrived  from  Rome  requir- 
ing his  submission,  but  promising  that  he  should  not  be  raisea 
to  any  see  in  the  United  States,  and  that  as  titular  bishop  he 
might  remain  a  member  of  the  Society.  He  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Messenia  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  Feast  of  the  An- 


DIOCESE  OF  LEAVENWORTH.  269 

nunciation,  1851,  in  St.  Xavier's  Cliurcli,  St.  Louis.  The  vicariate 
assigned  to  his  care  was  then  held  mainly  by  Indian  tribes,  few 
white  settlers  having  entered  it.  The  States  of  Kansas,  Ne- 
braska, Colorado,  and  Indian  Territory  have  since  been  formed 
from  the  territory.  He  proceeded  to  St.  Mary's  Mission,  which 
he  made  his  residence,  and  entered  on  the  work  of  a  missionary 
priest,  to  explore  his  vicariate  and  ascertain  its  wants,  and  form 
plans  for  the  development  of  religion.  In  1853  he  visited  Rome 
to  report  its  condition,  acting  also  as  procurator  of  his  order  at 
a  General  Congregation.  When  he  took  possession  of  the  vicari- 
ate it  contained  missions  of  his  order  among  the  Potto watamies 
and  Osages,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  directing  a  girls'  school 
at  the  former.  Bishop  Miege  soon  had  an  Osage  school,  under 
Sisters  of  Loretto ;  the  Catholics  in  his  whole  district  number- 
ing about  five  thousand.  For  these  he  gradually  provided  more 
priests  and  churches.  As  the  district  soon  invited  settlers,  who 
poured  in  from  the  north  and  the  south,  the  Territories  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  were  laid  off,  and  here  began  a  struggle  which 
culminated  in  a  civil  war  between  the  two  sections.  In  August, 
1855,  Bishop  Miege  fixed  his  residence  at  Leavenworth,  where 
he  found  seven  Catholic  families.  That  year  he  could  report  six 
churches,  three  building,  eleven  stations,  and  eight  priests.  The 
next  year  the  Benedictine  Fathers  began  a  mission  at  Doniphan, 
and  in  a  few  years  Dom  Augustine  Wirth  opened  a  college  at 
Atchison.  As  settlers  increased  churches  sprang  up,  so  that  in 
1857  Nebraska  was  formed  into  a  separate  vicariate,  and  Bishop 
Miege's  jurisdiction  was  confined  to  the  Territory  of  Kansas.  Be- 
fore the  close  of  the  civil  war  Kansas  had  nineteen  priests — secu- 
lars, Jesuits,  Benedictines,  and  Carmelites — and,  beside  the  Sister- 
hoods already  noted.  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  opened  at  Leaven- 
worth an  academy,  an  hospital,  and  an  asylum.  After  that  the 
growth  of  religion  was  rapid,  and  in  1871  Bishop  Miege  obtained 
his  wish  in  the  consecration  of  a  coadjutor,  Dom  Louis  Fink, 
who,  as-  prior  of  the  Benedictines  at  Atchison  and  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese,  was  fully  conversant  with  the  vicariate.  When,  in 
1874,  Bishop  Miege  was  permitted  to  resign  the  cliarge  of  vicar- 
apostolic,  he  left  in  the  State  thirty-five  thousand  Catholics,  fort}'- 
eight  priests,  and  seventy-one  churches,  including  a  nuignificent 


270  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

catliedral.  To  meet  the  debts  incurred  in  the  new  buildings 
Bishop  Miege  made  a  successful  tour  through  California  and 
Spanish  America. 

In  July,  1 874,  he  returned  as  a  simple  Jesuit  Father  to  the 
university  in  St.  Louis.  As  spiritual  director  of  the  young  stu- 
dents of  the  order  at  Woodstock  he  passed  a  few  quiet  years,  and, 
after  opening  a  college  of  his  order  at  Detroit  in  1877,  returned 
to  that  house  of  studies.  Prostrated  by  paralysis  in  1883,  he 
lingered  in  great  suffering  till  his  death,  July  20,  1884. 


RIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  MARIA  FINK, 

First  Bishop  of  Leavenworth. 

Michael  Fink  was  born  in  Triftersberg,  Bavaria,  on  the  12th 
of  June,  18H4,  and,  after  studying  in  the  Latin  school  and  gym- 
nasium at  Ratisbon,  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
Called  to  a  religious  life  he  sought  admission  among  the  Bene- 
dictines of  St.  Vincent's  Abbey,  in  Westmoreland  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  received  by  the  founder,  Abbot  Wimmer,  and 
made  his  profession  on  the  6th  of  January,  1854,  taking  the  name 
of  Louis  Maria.  After  completing  his  theological  studies  he  was 
ordained  priest  on  the  28th  of  May,  1857,  by  Bishop  Young,  of 
Erie.  The  first  missionary  labors  of  the  young  Benedictine  priest 
were  at  Belief onte.  Pa.,  and  Newark,  N.  J.  He  was  then  made 
pastor  of  a  congregation  in  Covington,  Ky.,  where  he  completed 
a  fine  church.  He  introduced  into  the  parish  Benedictine  nuns 
to  direct  a  girls'  school,  which  was  one  of  his  earliest  cares.  Ap- 
pointed to  St.  Joseph's,  Chicago,  he  aroused  a  spirit  of  faith  in 
his  flock  at  that  place  and  gathered  so  many  around  the  altar 
that  a  new  church  was  required,  which  he  erected  at  a  cost  of 
eighty  thousand  dollars,  planting  a  large  and  well-arranged 
school-house  beside  it.  As  prior  of  the  house  of  his  order  in 
Atchison,  Kan.,  he  showed  the  same  zeal  and  ability;  and  when 
Bishop  Miege  wished  to  obtain  a  coadjutor  to  whom  he  could  re- 
sign his  charge,  that  prelate  solicited  the  appointment  of  the  prior 


DIOCESE  OF  LEAVENWORTH.  273 

of  St.  Benedict.  On  tlie  lltli  of  June,  1871,  lie  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Foley  Bishop  of  Eucarpia  in  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Chi- 
cago, which  he  had  erected.  Bishop  Fink  not  only  aided  Bishop 
Miege  in  the  episcopal  labors  of  the  vicariate,  but  in  his  absence 
had  the  entire  charge.  In  1874  Bishop  Miege  resigned  the  vica- 
riate, and  resumed  his  position  in  the  Society  of  Jesus  as  a  simple 
Father.  Bishoj^  Fink  became  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Kansas  till  the 
erection  of  the  see  of  Leavenworth,  May  22,  1877,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  it.  The  diocese  is  a  large  and  important  one,  and 
Bishop  Fink  in  pastorals  and  otherwise  sbows  his  zeal  for  Catho- 
lic progress.  His  diocese  is  well  provided  with  educational  es- 
tablishments for  its  80,000  Catholics.  St.  Benedict's  College  is 
connected  with  the  Benedictine  Abbey  at  Atchison ;  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  direct  St.  Mary's  College  at  St.  Mary's ;  there  are  besides 
3  academies  and  48  parochial  schools,  with  4,000  pupils,  under 
Benedictine  and  Franciscan  Sisters,  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  of 
Cliarity,  and  of  St.  Agnes.  The  diocese  also  possesses  orphan 
houses  and  hospitals  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  statistical  summary  of  the  diocese  of  Leavenworth  for 
1891  is  as  follows :  75  secular  and  49  regular  priests,  with  20 
seminarians;  174  churches  and  4  others  under  construction,  13 
chapels,  3  colleges  and  4  academies,  about  55  parochial  schools 
with  about  4,600  pupils,  2  orphan  asylums  and  4  hospitals,  and 
a  Catholic  population  of  about  60,000.  On  May  29,  1891,  the 
seat  of  the  diocese  of  Leavenworth  was  changed  to  Kansas  City, 
Kans.  In  1893,  there  were  in  the  diocese  42  priests,  48  churches, 
16  chapels  and  stations,  2  colleges,  5  academies,  1  monastery,  2 
orphanages,  2  hospitals,  17  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  nearly  20,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  LITTLE  ROCK. 


EIGHT  REV.  ANDREW  BYRNE, 

First  Bisliop  of  Little  Rock. 

Andrew  Bykne  was  born  at  Navan,  iu  Ireland,  once  famous 
for  its  shrine  of  Our  Lady,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1802.  After 
careful  studies  he  entered  the  diocesan  seminary  in  his  native 
place,  and  while  there  responded  to  a  call  from  BishojD  Eng- 
land for  laborers  in  his  diocese.  Young  Byrne  accompanied  the 
bishop  to  Charleston  in  1820,  and,  completing  his  course  under 
him,  was  ordained  November  11,  1827.  After  spending  some 
years  in  laborious  missions  in  the  Carolinas  the  Rev.  Mr.  Byrne 
became  pastor  of  ^^t.  Mary's,  Charleston,  in  1830,  and  was  for  sev- 
eral years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  After  attending  the  Sec- 
ond Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  as  theologian  to  Bishop 
England,  he  came  to  New  York  in  1836  and  was  pastor  of  St. 
James'  and  the  Nativity,  estaljlishing  subsequently  St.  Andrew's 
Church.  In  all  these  positions  he  had  displayed  untiring  devo- 
tion to  his  priestly  duties,  a  kind  and  benevolent  heart,  zeal  iu 
the  confessional,  and  eloquence  iu  the  puljoit.  On  the  erection 
of  the  see  of  Little  Rock'  in  1843  he  was  nominated  as  bishop, 
and  was  consecrated,  with  Bishop  McCloskey  and  Bishop  Quar- 
ter, on  the  10th  of  March,  1844,  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New 
York.  He  proceeded  to  his  diocese,  which  comprised  the  State  of 
Arkansas  and  Indian  Territory,  only  to  find  that  Catholics  were 
few,  widely  scattered,  and  destitute  of  all  spiritual  aid.  He  twice 
visited  Europe  to  ol)tain  priests  aud  some  sisterhood  to  direct 
schools  aud  charitable  institutions.  He  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce into  this  country  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  labored  assidu- 
ously for  his  diocese;  but  Catholic  progress  was  comparatively 
slow.  He  found  but  seven  hundred  Catholics,  with  four  priests 
and  as  many  churches.     At  his  death  he  left  thirteen  churches 

274 


DIOCESE   OF   LITTLE   EOCK.  275 

and  nine  priests.  For  several  years  his  diocese  afforded  little  or 
nothing  for  his  support,  but  he  was  never  discouraged.  He  at- 
tended the  Sixth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  and  the  First  of 
New  Orleans,  and  died  at  Helena  June  10, 1862.  His  remains  were 
transferred  to  Little  Kock  and  interred  in  the  cathedral  Dec,  3, 1881. 


EIGHT  EEV.  EDWAKD  FITZGERALD, 

Second  Bishop  of  Little  Rock. 

Edward  Fitzgeeald  was  born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1833 ;  descended  on  his  father's  side  from 
one  of  the  old  landed  families,  and  on  his  mother's  from  the 
German  Palatines,  who  settled  in  Ireland  to  avoid  Catholicity, 
but  gave  many  children  back  to  the  Church.  Coming  to  this 
country  with  his  family  in  1849,  he  entered  the  college  at  the 
Barrens,  Mo.,  in  the  ensuing  year  to  prepare  for  his  entrance  into 
a  theological  seminary.  After  five  years  of  ecclesiastical  study 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West  and  its  prototype  at  Emmitts- 
burg  he  was  ordained  for  the  diocese  of  Cincinnati,  August  22, 
1857,  and  was  at  once  sent  on  a  mission  of  unusual  difficulty  for 
a  newly-ordained  priest.  He  was  made  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  then  under  interdict,  and  in  a  state  of  rebellion 
against  Archbishop  Purcell.  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  restored  peace, 
and  brought  the  erring  to  a  sense  of  duty.  For  nine  years  he 
labored  assiduously,  building  up  Catholicity  in  that  city,  soon  to 
become  a  bishop's  see. 

After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  when  it  was  possible  to  be- 
gin to  repair  the  losses.  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzgerald  was  appointed  to  the 
diocese  of  Little  Rock.  It  was  a  sacrifice  of  no  ordinary  char- 
acter to  undertake,  without  resources,  to  restore  or  advance  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  a  State  like  Arkansas,  where  the  little 
Catholic  beginnings  had  almost  been  swept  away;  yet  he  ac- 
cepted the  onerous  task,  and  was  consecrated  February  3,  1807. 
When  he  reached  the  diocese  there  were  but  five  priests  left  in 
the  whole  State,  and  of  the  institutions  naught  remained  but  thi-ee 


THE  CATHOLIC  HlEUAKCUr  iS  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

houses   of  Sisters    of   Mercy.     The    Catholic    population  in  tHo 
State  and  iu  Indian  Territory  was  estimated  at  sixteen  hundred. 
Bishop  Fitzgerald  found  much  to  be  done,  and  absolutely  no  re- 
sources, but  he  endeavored  to  attract  Catholic  immigrants  to  the 
State.     For  a  time  Germans  and  Poles  came  to  settle  in  Arkan- 
sas, so  that  in  1884  the  Catholic  body  had  risen  to  about  seven 
thousand ;  but  there  is   very  slight  increase  now.     The  annual 
baptisms  are  about  375.     In  such  dioceses,  especially  where  the 
llocks  are  too  few  and  too  j^oor  to  maintain  separate  pastors,  the 
hope  of  religion  rests  on  those  orders  which,  vowed  to  poverty 
and  obedience,  labor  more  earnestly  because  they  are  sustained 
by  the  spirit  of  their  institute  and  the  co-operation  of  brother  re- 
ligious.    Bishop  Fitzgerald  called  to  his  aid  the  ancient  order  of 
St.  Benedict,  who  founded  a  priory  in  Logan  County,  and  take 
charge   of  several   missions  ;  and   also  the  Fathers  of  the   Holy 
Ghost,  whose   monastery  is   at  Marienstatt,  in   Conway   County. 
These  relio;ious  make  their  house  a  centre  for  missions  in  several 
counties.     There  were  in  all,  in  1884,  23  priests  in  the  diocese, 
which  has  34  churches  and  4  convent  chapels.     Besides  the  Sis- 
ters of  Mercy,  who  so  heroically  clung  to  the  diocese.  Sisters  of 
Charity,   Sisters    of   St.   Joseph,   and  Benedictine  nuns  are  also 
laboring  there,  and  this  diocese  can   report  16  parochial  schools 
with  1,143  pupils.     Bishop  Fitzgerald  was  one  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Vatican  Council,  and    at  the  time  of  the  conference  of  the 
bishops  of  the  United  States  at  Konie,  in   1883,  was  selected  to 
represent  the  province  of  New  Orleans.     He  also  attended  the 
Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  iu  1884. 

The  diocese  of  Little  Kock  in  1891  presented  this  statistical 
summary:  29  priests  and  5  seminarians,  45  churches,  1  college,  27 
parochial  schools  with  1,800  pupils,  in  a  Catholic  population  of 
0,000. 


^ 


J^ 


cii/. 


DIOCESE  OF  LOUISA^LLE. 


RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  JOSEPH  FLAGET, 

First  Bishop  of  Bardstoion  and  Louisville. 

Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  was  born  November  7,  1763,  at 
Contoiirnat,  in  Auvergue,  France,  of  a  family  of  pious  farmers ; 
his  father  died  before  his  birth,  and  his  mother  did  not  long  sur- 
vive. Trained  by  a  good  aunt,  young  Flaget  entered  the  college 
at  Billom,  and  in  time  passed  to  the  University  of  Clermont  to 
study  for  the  priesthood,  as  his  elder  brother  had  already  done. 
The  famous  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  attracted  him,  and,  completing 
a  thorough  course  there,  Benedict  Joseph  was  ordained  priest  and 
joined  the  community.  He  was  for  some  years  professor  of 
dogmatic  and  subsequently  of  moral  theology  in  the  seminary 
at  Nantes,  till  the  French  Revolution  broke  up  all  institutions  of 
the  kind.  The  good  priest  then  sought  refuge  with  his  family  at 
Billom,  but  he  felt  called  to  the  American  missions,  and  with  the 
consent  of  his  superior,  Rev.  Mr.  Emerj^,  sailed  for  Baltimore  in 
1792.  Bishop  Carroll  welcomed  the  learned  clergyman  and  sent 
him  to  Vincennes,  Avhere  a  French  priest  was  needed.  Journey- 
ing by  Avagon  and  flat-boat,  performing  missionary  duty  wher- 
ever he  could  on  the  route,  Rev.  Mr.  Flao^et  reached  Vincennes 
December  21,  1792.  Religion  had  declined  so  that  with  all  his 
exhortation  only  twelve  received  Holy  Communion  on  Christmas 
day.  '  He  labored  earnestly  to  revive  religion  at  Vincennes  and 
other  little  centres  of  population  where  the  people  had  for  yeai-s 
been  deprived  of  all  spiritual  succor.  Recalled  to  Bixltimore  in 
April,  1795,  he  descended  the  Mississippi  in  a  boat  to  New 
Orleans  and  embarked  from  that  city  for  Baltimore.  Rev.  Mr. 
Flaget  was  then  for  three  years  chief  prefect  and  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors of  Georgetown  College,  having  the  honor  to  welcome  Wash- 
ing-ton to  the  institut^'on.     In  1798  he  visited  Cuba  with  the  view 


278  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCH\  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  establishing  a  house  of  the  Siilpitian  body  on  that  island  ;  but 
this  design  being  frustrated,  he  returned  to  Baltimore  with  a  num- 
ber  of  young  Cubans  who  desired  to  enter  St.  Mary's  College. 
The  next  eight  years  were  spent  as  professor  in  the  college  or  in 
mission  duties  connected  with  the  church  and  the  parish  attached 
to  it.  The  arrival  of  the  Trappists  in  America  awakened  in  his 
heart  a  desire  to  fly  from  the  world  and  all  its  vicissitudes,  and 
seek  peace  in  the  silent  cloisters  of  that  austere  order,  but  he 
never  attained  his  wish. 

When  the  diocese  of  Baltimore,  which  originally  embraced  all 
the  thirteen  United  States,  was  divided  in  1807,  and  new  sees 
erected,  Bishop  Carroll  recommended  the  Rev.  Mr.  Flaget  for 
the  see  of  Bardstown,  Kentucky.  The  good  priest  at  once  begged 
Archbishop  Carroll  to  obtain  his  release  from  the  dreaded  bur- 
den, and,  failing  to  do  so,  went  to  Europe  for  the  same  object. 
Yielding  at  last  to  the  will  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  he  was 
consecrated  in  the  cathedral,  Baltimore,  by  Archbishop  Carroll, 
assisted  by  Bishops  Cheverus  and  Egan,  on  the  4th  of  November, 
1810.  Friends  made  up  means  to  enable  this  bishop,  apostolic 
in  his  poverty,  to  reach  the  diocese  for  which  he  had  been  con- 
secrated. It  comprised  the  State  of  Kentucky,  then  containing  a 
thousand  Catholics,  with  ten  churches  and  three  priests.  In- 
diana and  Michigan,  with  Tennessee,  were  also  confided  to  his 
care.  He  took  up  his  residence  in  a  log-cabin  sixteen  feet 
square,  and  began  his  labors.  The  congregations  in  the  diocese 
were  frequently  visited ;  a  seminary  was  begun ;  confirmation 
given.  All  was  not  peace,  however;  there  were  dissensions  to 
appease.  Catholic  doctrines  were  attacked,  and  the  mild  and 
gentle  bishop  was  compelled  to  enter  the  arena,  ajid,  by  his  learn- 
ing and  solid  reasoning,  silence  his  opponent.  His  visitations  to 
Indiana  and  Michigan  revived  religion  far  and  wide,  and  those 
to  Tennessee  were  the  first  mission  efforts  in  that  State.  In  1817 
he  solicited  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  David  as  his  coad- 
jutor, and  that  clergyman  was  consecrated  in  1819.  Relieved 
tlius  of  some  of  his  duties,  devolving  those  nearest  his  cathedral 
on  Bishop  David,  the  venerable  Dr.  Flaget  renewed  his  visita- 
tions. Besides  his  coadjutor  he  consecrated  Bishop  Fenwick,  of 
Cincinnati,    and   went  to   Baltimore  to    consecrate    Archbishop 


DIOCESE  OP  LOUISVILLE.  279 

Whitfield.  In  1829  lie  attended  tlie  First  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore,  wliicli  liad  so  long  been  desired  by  him.  He  was 
there  received  with  great  veneration  as  the  holy  survivor  of 
Archbishop  Carroll's  associates  in  the  episcopate.  Subsequent  to 
that  council  he,  at  different  times,  consecrated  Bishops  Kenrick, 
Purcell,  Chabrat,  and  Brute.  Under  his  impulse  and  by  his  co- 
operation two  religious  communities  of  women,  the  Sisters  of 
Loretto  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  had  risen  up  in  his  diocese,  and 
the  ranks  of  his  clergy  were  swelled  by  the  Dominicans  and 
Trappists. 

Bishop  Flaget  sought  in  vain  to  resign  his  episcopate.  His 
reputation  for  sanctity,  the  blessings  that  God  evidently  gave 
his  work,  made  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs  refuse  to  deprive  Kentucky 
of  his  presence  as  bishop.  Ihe  Bishop  of  Bardstown  visited 
Rome,  where  he  was  received  with  great  respect  and  admiration, 
and  while  in  France  he  was  venerated  as  a  saint.  He  returned 
to  his  diocese  in  the  summer  of  1839,  after  an  absence  of  four 
years,  and  was  welcomed  with  pious  joy.  Bishop  Flaget  im- 
mediately resumed  his  duties  and  made  a  thorough  visitation  of 
his  diocese  which  lasted  for  two  years.  In  1841  the  see  of  the 
diocese  was  removed  from  Bardstown  to  Louisville. 

His  first  coadjutor.  Bishop  David,  died  in  1841,  and  in  1847 
Bishop  Chabrat,  whose  sight  was  rapidly  failing,  resigned  to  seek 
a  cure  in  Europe.  In  1848  the  Rev.  Martin  John  Spalding  was 
appointed  coadjutor,  and  on  him  the  chief  episcopal  duties  de- 
volved, as  the  aged  bishop  never  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of 
the  day  when  his  last  coadjutor  was  consecrated. 

Bishop  Flaget  introduced  into  his  diocese  the  Sisters  of  the 
Good  She23herd  in  1842  ;  and  in  1848  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  to  his 
great  joy,  consented  to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's,  one  of  the  two 
colleges  he  had  founded.  The  Trappists  in  the  same  year  return- 
ed to  his  diocese  and  founded  an  establishment,  which  grew  and 
prospered  with  God's  blessing.  Relieved  from  the  care  of  the 
diocese,  Bishop  Flaget  spent  his  time  in  prayer  or  pious  i-eading. 
In  the  summer  of  1849  livid  tumors  appeared  on  liis  slioulder 
and  lower  limbs,  and  his  health  became  such  that,  to  his  great 
sorrow,  he  was  no  louger  able  to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass,    and  could  only   join  in  it  in  spirit  from  his    room,   and 


•280  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

adore  our  Loicl  at  the  Consecration  and  at  the  Benediction  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  when  the  sound  of  the  bell  reached  his  ears. 
He  bore  all  his  sufferings  with  the  utmost  j)atience  and  cheerful- 
ness. On  the  night  of  the  10th  of  February,  1850,  he  became 
restless  and  slightly  delirious.  At  noon  the  next  day  Bishop 
Spalding,  attended  by  the  eleven  priests  of  the  city,  administered 
the  Holy  Viaticum  and  Extreme  Unction  to  the  venerable  pre- 
late, who  was  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties.  He  followed 
the  profession  of  faith  read  by  his  secretary,  and,  after  a  few 
words  expressing  his  ardent  attachment  to  his  clergy,  religious, 
and  people,  he  gave  his  last  solemn  episcopal  benediction. 

After  this  his  lips  moved  in  prayer,  he  pressed  the  crucifix  to 
his  lips,  and  at  half-past  five  in  the  evening  of  the  11th  calmly 
expired  without  a  struggle. 

"  He  died  as  he  had  lived,"  says  Bishop  Spalding,  "  a  saint ; 
and  the  last  day  was  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  impressive 
of  his  whole  life.  Tranquilly,  and  without  a  groan,  did  he  '  fall 
asleep  in  the  Lord,'  like  an  infant  gently  sinking  to  his  rest." 

No  bishop  in  this  country  has  ever  been  regarded  as  equalling 
Bishop  Flaget  in  sanctity,  in  the  spirit  of  prayer,  in  the  ardor  of 
his  devotion,  his  firmness,  patience,  and  constant  devotion  to  all 
the  duties  of  his  state. 


I 


EIGHT  EEV.  JOHN  BAPTIST  DAVID, 

BisJiop  of  Mauricastro  and  of  Bardstotvn. 

JoHisr  Baptist  Mary  David  was  born  near  Nantes,  France, 
in  the  year  17G1.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  began  to  study  Latin 
and  music  under  his  uncle,  a  pious  priest,  and  his  greatest  de- 
light was  to  serve  as  altar-boy.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  en- 
tered the  college  of  the  Oratorians,  from  which  he  passed  to 
the  diocesan  seminary  at  Nantes.  After  receiving  subdeacon's 
orders  he  spent  some  time  in  a  j^ious  family  as  tutor.  In  1783, 
having  been  ordained  deacon,  he  joined  the  Congregation  of  St. 


DIOCESE  OF  LOUISVILLE.  281 

Siilpice,  and  spent  two  years  in  retirement  at  Issy.  After  Lis 
ordination  as  priest,  ISe^^tember  24,  17^5,  lie  became  professor  of 
pliilosophy,  theology,  and  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  seminary  at 
Angers,  and  remained  there  till  it  was  closed  by  the  infidel 
hordes  of  the  French  Revolution.  Rev.  Mr.  David  then  retired  to 
a  private  family,  but  in  1792  embarked  with  Rev.  Mr.  Flaget  for 
America.  Bishop  Carroll  confided  to  him  several  Catholic  con- 
gregations in  Maryland.  Dr.  David  was  the  first  to  give  retreats, 
reaping  great  fruit  in  a  revival  of  piety.  After  being  professor 
for  two  years  at  Georgetown  College,  and  five  in  St.  Mary's 
College,  Baltimore,  he  was  appointed  ecclesiastical  su2:)erior  of 
the  Sisters  of  Charity.  In  1810  he  accompanied  Bishop  Flaget 
to  Bardstown  and  became  superior  of  his  theological  seminary. 
In  this  position  he  became  builder  and  farmer  as  well  as  theo- 
logian and  director.  His  care  extended  to  the  Catholics  around, 
and  he  founded  the  society  of  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth  in  a 
log  hut,  drawing  up  their  rule,  and  by  the  bishop's  orders  be- 
coming their  spiritual  director.  To  this  day  his  community  con- 
tinues to  render  services  to  relioion  in  the  West.  On  the  death 
of  Bishop  Egan  he  was  nominated  to  the  see  of  Pliiladelphia, 
but  by  his  urgent  appeals  obtained  permission  to  decline  it.  But 
Bishop  Flaget  besought  the  Pope  to  appoint  Rev.  Mr.  David  his 
coadjutor,  and  bulls  were  issued  on  the  4th  of  July,  1817.  Dr. 
David  yielded  with  great  reluctance,  and  on  August  15,  1819, 
was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown  Bishop  of  Mauri- 
castro  and  coadjutor  of  the  Bishop  of  Bardstown.  After  his 
consecration  he  continued  his  austere  life  in  the  seminaiy,  adding 
to  his  labors  that  of  rector  of  the  cathedral,  ever  ready  for  sick- 
calls  or  the  confessional.  He  was  never  idle,  and  by  his  sys- 
tematic use  of  time  necrlected  none  of  his  manifold  duties.  He 
met  a  Protestant  controversialist  named  Hall  in  an  oral  discus- 
sion, and  refuted  him  so  clearly  and  with  so  much  mildness  that 
no  one  ever  challeng:ed  him  asrain.  Besides  this  discussion  he 
wrote  several  works  in  defence  of  the  Faith,  which  rendered 
great  service,  and  prepared  "  True  Piety,"  a  prayer-book  wdiich 
attained  the  most  extended  circulation.  Bishop  Flaget  resigned 
his  see  in  ]832,  and  Bishop  David  became  for  a  time  Bishop 
of  Bardstown ;  but  he  Avould  not  accept  the  position,  and  the 


282  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Holy  See  reinstated  BisLoi^  Flaget,  accepting  l>r.  David's  resig- 

nation. 

The  weight  of  years  at  last  compelled  him  to  retire  from  the 
seminary,  and  he  prepared  for  the  close  of  his  long  and  laborious 
careeh     He  died  at  Bardstown  on  the  l^^th  of  July,  1841. 


EIGHT  REV.  GUY  IGNATIUS  CHABRAT, 

Bishop  of  Bolina  and  Coadjutor  of  Bardstoion. 

Gur  Ignatius  Chabrat  was  born  in  the  village  of  Chambre, 
France,  on  the  28th  of  December,  1787,  his  parents  being  Peter 
Chabrat,  a  merchant,  and  Louise  Lavialle.  After  a  pious  youth, 
spent  in  the  best  schools  of  the  day,  he  entered  one  of  the  Sulpi- 
tian  theoloirical  seminaries,  and  in  18o9  had  received  minor  orders 
and  the  subdiaconate.  At  this  time  he  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany Bishop  Flaget  to  Kentucky,  and  embarked  at  Bordeaux 
with  that  holy  bishop  x\pril  10,  1810.  Continuing  his  ecclesias- 
tical and  spiritual  preparation  for  the  priesthood  under  Rev.  Dr. 
David,  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Flaget  at  Christmas,  1811,  and 
was  the  first  who  received  the  priesthood  in  the  West,  as  Rev. 
Mr.  Badin  was  in  the  East.  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  was  at  once 
placed  on  mission  duty  at  St.  Michael's,  in  Nelson  Co.,  and  St. 
Clare's,  in  Hardin  Co.,  and  for  several  years  showed  himself  an 
active,  prudent,  and  exemplary  priest,  residing  at  Fairfield  and 
making  excursions  to  other  parts  of  the  State.  Bishop  Flaget 
reposed  great  confidence  in  him,  and  about  1820  sent  him  to 
Europe  to  obtain  aid  for  his  diocese.  After  his  return,  in  1821, 
he  was  for  a  time  superior  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Mission  and 
pastor  of  St.  Pius',  in  Scott  County,  and  in  1824  was  appointed 
superior  of  the  Community  of  Loretto.  From  that  time  the 
direction  of  the  Sisters  and  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Catholics 
in  the  neighborhood  exclusively  engaged  his  attention. 

Some  years  after,  when  Bishop  Flaget  tendered  his  resigna 
tioii,  he  recommended  the  appointment  of  Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  as 


DIOCESE  OB^  LOUISVILLE.  283 

coadjutor  to  Bishop  David,  and  the  advice  was  taken.  Bishop 
David,  however,  refused  to  accept  the  see,  and  Bishop  Flaget  was 
reinstated,  and  it  was  not  till  1834  that  bulls  arrived  appointing 
Rev.  Mr.  Chabrat  Bishop  of  Bolina  and  coadjutor.  He  was  con- 
secrated on  the  20th  of  July  in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown. 

From  1835  to  1839,  during  the  absence  of  Bishop  Flaget, 
Bishop  Chabrat  administered  the  diocese,  and  even  after  the  re- 
turn of  the  venerable  prelate  the  responsibility  rested  on  him. 
But  his  long,  active  missionary  service  began  to  show  its  in- 
fluence; for  several  years,  his  health  declined,  and  at  last  he  was 
threatened  with  a  loss  of  sight.  Eminent  oculists  advised  him  to 
visit  Europe.  He  accordingly  asked  to  resign  his  coadjutorship, 
but  the  Fathers  of  the  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1846  were  re- 
luctant to  advise  that  it  should  be  accepted.  The  most  skilful 
men  in  France  in  treating  diseases  of  the  eye  gave  Bishop  Cha- 
brat no  encouragement,  and  he  returned  to  America  to  close  up 
his  affairs.  He  then  left  the  country  for  ever.  On  the  certifi- 
cate of  able  physicians  he  obtained  in  1847,  through  the  Papal 
Nuncio,  the  acceptance  of  the  resignation  of  his  coadjutorship. 
The  Bishop  of  Bolina  then  returned  to  his  father's  house  at 
Mauriac,  preparing  in  seclusion  for  death.  He  became  at  last 
completely  blind,  but  his  health  rallied  and  he  lived  more  than 
twenty  years,  dying  calmly  in  his  native  place,  November  21, 
1868,  in  his  eighty-second  year. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  JOSEPH  LAVIALLE, 

Tliird  Bisliop  of  Louisville. 

Petee  Joseph  Lavialle  was  born  at  Lavialle,  near  Mauriac, 
France,  in  1820,  and  early  prepared  to  leave  the  w^orld  and 
enter  the  ecclesiastical  state.  While  studying  theology  he  was 
invited  by  his  kinsman,  Bishop  Chabrat,  to  join  the  diocese  of 
Louisville,  and  crossed  the  ocean  in  1841  to  complete  his  studies 
in  the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Thomas  at  Bardstown.      After 


2S4  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

his  ordination,  in  184-4,  he  was  employed  for  some  years  in  the 
cathedral  of  Louisville,  and  in  1849  took  the  chair  of  theology 
in  the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Thomas,  and  filled  it  with  dis- 
tinction till  his  appointment  as  president  of  iSt.  Mary's  College 
in  1856.  Four  years  afterwards  lie  was  nominated  to  the  see  of 
New  Orleans,  but  declined  the  appointment.  When,  however,  at 
tlie  promotion  of  Bishop  Spalding  to  the  see  of  Baltimore,  bulla 
were  sent  to  Rev.  Mr.  Lavialle  appointing  him  Bishop  of  Louis- 
ville, he  was  compelled  to  accept.  He  was  consecrated  Se23tem-. 
ber  24,  1865,  and  assumed  the  duties  with  conscientious  responsi- 
bility. He  made  several  visitations  of  his  diocese,  attending  to. 
all  details,  and  encouraging  priests  and  people  in  erecting 
churches  and  schools,  as  well  as  laboring  to  suppress  all  abuses 
and  remove  all  obstacles.  His  health  was,  however,  extremely 
feeble,  and  in  1867  he  retired  for  a  time  to  St.  Joseph's  Infirmary, 
kept  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  then  went  to  Nazareth,  where 
the  Sisters  did  all  in  their  power  to  minister  to  his  comfort ;  but 
the  disease  was  too  powerful  for  his  feeble  constitution  to  meet. 
He  sank  gradually,  and  died  a  peaceful  and  happy  death  on  Pas- 
sion Sunday,  the  11th  of  May,  1867,  in  the  residence  of  the  eccle- 
siastical superior  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity  of  Nazareth. 

Of  this  j^relate  the  Hon.  Ben.  J.  Webb  says  :  "  Bishop  La- 
vialle was  a  man  to  whom  no  one  accorded  the  possession  of 
extraordinary  natural  talents.  He  was  not  eloquent  in  the  pul- 
pit, neither  was  he  forcible  as  a  writer.  Judged  by  the  standard 
of  the  world,  he  was  a  plain  man  with  practical  ideas.  But  he 
was  in  reality  much  more  than  all  this.  He  was  a  man  of  God, 
and  he  labored,  not  with  dependence  upon  his  own  strength,  but 
Avith  the  assurance  that  what  was  lacking  to  him  therein  would 
be  supplied  by  Him  from  whom  was  derived  his  commission." 


DIOCESE  OF  LOUISVILLE.  285 

RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  G.  McCLOSKEY, 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Louisville. 

AViLLiAM  George  McCloskey  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y, 
November  10,  1823,  and  made  his  classical  and  theological  studies 
at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College.  He  was  ordained  in  New  York  cathe. 
dral  October  6,  1852,  and  began  the  labors  of  a  missionary  as  assist- 
ant at  the  church  of  the  Nativity  in  New  York,  of  which  his  brother 
was  rector.  His  merit  and  ability  were,  however,  known,  and  with- 
in a  year  or  two  he  was  made  professor  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  College. 
AVhen  Bishop  Elder  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Natchez  in  1857, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  McCloskey  succeeded  him  as  director  of  the  seminary 
and  professor  of  moral  theology  and  Holy  Scripture.  For  many  years 
he  discharged  his  duties  with  such  ability  that  when  the  Ameri- 
can College  was  founded  at  Rome  by  the  venerable  pontiff  Pope 
Pius  IX.  he  was  selected  as  the  first  president  of  that  institution. 
Its  organization  and  successful  commencement  showed  his  admin- 
istrative power.  His  ability  and  virtues  were  soon  recognized 
at  Rome,  and  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Lavialle  he  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacant  see.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of  May, 
1868,  and  began  his  administration  with  a  desire  to  establish  sys- 
tem and  order  throughout  the  diocese.  His  visitations  were  care- 
fully ?*^.d  strictly  made,  leading  in  some  cases  to  discontent  and 
appeals  from  his  judgment ;  but  in  a  few  years  the  ancient  dio- 
cese was  progressing  in  all  harmony,  and  in  1884  had  107 
churches,  with  138  priests.  There  were  27  academies  and  12» 
parochial  schools.  During  his  ej)iscopate  the  Priests  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Resurrection  came  to  the  diocese  to  assume 
charge  of  St.  Mary's  College,  the  Franciscan  and  Carmelite  Fa- 
thers to  labor  among  the  Germans ;  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Little 
Sisters  of  the  Poor,  and  Franciscan  Sisters  Joined  the  older  com- 
munities in  their  special  works  of  charity  and  mercy. 

The  diocese  of  Louisville  in  1891  contained  132  priests  and  16 
seminarians,  120  churches,  114  chapels  and  stations,  3  colleges  and 
25  academies,  132  parochial  schools  with  8,000  pupils,  3  orphan; 
asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  125,000. 


DIOCESE   OF  MANCHESTER. 


RIGHT  REV.  DENIS  M.  BRADLEY, 

First  Bishop  of  Manchester. 

Dexis  M.  Bradley  was  born  in  Ireland  February  25,  184(j, 
and  when  eight  years  of  age  came  with  his  mother  to  America. 
Mrs.  Bradley  settled  with  her  five  children  at  Manchester,  in  New 
Hampshire,  the  State  in  all  the  North  where  Catholicity  has  had 
its  hardest  struggles.  To  this  day  no  Catholic  can  hold  office  in 
this  mountain  State. 

The  boy  attended  the  Catholic  schools  in  the  town,  and,  evinc- 
ing talent  and  a  desire  for  higher  study,  was  sent  to  the  College 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  Worcester,  Mass.  After  being  graduated  at 
that  institution  he  entered  St.  Joseph's  Provincial  Seminary, 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  was  ordained  there  by  Bishop  McQuaid,  of 
Rochester,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1871.  Bishop  Bacon,  of  Portland, 
to  whose  diocese  the  young  priest  belonged,  appointed  him  to  the 
cathedral,  where  he  remained  during  the  lifetime  of  that  prelate, 
acting  during  the  last  two  years  as  rector  of  the  cathed'^l  and 
chancellor  of  the  diocese,  and  continuing  to  discharge  the  same 
duties  under  Bishop  Healy  till  June  16,  1880,  when  he  was  made 
pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Manchester.  N.  H.  AYhen  it  was 
decreed  at  Rome  that  New  Hampshire  should  be  detached  from 
the  diocese  of  Portland  and  constituted  into  a  separate  diocese, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Bradley  was  recommended  for  the  new  see  by  the 
bishops  of  the  province,  his  zeal  and  services  in  parochial  duties 
and  his  experience  in  diocesan  affairs  fitting  him  for  the  episco- 
pate. He  was  appointed  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  and  consecrated 
June  11,  1884. 

The  first  church  in  New  Hampshire  was  erected  in  1823  by 
the  convert  Rev.  Virgil  H.  Barber.  By  1838  there  was  a  second 
church  at  Dover,  but  not  a  priest  resident  in  the  whole  State. 

286 


DIOCESE  OE  MANCHESTER.  287 

Even  ten  years  later,  and  down  to  1847,  there  were  but  these  two 
churches,  though  they  had  priests  and  Portsmouth  was  regularly 
attended.  In  1847  a  church  was  begun  at  Manchester  by  the  Rev. 
William  McDonald,  the  father  of  Catholicity  in  New  Hampshire. 

On  the  establishment  of  the  see  of  Portland  there  were  only 
these  three  churches  in  the  State ;  but  Catholicity  then  began  to 
gain  strength.  Mother  Mary  Francis  Warde  established  at  Man- 
chester a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  which  soon  had  under 
the  Sisters  an  academy,  parochial  schools,  and  an  orphan  asylum. 
When  the  diocese  of  Portland  was  ten  years  old  New  Hampshire 
had  seven  churches  and  as  many  priests;  in  1873  they  had  grown 
to  eighteen  priests  and  sixteen  churches — Manchester  alone  hav- 
ing three  churches,  thus  taking  lead  as  the  Catholic  centre  of  the 
State. 

When  Bishop  Bradley  was  installed  as  Bishop  of  Manchester, 
in  1884,  he  had  42  priests  in  his  diocese  and  37  churches  or  chap- 
els. The  Catholic  population  of  the  State  was  about  60,000,  and 
there  were  3,500  children  in  the  Catholic  schools.  The  large 
manufacturing  towns  contained  numbers  of  Catholic  operatives, 
and  there  were  many  Catholic  farmers,  and  the  different  congre- 
gations were  easily  reached. 

Soon  after  the  consecration  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Bradley  the 
alumni  of  St.  Joseph's  Provincial  Seminary  resolved  to  honor  the 
first  bishop  appointed  from  their  number,  and  presented  to  Bishop 
Bradley  a  fine  testimonial. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese  53  churches  and  2  in  pro- 
cess of  building,  served  by  59  secular  and  2  regular  priests ;  20 
seminarians,  10  brothers  of  the  Christian  schools,  9  brothers  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  and  8  Marist  brothers,  170  Sisters  of  Mercy,  22 
sisters  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  30  sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross,  34  nuns 
of  various  orders;  17  convents,  5  academies  for  young  ladies,  2 
high-schools  for  boys,  56  parochial  schools  equally  divided  between 
boys  and  girls,  with  7,500  pupils  of  both  sexes;  3  orphan  asylums, 
1  hospital,  1  home  for  aged  women,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
73,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  MARQUETTE. 


RIGHT   REV.  FREDERIC  BARAGA 

First  Bisliop  of  Marquette  and  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 

Fredeeic  Baraga  was  born  on  tlie  29tli  of  June,  1797,  in 
Treffen  Castle,  Carniola,  the  home  of  his  noble  and  wealthy- 
parents.  He  received  his  earliest  instruction  under  private  tutors, 
and  during  his  college  life  distinguished  himself  by  his  rapid 
progress  in  Illyrian,  German,  French,  Italian,  and  Latin.  Af- 
ter studying  law  for  five  years  at  the  University  of  Vienna  he 
felt  himself  called  to  a  higher  vocation.  Entering  on  a  course  of 
theology,  he  was  ordained  in  1823.  Seven  years  were  spent  in 
zealous  work  as  a  priest  and  in  preparing  popular  devotional 
works  in  Sclavonic,  which  are  still  highly  esteemed.  Resolving 
to  devote  himself  to  the  Indian  missions  in  America,  he  landed 
in  New  York  December  31,  1830,  and  as  soon  as  navigation 
opened  hastened  to  the  field  he  had  selected  in  Michigan,  where 
he  was  to  labor  till  his  death.  His  large  property  in  Europe  he 
resigned  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  retaining  only  an  annuity 
of  $300,  and  even  that  he  ultimately  renounced.  He  came 
to  America  to  face  poverty  and  hardship.  When  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  Indian  country,  northern  Michigan,  espe- 
cially the  Lake  Superior  district,  was  an  almost  unbroken  Avil- 
derness,  known  only  to  the  Indian  and  trapper.  The  devoted 
priest  found  that  the  religious  ideas  implanted  among  the  In- 
dians in  early  times  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  were  nearly  effaced. 
He  soon  acquired  influence  among  the  Indians  and  half-breeds, 
gathered  them  together,  induced  them  to  build  cabins,  obtained 
for  them  simple  tools  and  implements,  and  encouraged  them  to 
work  and  adopt  the  habits  of  civilized  people.  Having  mastered 
their  language,  his  influence  was  great,  and  soon  extended  to 
other  points.    Travelling  like  the  Indians,  enduring  extraordinary 


DIOCESE  OF  MARQUETTE.  289 

hardships  and  privations,  during  his  long  years  of  missionary  life 
among  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  Rev.  Mr.  Baraga  was  their 
father,  guide,  and  pastor.  Besides  establishing  the  missions  of 
Arbre  Croche,  Grand  Traverse,  and  Grand  River,  on  Lake  Michi- 
gan, from  1831  to  1835,  and  those  of  Lapointe,  Fond  du  Lac,  Bad 
River,  and  L'Anse,  on  Lake  Superior,  from  1835  to  1853,  he  regu- 
larly visited  the  small  bands  of  Indians  scattered  along  the 
shores  and  on  the  islands  of  both  lakes  from  Grand  Haven  to  Su- 
perior City.  Amid  all  these  labors,  travelling  by  canoe  or.  in  win- 
ter on  snow-shoes  amid  the  greatest  cold  of  winter,  the  laborious 
missionary  found  time  to  prepare  a  series  of  works  in  Ottawa  and 
Chippewa — catechisms,  prayer-books,  and  devotional  works  for 
his  spiritual  children,  books  that  he  had  educated  them  to  use  ; 
while  for  the  assistance  of  clergymen  who  came  to  share  or  suc- 
ceed in  his  labors  he  prepared  an  invaluable  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary of  the  Otchipwe,  or  Chippewa  language,  a  work  since  re- 
printed in  Canada  to  meet  the  demand  for  it  among  missionaries. 
The  catalogue  of  North  American  Linguistics  issued  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  gives  the  titles  of  no  fewer  than  sixteen 
of  Bishop  Baraga's  works  in  Indian  languages. 

When  white  people  began  to  settle  in  his  district  he  minis- 
tered with  his  wonted  zeal  to  all  their  settlements  in  the  upper 
peninsula.  "Wherever  Rev.  Mr.  Baraga  appeared  his  humanity, 
his  disinterested  zeal  and  true  Christian  charity,  joined  with  re- 
markable abstemiousness  and  utter  disregard  of  comfort,  gained 
for  him  the  unbounded  respect  as  well  as  the  love  of  all  who 
came  in  contact  with  him. 

WheD,  at  the  instance  of  Bishop  Lefevre,  the  Holy  See  in 
1853  detached  the  northern  peninsula  of  Michigan  from  the  dio- 
cese of  Detroit,  forming  it  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  the  Rev. 
Mr.    Barao-a   was   selected  to    direct   it.      He    Avas    consecrated 

o 

Bishop  of  Amyzonia  and  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Upper  Michigan 
on  the  feast  of  All  Saints  in  the  year  1853.  The  vicariate  em- 
braced the  northern  peninsula  with  the  adjacent  islands,  con- 
taining at  the  time  six  churches,  five  priests,  and  five  schools. 
But  Bishop  Lefevre  ceded  to  him  his  power,  authority,  and 
jurisdiction  over  five  counties  in  the  southern  peninsula,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Milwaukee  ceded  to  him  jurisdiction  over  the  Apostle 


290  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

islands  in  Lake  Superior,  and  tlie  Bisliop  of  Dubuque  made  a 
similar  cession,  so  that  lie  had  in  a  short  time  sixteen  priests, 
with  fourteen  churches  and  six  thousand  Catholics,  under  his 
care. 

His  exaltation  to  the  episcopate  made  no  change  in  his  de- 
portment. He  remained  a  missionary  to  the  last.  After  visit- 
ing Rome,  Austria,  France,  and  Ireland  in  the  interest  of  his 
diocese,  he  took  up  his  lonely  abode  at  Saut  Ste.  Marie,  where 
for  several  years  he  did  all  the  duties  of  a  pastor  among  the 
neighboring  Indians,  as   zealous,  patient,  and  charitable  as  ever. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1857,  the  diocese  of  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 
or  Marianopolis,  was  erected,  and  Bishop  Baraga  was  transferred 
to  the  new  see.  A  journey  in  sleigh  and  snow-shoes  to  attend 
the  council  in  1862  undermined  his  constitution.  He  never  re- 
covered from  the  exposure,  having  reached  Thunder  Bay  sick 
and  almost  frozen.  On  the  15th  of  October,  1865,  the  see  was 
transferred  to  Marquette,  where  he  took  up  his  residence,  making 
St.  Peter's  his  cathedral.  Early  in  1866  paralysis,  hereditary  in 
the  family,  showed  itself  in  his  hand,  but  he  continued  active  in 
discharging  his  duties,  and  in  September  preached  sermons  at 
Hancock  in  three  languages.  He  set  out  soon  after  to  attend  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  during  its  sessions  was  struck 
down  with  apoplexy  on  the  steps  of  the  archiepiscopal  palace. 
The  assembled  bishops  in  vain  urged  him  to  retire  and  in  the 
home  of  some  of  his  brethren  pass  his  remaining  days  in  well- 
earned  repose.  Bishop  Baraga  determined  to  die  at  his  post,  and 
returned  to  Lake  Superior.  There  he  resumed  his  missionary 
work,  teaching,  baptizing,  hearing  confessions,  and  visiting  per- 
sons less  sick  than  himself.  But  his  infirmities  increased,  and  he 
could  leave  his  room  only  to  hear  Mass  on  Sundays  and  holi- 
days. Then  he  spent  his  time  in  prayer  and  meditation.  On 
the  eve  of  Epij^hany,  1868,  he  received  a  warning  of  his  ap- 
proaching dissolution,  and,  strengthened  by  the  sacraments,  ex- 
pired, after  a  short  agony,  on  the  feast  of  the  Holy  Name  of 
Jesus,  January  19,  1868, 


^ 


DIOCESE  OF  MARQUETTE.  291 

EIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  MRAK, 

Second  Bishop  of  Marquette  mid  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 

Ignatius  Mrak  was  born  at  Polland,  in  Carniola,  a  province 
A  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire,  on  the  10th  of  October,  1810, 
an  J,  after  a  thorough  course  of  study,  was  ordained  on  the  13th  of 
August,  1837.  Having  spent  eight  years  in  mission  labor  in  his 
own  coimtry,  he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1815,  beginning 
his  labors  as  an  Indian  missionary  at  Aibre  Croche,  where  he 
became  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Francis  Pierz.  In  this  and  two  de- 
pendent stations  there  were  fifteen  hundred  Ottawa  Indians 
with  their  churches  and  schools.  On  the  10th  of  July,  1847, 
Bishop  Lefevre  confided  to  Rev.  Mr.  Mrak  the  missions  of  La 
Croix,  Middletown,  Castor  Island,  and  Manistee,  containing 
six  hundred  souls,  which  he  attended,  still  residing  at  Arbre 
Croche.  He  soon  took  up  his  abode  at  St.  Anthony's  Church, 
La  Croix,  and  continued  from  it  to  attend  Middletown  two  years 
after  Bishop  Baragi^  was  made  vicar-apostolic,  in  1853.  Then 
he  was  stationed  at  Eagle  Town,  on  Grand  Traverse  Bay,  where 
his  church  and  school  kept  the  faith  of  a  large  district  alive. 
In  1860  he  was  made  -ficar-general  of  the  diocese  of  Saut  Ste. 
Marie,  and  from  Eagle  Town  attended  ten  different  stations.  On 
the  death  of  Bishop  Baraga  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mrak  and  his  missions, 
which  had  been  ceded  c-nly  to  the  late  bishop,  returned  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  see  ol  Detroit.  Rev.  Mr.  Mrak  was,  how- 
ever, soon  selected  to  fill  the  vacant  see,  and  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Marquette  in  the  cathedral  at  Cincinnati  by  Arch- 
bishop Purcell,  assisted  by  Bishops  Lefevre  and  Henni,  on  the 
7tli  of  February,  1869.  On  assuming  direction  Bishop  Mrak 
found  the  diocese  with  21  chu/ches,  15  priests,  and  about  22,000 
Catholic  souls.  He  governed  it  ably  for  several  years,  but,  find- 
ing infirmities  to  increase  with  years,  he  resigned  in  1878,  and  was 
transferred  to  the  see  of  Antinoe  on  the  14th  of  May,  1881.  He 
continued  to  reside  at  Marquette,  acting  as  chaplain  to  the  Sis- 
ters of  St.  Joseph  in  their  chapel  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  but  in 
1884  removed  to  Eagle  Town.  He  ii=i  regarded  as  a  prelate  of 
great  learninqf  and  remarkable  linguistic  attainments. 


292  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  VERTIN,  ., 

Third  Bishoi)  of  Marquette  and  Saut  Ste.  Marie, 

John  Vertin  was  born  on  the  ITth  of  July,  1844,  at  Rudolfs- 
wertb,  Carniola,  and,  after  making  his  preparatory  and  collegiate 
course  in  his  native  country,  came  to  the  United  States  July  7, 
1863,  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  His  father,  whose 
mercantile  affairs  brought  him  across  the  Atlantic,  placed  him 
under  the  care  of  the  great  Bishop  Baraga.  That  prelate  re- 
ceived the  pious  youth  into  his  diocese,  and  sent  him  to  the 
Salesianum  to  complete  his  theological  studies.  Archbishop 
Henni  conferred  minor  orders  on  him  in  1865,  and  on  the  31st 
of  August  of  the  next  year  lie  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop 
Baraga  in  Marquette,  being  the  first  ordained  in  that  place,  and 
the  last  on  whom  the  eminent  bishop  conferred  holy  orders. 

The  young  priest  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  mission  at 
Houghton,  where  he  remained  five  years,  and  he  then  labored 
for  seven  amouo;  the  Catholics  of  Neo^aunee,  both  difficult  mis- 
sions,  as  the  flock  was  composed  of  men  of  different  origin,  who 
spoke  English,  German,  and  French.  On  the  resignation  of 
Bishop  Mrak  the  bishops  of  the  province  sent  to  Rome  the 
name  of  Right  Rev.  Doctor  Vertin  as  his  successor.  He  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Heiss,  assisted  by  Bishops  Borgess 
and  Spalding,  on  the  14th  of  September,  1879,  his  parents,  who 
had  settled  at  Hancock,  living  to  see  the  exaltation  of  their  son. 
The  diocese  has  prospered  under  his  rule,  and  in  1891  was 
estimated  as  containing  forty-eight  thousand  whites  and  between 
two  and  three  thousand  Indians.  Fifty-two  priests  labor  there, 
attending  fifty  churches  and  chapels  as  well  as  seventy-one  de- 
pendent stations.  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  St.  Agnes,  and  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  direct  academies,  schools,  and  an 
orphan  asylum.  Bishop  Vertin  has  completed  St.  Peter's  Cathe- 
dral at  Marquette,  a  fine  structure. 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBILE. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  PORTIER, 

First  Bishop  of  Mobile. 

Michael  Portier  was  born  at  Montbrison,  France,  Septem- 
ber 7, 1795,  and  was  trained  to  piety  even  amid  the  terrible  days 
of  the  French  Revolution.  His  early  studies  did  not  chill  his 
fervor,  and  he  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Lyons,  and 
when  Bishop  Dubourg,  of  Louisiana,  appealed  for  missionaries, 
young  Portier  was  one  of  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call.  He 
accompanied  that  prelate  to  America,  and  landed  at  Annapolis, 
Md.,  September  4,  1817.  Having  completed  his  studies  under 
the  Sulpitians  at  Baltimore,  he  received  the  diaconate,  and  was 
ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Dubourg  at  St.  Louis  in  1818.  In  his 
first  year  he  was  nearly  carried  off  by  yellow  fever,  taken  while 
attending  the  sick,  but  recovered,  and  with  a  few  assistants  open- 
ed a  Catholic  collegiate  institute  at  New  Orleans,  and  soon  after 
became  vicar-general.  The  diocese  of  Louisiana  then  embraced 
all  the  territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Florida,  with  the 
intervening  Gulf  shore.  The  Holy  See  saw  the  necessity  of 
dividing  this  immense  territory  and  confiding  portions  to  sepa- 
rate bishops.  Mississippi  and  Alabama  were  erected  into  a 
vicariate-apostolic,  and  Pope  Pius  VII.,  by  bull  of  January  21, 
1823,  annexed  to  it  Florida.  By  a  subsequent  bull  of  July  14 
Mississippi  as  a  vicariate  was  restored  to  the  Bishop  of  New 
Orleans.  The  new  vicariate  was  thus  composed  of  Alabama  and 
Florida;  and  for  its  government  the  Very  Rev.  Michael  Por- 
tier was  selected.  He  was  most  reluctant  to  assume  such  a  re- 
sponsibility, but  finally  yielded,  and  was  consecrated  by  Bish- 
op Rosati  at  St.  Louis,  November  5,  1826.  His  jurisdiction  in- 
cluded the  two  old  Spanish  Catholic  cities  of  St.  Augustine, 
founded  in  1565,  and  Pensacola,  in  1696,  each  with  its  church 
and  its  congregation  of  the  faitliful.     In  Spanish  times  Florida 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

had  been  a  missionary  field,  where  Dominican,  Jesuit,  and  Fran- 
ciscan Fathers  shed  their  blood  in  their  heroic  efforts  to  convert 
the  Indians,  some  perishing  by  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  and 
some  by  the  hands  of  bigoted  and  fanatical  English  invaders. 
Florida  had  been,  from  its  settlement  in  the  province  of  Santo 
Domingo,  subject  directly  to  the  Bishop  of  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  from  1787  to  1793  to  the  Bishop  of  St.  Christopher  of  Ha- 
vana. The  Indian  missions  had  vanished,  destroyed  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  their  dusky  allies ;  the  streets  of  the  little  cities,  where 
Catholic  processions  and  pilgrimages  had  so  often  passed,  with 
priests  and  religious,  on  their  way  to  hermitage  and  shrine,  now 
seldom  beheld  the  occasional  visits  of  j)riests.  Catholics  of  other 
races  were  coming  slowly  in,  but  Bishop  Portier  had  everything 
to  revive  and  to  restore.  He  was  the  only  clergyman  in  his 
vicariate.  "  I  need  two  or  three  priests,"  he  wrote,  "  and  dare  not 
ask  for  them,  as  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  now  support  them.  I  have 
neither  pectoral  cross  nor  chapel,  neither  crosier  nor  mitre." 
To  add  to  his  difficulties,  the  little  chui'ch  at  Mobile  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  October,  1827.  Bishop  Portier  made  a  visita- 
tion of  his  vicariate  as  a  missionary  priest,  beginning  at  Mobile 
and  riding  on  horseback  to  Pensacola,  Tallahassee,  St.  Augustine, 
till  his  overtaxed  system  gave  way  and  he  was  prostrated  with 
fever.  As  soon  as  he  could  secure  one  priest  to  attend  the  west- 
ern part,  and  having  induced  Bishop  England  to  supply  St. 
Augustine  for  a  time,  Bishop  Portier  went  to  Europe  in  1829. 
He  returned  at  the  close  of  the  year  with  two  priests  and  four 
ecclesiastics.  During  his  absence  the  Holy  See  had  erected  Mo- 
bile into  an  episcopal  see  in  the  province  of  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  Bishop  Portier  was  transferred  to  it.  The  ancient  French 
city,  where  a  ]3arish  had  been  canonically  erected  July  20,  1703, 
thus  became  the  residence  of  a  bishop.  Dr.  Portier  soon  reached 
it  and  began  the  erection  of  a  little  church  twenty  feet  wide  by 
thirty  in  dej^th,  the  modest  cathedral  in  which  he  was  enthroned. 
His  two-roomed  frame  palace  of  still  more  modest  dimensions  ad- 
joined it.  With  his  little  force  of  priests  he  began  to  meet  tlie 
yfants  of  his  flock,  collecting  congregations  and  preparing  for 
the  erection  of  churches  at  Montgomery,  Tuscaloosa,  Huntsville, 
Moulton,  and  Florence. 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBILE. 

One  of  his  first  steps  was  to  secure  property  at  Spring  Hill, 
near  Mobile,  where  a  college  was  soon  under  the  presidency  of 
Rev.  Mathias  Loras,  welcoming  Catholic  students.  It  subsists 
to  the  present  time,  having  been  for  a  season  directed  by  the 
Eudists  and  by  the  Priests  of  Mercy. 

In  1832  he  obtained  a  colony  of  Visitation  nuns  from 
Georgetown,  who  founded  a  convent  and  academy  that  have  for 
more  than  sixty  years  drawn  blessings  on  the  diocese.  Four 
years  afterwards  Bishop  Portier  replaced  his  poor  cathedral  by  a 
temporary  brick  structure,  having  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the 
cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in  1835.  Owing  to  the 
poverty  of  his  diocese  it  was  not  completed  and  dedicated  till 
December  8,  1850,  his  pro-cathedral  then  becoming  an  orphan 
asylum  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity  and  Brothers  of  Christian 
Instruction.  The  Sisters  opened  soon  after  an  academy  at  St. 
Augustine.  In  1846  the  Jesuit  Fathers  entered  the  diocese  and 
assumed  charge  of  Spring  Hill  College. 

By  1850  there  were  churches  at  Montgomery,  Spring  Hill, 
Summerville,  Mount  Vernon,  Fish  liiver,  Tuscaloosa,  and  Pensa- 
cola.  In  this  year  the  eastern  part  of  Florida  was  detached 
from  the  diocese  of  Mobile  and  given  to  the  newly-erected  see 
of  Savannah. 

Bishop  Portier  labored  incessantly  in  and  for  his  diocese,  visit- 
ing Europe  in  its  behalf  in  1849.  In  the  Provincial  Councils  of 
Baltimore  and  New  Orleans,  as  well  as  in  the  First  Plenary  Sy- 
nod, his  learning  and  experience  commanded  the  respect  of  all. 

One  of  his  last  acts  was  the  establishment  of  an  infirmary  at 
Mobile  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  When,  after  long  years  of 
episcopal  service,  Bishop  Portier  found  himself  attacked  by  a 
serious  malady,  he  retired  to  this  institution,  and,  edifying  all  by 
the  patience  and  piety  with  which  he  supported  his  long  and  se. 
vere  sufferings,  he  died  on  the  14tli  of  May,  1S59.  The  whole 
city  joined  with  the  Catholics  in  their  regret  and  sympathy  on 
the  loss  sustained  by  the  death  of  so  truly  apostolic  a  prelate. 


296  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

EIGHT  REV.  JOHN  QUINLAN, 

Second  Bishop  of  Mobile. 

John  Quinlan  was  born  in  Cloyne,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  on 
the  19tli  of  October,  1826,  and  began  bis  studies  in  a  well- 
known  classical  scbool  in  Midleton.  When  he  was  eighteen 
he  accompanied  his  widowed  mother  to  the  United  States,  and 
desiring  to  give  his  life  to  the  service  of  God,  applied  to  Arch- 
bishop Purcell,  by  whom  he  was  placed  at  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmittsburg.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  1853  by  Dr.  Purcell, 
Richard  Gilmour,  his  fellow-student,  receiving  the  holy  order,  at 
the  same  time.  After  two  years'  service  at  Piqua,  Ohio,  he  be- 
came assistant  to  the  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  pastor  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's Church,  Cincinnati.  He  was  soon  selected  for  a  position 
of  greater  responsibility,  that  of  superior  at  the  theological  semi- 
nary near  Cincinnati  known  as  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West, 
where  he  filled  also  the  chairs  of  philosophy  and  theology. 
When  the  see  of  Mobile  fell  vacant  by  the  death  of  Bishop  Por- 
tier,  the  bishops  of  the  province  of  New  Orleans  and  Archbishop 
Purcell  recommended  his  appointment.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  4th  of  December,  1859,  by  Archbishop  Blanc  in  St.  Louis' 
Cathedral,  New  Orleans.  Bishop  Quinlan  was  installed  in  the 
cathedral  of  Mobile  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Concej)tion. 
In  spite  of  the  long  and  earnest  labors  of  Bishop  Portier,  the  dio- 
cese was  in  by  no  means  a  flourishing  condition  ;  there  were 
twelve  churches  and  fourteen  schools,  for  which  he  had  but  eight 
secular  priests,  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  Spriug  Hill  College,  eight' 
een  in  number,  directing  that  institution  and  attending  several 
missions  in  Alabama. 

After  visiting  Rome  he  proceeded  to  Ireland,  where  he  obtain- 
ed in  the  seminaries  of  that  Catholic  island  eleven  young  candi- 
dates for  holy  orders  who  volunteered  to  become  missionaries  in 
his  diocese.  Before  he  could  carry  out  any  of  the  projects  for 
the  extension  of  the  faith  Civil  War  swept  over  the  land,  imposing 
new  duties  and  entailing  great  disasters  on  his  struggling  diocese. 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBILE.  297 

After  the  battle  of  SMloli,  Bishop  Quinlan  hastened  to  the  field 
in  a  special  train  and  ministered  to  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
wants  of  both  armies.  Some  of  his  priests  were  sent  as  chaplains 
to  the  Catholic  soldiers  in  the  Confederate  armies,  sharing  all  the 
perils  of  battle  while  ministering  to  the  wounded  on  the  field. 
During  the  war  the  churches  of  Pensacola  and  Warrington  were 
destroyed  and  many  of  the  congregations  scattered.  As  soon 
as  peace  was  restored  the  Bishop  of  Mobile  began  the  work  of 
restoration,  crippled  with  debt,  and  finding  few  resources  in  his 
diocese  and  little  help  from  without.  Besides  the  ruined 
churches  which  he  rebuilt,  he  erected  St.  Patrick's  and  St.  Mary's 
churches  in  Mobile,  and  established  churches  at  Hunts ville,  De- 
catur, Tuscumbia,  Florence,  Cullman,  Birmingham,  Eufaula, 
Whistler,  and  Three  Mile  Creek. 

He  attended  the  canonization  of  the  martyrs  of  Japan,  China, 
and  Corea  on  the  29th  of  June,  1867,  and  in  1869  attended  the 
Vatican  Council  in  the  Eternal  City.  He  also  took  part  in  the 
Provincial  Councils  of  New  Orleans.  In  a  later  vdsit  to  Rome 
in  1882  he  contracted  the  fatal  Campagna  fever,  and  never  re- 
covered from  its  effects,  his  enfeebled  frame  yielding  readily  to 
an  attack  of  pneumonia.  On  the  last  day  of  the  year  1882  he 
became  the  guest  of  Rev.  Mr.  Massardier,  of  New  Orleans,  hoping 
for  relief  from  a  change  of  air ;  the  improvement  was  very  slight, 
and  in  March  the  pain  became  great.  He  blessed  his  vicar-gene- 
ral, and  in  his  person  the  clergy  and  laity  of  his  diocese,  and,  re- 
ceiving the  last  sacraments,  with  calmness  prepared  for  death. 
He  retained  his  consciousness,  and  was  absorbed  in  prayer,  repeat- 
ing invocations  of  the  holy  names  of  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph,  and 
petitions  for  mercy,  till  he  breathed  his  soul  into  the  hands  of 
his  Maker. 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  his  administration  was  to  invite  the 
ancient  order  of  St.  Benedict  to  assume  charge  of  missions  in 
Alabama.  He  developed  schools  as  much  as  possible,  establish- 
ing Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  and  Mercy  in  many  of  the  parishes  of 
his  diocese. 


298  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


RIGHT  REV.  DOMINIC  MANUCY, 

Vicar- Apostolic  of  Brownsville  and  Third  Bishop  of  Mobile. 

Dominic  MANucr  was  born  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  Decem- 
ber 20,  1823,  of  parents  both  natives  of  that  ancient  Catholic 
territory,  his  ancestors — Italian  and  Irish  on  the  father's  side  and 
Spanish  on  the  mother's — having  settled  in  Florida  soon  after  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  He  was  sent  to  Spring  Hill  College, 
and  was  graduated  in  that  seat  of  learning.  After  preparing  by 
study  and  prayer  for  the  reception  of  that  sublime  dignity,  he 
was  ordained  priest  on  the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  1850,  by  the 
venerable  Bishop  Portier,  of  Mobile. 

He  was  employed  on  several  of  the  laborious  missions  of  the 
diocese  of  Mobile,  as  well  as  at  the  cathedral.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  he  took  charge  of  the  mission  of  Montgomery, 
where  he  labored  zealously  for  ten  years.  The  very  large  diocese 
of  Galveston  was  divided  in  1874,  and,  besides  the  new  bishopric 
of  San  Antonio,  a  vicariate-apostolic  was  formed  embracing  the 
territory  lying  along  the  Rio  Grande.  The  climate  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  country  repel  immigration,  and  the  district  is  occupied 
mainly  by  a  population  of  Mexican  origin  living  in  scattered 
ranches,  who  subsist  by  raising  and  attending  vast  herds  of 
«attle.  These  people  are  Catholics,  whose  religion  has  suffered 
greatly  by  the  infidel  doctrines  prevalent  in  Spanish- America  and 
by  contact  with  degraded  and  bigoted  Americans.  Rev.  Mr. 
Manucy  was  selected,  September  18,  1874,  to  organize  this  vica- 
riate, and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Dulma  in  the  cathedral  of 
Mobile  on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  The  new 
bishop  found  that  the  whole  system  for  the  maintenance  of  re- 
ligion among  the  rancheros  must  be  adapted  to  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  The  mass  of  the 
people  have  no  fixed  home  or  fireside,  but  lead  a  nomadic  life, 
following  flocks  and  herds  which  are  seldom  their  own.  The 
only  ivav  t^   re9<.h  them  and  keep  the  faith  alive  is  to  be  con- 


DIOCESE  OF  MOBILE.  299 

stantly  on  tlie  move  among  them,  enduring  a  life  almost  as  hard 
as  tlieir  own.  This  the  bishop  found  the  Oblate  Fathers  and  a 
few  secular  priests  courageous  enough  to  undertake. 

Aided  by  the  Association  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  and 
the  exertions  made  by  himself  and  his  little  band  of  priests, 
Bishop  Manucy  succeeded  in  building  nine  small  churches  to 
serve  as  lighthouses  of  the  faith  in  this  moral  desert.  Five  young 
men  zealous  enough  to  face  the  labors  of  such  a  mission  were 
ordained  by  him.  He  drew  in  devoted  women  to  undertake 
schools ;  the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  at  Corpus  Christi  and 
Brownsville,  the  Ursuline  Nuns  at  Laredo,  and  Sisters  of  Mercy 
at  San  Patricio  and  Refugio  have  academies,  which  enable  them 
to  maintain  free  parochial  schools  for  girls,  and  in  some  cases  for 
the  younger  boys.  For  those  more  advanced  there  are  onl}'-  the 
Oblate  college  at  Brownsville  and  a  boys'  school  at  Laredo, 
Much  could  be  done  in  missions  and  schools,  were  there  any 
source  from  which  money  could  be  obtained.  With  all  the  re- 
strictions arising  from  scanty  means,  Bishop  Manucy  brought  the 
vicariate  into  the  way  of  spiritual  progress.  The  forty  thousand 
frontier  Catholics  have  twenty-four  churches  and  chapels  and 
twelve  priests.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  aid  will  come  to  keep  the 
faith  alive  and  extend  it.  On  the  9th  of  March,  1884,  Bishop 
Manucy  received  a  Papal  Brief  transferring  him  to  the  see  of 
Mobile  without  relieving  him  of  his  duties  as  vicar- apostolic.  He 
was  installed  in  the  cathedral  on  Passion  Sunday.  The  diocese 
to  which  he  has  so  recently  been  called  has  difficulties  of  its  own, 
and  the  zeal,  patience,  and  ability  of  the  bishop  are  required  to 
restore  it  to  prosperity  and  fit  it  for  the  future  which  the  rising 
industries  of  the  State  will  in  time  create. 

The  burden  of  the  diocese,  encumbered  with  great  difficul- 
ties, was  too  heavy  for  Bishop  Manucy,  and  he  soon  earnestly 
sought  to  be  relieved  from  it.  The  Holy  Father,  yielding  to  his 
entreaties,  accepted  his  resignation  and  transferred  him  to  the 
titular  see  of  Maronea.  Bishop  Manucy  waited  at  Mobile  only 
to  transfer  the  diocese  to  his  successor.    He  was,  however,  struck 

down  by  a  fatal  illness,  and  died  piously  at   Mobile  December  4, 

1885. 


300 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


EIGHT  REV.  JEREMIAH  O'SULLIVAN,  D.D., 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Mobile. 

The  Right  Rev.  Jeremiali  O'Sullivan  was  born  at  Kanturk, 
County  Coi'k,  Ireland,  about  the  year  1844,  and  while  a  student 
resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  Coming  to 
America  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  entered  St.  Charles'  College, 
from  which  he  passed  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore.  He 
was  ordained  by  Archbishop  Spalding  in  June,  1868,  and  was 
first  stationed  at  Barnesville,  Montgomery  County,  Md.  During 
his  nine  years'  pastorate  at  Westernport,  in  that  State,  he  erected 
a  large  church,  and  a  convent  for  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  whom 
he  called  to  his  parish  to  direct  the  schools.  From  this  field  of 
labor  he  was  summoned  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Washington  City, 
where  his  zeal  and  ability  made  him  widely  known.  Having 
been  selected  for  the  see  of  Mobile,  he  was  consecrated  on  the 
20th  of  September,  1885,  and  soon  after  proceeded  to  his  diocese. 

This  important  diocese  has  prospered  unaer  the  administration 
of  Bishop  O'Sullivan  until,  in  1891,  it  presented  the  following 
summary:  37  priests  and  12  ecclesiastical  students,  46  churches, 
2  academies,  19  parochial  schools  with  1,533  pupils,  1  college,  2 
orphan  asylums,  and  1  infirmary,  in  an  estimated  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  35.000. 


DIOCESE  OF  MONTEREY  AND  LOS  ANGELES. 


RIGHT  REV.  THADDEUS  AMAT, 

Second  Bishop  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles. 

Thaddeus  Amat  was  born  at  Barcelona,  in  Spain,  in  the  year 
1811,  and,  after  pursuing  his  theological  studies  in  Paris,  entered 
the  Congregation  of  the  Priests  of  the  Mission,  founded  by  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul.  Summoned  to  aid  the  members  of  his  order  in 
the  United  States,  he  was  appointed,  in  1841,  master  of  novices  at 
Cape  Girardeau,  and  the  next  year  assumed  a  prx)fessor's  chair  in 
the  theological  seminary  of  the  diocese  of  St.  Louis,  of  which  for 
the  next  two  years  he  was  superior,  displaying  not  only  learning 
as  a  professor  and  gifts  as  a  spiritual  guide,  but  ability  in  the  di- 
rection of  an  institution.  Accustomed  to  the  country  and  its 
needs,  he  then  for  several  years  was  president  of  the  preparatory 
seminary  or  college  of  St.  Mary's  at  the  Barrens,  acting  also  as 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  and,  with  his  associates  in  the  col- 
lege, attending  several  dependent  missions  and  stations.  In  1848 
he  was  appointed  superior  of  the  theological  seminary  of  St. 
Charles  Borromeo  at  Philadelphia,  and  for  four  years  directed  that 
important  institution. 

California,  before  its  acquisition  by  the  United  States,,  had 
formed  part  of  a  diocese,  with  a  bishop  resident  at  Monterey,  and 
under  Bishop  Alemany  that  city  had  been  made  an  episcopal 
see.  The  influx  of  population  soon  required  a  division  of  the 
diocese,  and  Dr.  Alemany  was  apf)ointed  to  the  see  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, with  the  dignity  of  archbishop.  To  the  see  of  Monterey, 
left  vacant  by  his  promotion,  the  learned  and  pious  Lazarist  was 
appointed  on  the  29th  of  July,  1853.  He  was  solemnly  consecrated 
on  the  12th  of  March  in  the  following  year  by  his  Eminence  Car- 
dinal Fransoni  in  the  church  of  the  College  ot  the  Propaganda  at 

Rome. 

aoi 


?>02  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

His  predecessor  had  accomplished  much,  and  Bishop  Amat 
found  in  the  part  of  California  assigned  to  him  seventeen  priests 
and  twenty-three  churches.  His  zeal  was  directed,  therefore, 
mainly  to  completing  the  work  of  placing  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and 
the  sacraments  within  the  reach  of  all  the  faithful  in  his  diocese, 
and  also  to  endowing  his  bishopric  with  religious  institutions  and 
schools. 

In  1856  he  obtained  Sisters  of  Charity  from  Emmittsburg,  who 
opened  an  asylum  and  school  at  Los  Angeles.  A  few  years  later 
they  had  a  flourishing  academy  and  an  hospital  under  their 
care. 

Bishop  Amat  then  visited  Europe  for  the  good  of  the  diocese, 
and  returned  with  priests  and  Sisters.  At  this  time  the  see  was 
transferred  to  Los  Angeles,  which  became  his  residence.  There 
the  Lazarists  soon  opened  St.  Vincent's  College ;  and  while  they 
were  securing  Catholics  a  higher  education  for  their  sons,  Brothers 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  and  Sisters  of  the  Lnmaculate 
Heart  of  Mary  assumed  the  direction  of  parochial  schools  at  many 
points.  A  spinal  affection  under  which  Bishop  Amat  had  long 
suffered  intense  pain,  while  it  never  disturbed  his  serenity,  made 
assistance  necessary,  and  m  1873  his  vicar-general,  the  Very  Rev. 
Francis  Mora,  was  consecrated  as  his  coadjutor. 

Meanwhile  Bishop  Amat  labored  to  complete  his  cathedral, 
which  he  dedicated  to  God,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Vibiana, 
April  9,  1876.  His  health  failed  more  rapidly  after  that  time, 
.and  he  died  piously  on  the  12th  of  May,  1878,  leaving  in  his  dio- 
cese much  to  attest  his  zeal  and  labors,  not  the  least  having  been 
his  efforts  to  benefit  spiritually  and  temporally  the  remnant  of 
the  Mission  Indians. 


DIOCESE  OF  MONTEREY  AND  LOS  ANGELES.  303 


RIGHT  EEV.  FRANCIS  MORA, 

Third  BisJioj}  of  Monterey  and  Los  Angeles. 

FrAx-^cis  Mora  was  born  near  the  city  of  Vich,  in  Catalonia, 
a  province  of  Spain,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1827,  and  was  thus 
by  birth  a  countryman  of  many  of  the  most  energetic  among  the 
early  missionaries  in  California,  Texas,  and  Florida.  It  was 
therefore  natural  that  a  taste  for  foreign  missions  should  early 
have  been  awakened  in  his  heart.  Devoting  himself  in  early 
youth  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  sanctuary,  Francis  Mora  made 
his  ecclesiastical  studies  in  the  episcopal  seminary  at  Vich ;  but 
in  1854,  when  Bishop  Amat  appealed  for  recruits  for  his  diocese, 
the  young  seminarian  offered  his  services,  and,  without  waiting  to 
receive  priestly  orders,  accompanied  him  across  the  Atlantic.  He 
was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Amat  at  Santa  Barbara,  California, 
and  was  successively  rector  at  St.  Juan  Bautista,  Pajaro  vale,  and 
San  Luis  Obispo.  His  zeal  and  ability  rendered  him  one  of  the 
chief  auxiliaries  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishoj)  Amat,  who  in  1868 
appointed  him  rector  of  the  pro-cathedral  of  Los  Angeles  and 
vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  AVhen  Bishop  Amat  required  the 
services  of  a  coadjutor,  the  Rev.  Francis  Mora  was  elected  to  the 
see  of  Mossy nopolis  on  the  20fch  of  May,  1873,  and  was  conse- 
crated on  the  8d  of  August.  Being  thus  coadjutor,  with  the  right 
of  succession,  he  labored  for  the  well-being  of  the  diocese,  of 
which  he  became  bishop  May  12,  1878.  The  diocese  then  con- 
tained a  Catholic  population  of  21,000,  three  thousand  being  the 
surviving  descendants  of  the  Indian  converts  of  the  eai'ly  mission- 
aries. There  were  thirty  churches,  with  two  others  in  course  of 
erection,  and  three  erected  in  Catholic  times,  now  little  more  than 
ruins.     His  clergy,  secular  and  regular,  numbered  thirty-eight. 

Bishop  ^lora  has  done  much  to  infuse  new  energy  into  the 
Catholic  body  in  Lower  California  and  make  the  church  confid- 
ed to  him  prosper.  In  1884  the  children  of  the  true  faitli  of 
Christ  numbered  28,000 ;  the  Indians,  whose  wrongs  had  to  some 


304 


TEE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


extent  been  remedied,  had  increased ;  the  Lazarist  College  of  St. 
Viuceut  at  Los  Angeles,  and  that  of  Our  Lady  of  Sorrows  at 
Mission  Santa  Barbara,  where  the  Franciscans,  deriving  hope  even 
in  the  affliction  and  ruin  of  their  missions,  were  renewing  their 
labors,  gave  promise  of  great  good.  Daughters  of  Charity,  Sisters 
of  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  vied  with  each  other  in  works 
of  mercy.  Thirty-three  secular  priests  and  twelve  regulars  at- 
tended the  thirty-four  churches,  sixteen  chapels,  and  thirty-six 
stations  in  the  portion  of  California  under  his  jurisdiction. 

In  1884  the  diocese  of  Monterey  was  the  scene  of  a  most  con- 
soling celebration.  The  Kev.  Angel  Casanova,  priest  at  Monte- 
rey, had  long  desired  to  restore  the  ancient  church  of  San  Carlos, 
which  contained  the  remains  of  Father  Juniper  Serra,  O.S.F.,  the 
founder  of  the  great  Franciscan  missions  in  Upper  California.  By 
a  course  of  careful  investigation  in  the  ruined  church  he  discov- 
ered the  vault  containing  the  remains  of  the  illustrious  friar,  and 
at  once  bes^an  the  restoration  of  the  mission  church.  The  remains 
of  the  venerable  founder  were  properly  and  piously  encased,  and 
on  the  28th  of  August,  1884,  the  church  of  San  Carlos  was  re- 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  God  with  all  possible  pomp.  On  this 
interesting  occasion,  the  centeimial  of  the  venerable  Father's  death, 
the  Most  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  O.P.,  Archbishop  of  San.Fran- 
cisco,  offered  up  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the  repose  of 
the  humble  and  self-denying  friar  to  whom  California  owed  so 
deep  a  debt.  The  diocese,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1884,  contained 
fifty  churches  and  chapels,  Avith  forty-five  priests. 

This  diocese  continued  to  prosper  under  the  faithful  pastoral 
care  of  Bishop  Mora  until,  in  1S91,  there  were  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion 62  priests  and  13  seminarians,  48  churches  and  56  chapels 
and  stations,  2  colleges,  15  parochial  schools  with  1,346  pupils, 
in  a  Catholic  population  of  40,000. 


A<?5rv 


iN^- 


DIOCESE   OF  NASHYILLE. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  PIUS  MILES, 

First  JBisliop  of  Nasliville. 

RiCHAED  Pius  Miles  was  born  in  Prince  George's  County, 
Maryland,  May  17,  1791  ;  but  as  tlie  family  emigrated  to  Ken- 
tucky when  lie  was  only  five  years  old,  lie  grew  up  in  tlie  AVest. 
The  hereditary  faith  of  the  family  was  seen  in  the  })iety  of  the 
boy,  who  at  the  age  of  fifteen  solicited  admission  into  the  order 
of  St.  Dominic.  He  received  the  white  habit  October  10,  1806, 
and,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  persevered  in  the  state  to  which 
he  felt  that  God  had  called  him.  After  years  of  discipline  and 
study  he  was  ordained  priest  in  September,  1816,  and  entered  on 
a  long  career  of  missionary  labor  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  espe- 
cially at  Somerset  and  Zanesville,  being  one  of  the  most  active 
and  prominent  priests  in  establishing  Catholicity  in  those  States. 

To  give  teachers  for  the  children  of  the  faithful,  and  devoted 
women  for  works  of  mercy.  Father  Miles,  with  the  consent  of  his 
superiors,  founded  a  community  of  Sisters  of  the  Third  Order  of 
St.  Dominic,  drawing  up  rules  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  country. 
This  community  now  occupies  the  convent  of  St.  Catharine  of 
Sienna,  near  Springfield,  Ky. 

The  Fathers  of  the  Third  Council  of  Baltimore  recommended 
the  erection  of  Tennessee  into  a  separate  diocese,  and  proposed 
Father  Miles  for  the  first  Bishop  of  Nashville.  He  was  con- 
secrated in  the  cathedral  of  Bardstown,  September  16,  1838,  by 
Bishop  Rosati,  of  St.  Louis,  and  proceeded  alone  to  Tennessee — 
a  State  in  which  there  was  not  then  a  priest,  and  only  two  shells, 
that  could  not  by  any  stretch  of  fancy  be  called  churches.  The 
pioneer  bishop  entered  Nashville  a  stranger,  without  resources, 
and  sought  an  humble  lodging  as  a  slielter  till  he  could  prepare 

305 


306  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

for  his  work.  At  the  very  outset  he  was  prostrated  by  illness, 
and  might  have  died  unattended  had  not  Providence  guided  a 
priest  to  his  bedside.  On  recovering  Bishop  Miles  proceeded  to 
Memphis,  where  he  began  his  labors  as  a  missionary.  He  ap- 
pealed to  Ohio  to  aid  him,  and  obtained  some  auxiliaries,  but 
there  were  not  many  j)i'iests  who  chose  to  enter  so  unpromising  a 
district. 

In  his  diocesan  city  the  Dominican  bishop  collected  the 
Catholics  soon  after  his  arrival,  and  preached  a  mission ;  but  his 
words  drew  only  nine  persons  to  receive  the  Blessed  Eucharist. 
Yet  by  his  assiduous  labors  he  beheld  the  flock  increase,  till  he 
was  able  in  1847  to  dedicate  his  cathedral  to  the  Almighty  under 
the  invocation  of  Our  J.ady  of  the  Seven  Dolors.  He  also  erected 
a  suitable  house  for  himself  and  his  successors,  as  well  as  an 
academy  and  hospital  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
of  Nazareth.  He  introduced  a  colony  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Domi- 
nic, whom  he  had  founded,  into  Memphis,  where  a  church  had 
been  built.  These  good  religious  soon  had  school  and  asylum 
under  their  charge. 

In  1842  Bishop  Miles  ordained  the  first  priest  ever  elevated 
to  that  dignity  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

Bishop  Miles  was  not  young  when  called  to  assume  the  duties 
of  the  episcopate,  and  his  cares  added  more  years  than  his  pre- 
vious missionary  labors.  In  1859  he  solicited  a  coadjutor,  and 
the  Right  Rev.  James  Whelan,  a  friar  of  his  own  order,  was  ap- 
jjointed.  A  cough  which  had  long  annoyed  Bishop  Miles  now 
showed  that  the  disease  had  reached  a  critical  point.  After  re- 
citing his  office  on  February  17,  1860,  seated  before  the  fire. 
Bishop  Miles  found  himself  unable  to  rise.  He  was  conveyed  to 
his  bed  and  medical  aid  summoned.  Flis  case  w^as  at  once  pro- 
nounced fatal,  and,  after  receiving  the  last  sacraments  from  the 
hands  of  Bishop  Whelan,  he  calmly  expired  on  the  21st  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

Considering  the  condition  of  Catholicity  in  the  State  of  Ten- 
nessee, where  the  faithful  are  few,  poor,  and  scattered,  often  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  mountain  ranges,  the  work  accomplish- 
ed by  Bishop  Miles  in  organizing  and  building  up  the  diocese 
was  certainly  remarkable. 


n 


THE  DIOCESE  OF  NASHVILJ.E.  307 

RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  WHELAN,  O.S.D., 

Second  JBishop  of  Nashville. 

Jajies  Whelan  was  born  at  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  8tli  of 
June,  1823,  but  spent  most  of  Lis  youth  in  London  and  New 
York,  where  he  received  his  early  training  in  religion  and  letters. 
Even  in  boyhood  he  was  remarkable  for  a  great  love  of  solitude 
and  for  an  extraordinaiy  application  to  books.  He  seemed  set 
apai-t  for  the  religions  life,  and,  applying  to  the  venerable  Father 
N.  D.  Young,  was  taken  by  that  experienced  director  to  the 
novitiate  of  the  Dominicans,  St.  Joseph's,  Perry  County,  Ohio. 
Here  he  manifested  great  talent  for  sacred  studies,  and  won  the 
affection  of  all  his  superiors  and  brethren  by  his  genial  disposi- 
tion and  strict  observance  of  the  rule.  He  was  ordained  priest 
on  the  2d  of  August,  1846,  and  was  soon  an  active  and  labori- 
ous missionary,  filling  many  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  in 
Dominican  convents,  until  at  last,  in  October,  1854,  he  was  elect- 
ed provincial  of  the  order  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  He  served 
the  usual  term,  four  years,  with  much  credit  to  himself  and  satis- 
faction to  his  brethren.  Having  been  soon  after  apj^ointed  co- 
adjutor to  the  Bishop  of  Nashville,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Marcopolis  on  the  8th  of  May,  1859.  The  declining  health  of 
Bishop  Miles  compelled  him  to  assume  at  once  all  the  active 
duties  of  the  episcopate,  and  on  the  death  of  that  prelate  in  the 
ensuing  year  he  became  Bishop  of  Nashville.  The  country  was 
already  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  which  culminated  the  next 
year  in  fratricidal  strife.  As  a  border  State  Tennessee  was  torn 
and  distracted  for  four  long  years  by  the  almost  constant  occupa- 
tion of  contending  armies,  some  of  the  severest  battles  of  the  war 
having  been  fought  on  its  soil.  The  afflictions  of  the  diocese 
confided  to  his  care,  with  his  own  utter  inability  to  remedy  them, 
broke,  the  spirit  of  the  bishop,  and  in  1864  he  obtained  leave  to 
resign  the  episcopate  and  return  to  the  quiet  and  seclusion  of  a 
convent  of  his  order.  From  that  time  till  his  death  he  lived 
among  his  religious  brethren,  devoting  his  whole  time  to  theolo- 
gical, historical,  and  chemical  studies,  some  of  the  fruits  of  which 


308  THE  CATHOLIC  Uli^icARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

are  manifested  in  contributions  to  the  periodical  literature  of  the 
time.  In  1872  he  published  a  work  of  enduring  value  :  "Catena 
Aurea  ;  or,  A  Golden  Chain  of  Evidences  demonstrating  from 
'  Analytical  Treatment  of  History '  that  Papal  Infallibility  is  no 
Novelty."  In  a  popular  form  easily  grasped  this  woi'k  presented 
the  question  of  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  teaching  ex  cathedra^ 
so  that  all  could  understand  it  and  see  the  fallacy  of  those  who 
denied  it.  Dr.  Brownson  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  best  works 
ever  written  on  the  subject. 

In  1871  Bishop  Whelan  took  up  his  residence  in  Zanesville, 
and,  after  a  brief  illness,  expired  at  the  residence  of  the  Domini- 
can Fathers  in  that  city,  on  the  18th  of  February,  1878.  His  re- 
mains were  conveyed  to  St.  Joseph's  and  laid  beside  those  of 
his  religious  brethren  who  had  ended  their  career  on  the  mis- 
sions of  Ohio. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  RADEMACHEE, 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Nashville. 

Joseph  Rademacher  was  born  at  Westphalia,  in  the  State  of 
Michigan,  on  the  3d  of  December,  1840.  He  was  placed  at  an 
early  age  at  St.  Vincent's  College,  under  the  care  of  the  Benedic- 
tine Fathers  of  the  abbey  of  that  name  in  Westmoreland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  completing  his  classical  course  entered 
the  diocesan  seminary  of  St.  Michael's,  at  Pittsburgh,  to  prepare 
for  the  holy  order  of  priesthood,  to  which  he  felt  he  was  called. 
He  Avas  ordained  priest  on  the  2d  of  August,  1863,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  J.  H.  Luers,  for  the  diocese  of  Fort  Wayne.  He  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  church  of  Attica,  Indiana,  and  of  the  de- 
pendent missions,  and  was  a  laborious  missionary  there  for  six 
years.  He  was  then  pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Paul  of  the 
Cross,  Columbia  City,  for  eight  years.  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Dwenger  then  summoned  him  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  confided  to 
him  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  Mother  of  God.  It  was  a  position 
of    difficulty,  but  his  piety,  prudence,  and   firmness  triumphed 


THE  DIOCESE  OF  XASHVTLLE.  309 

v\er  all  obstacles.  During  his  residence  at  Fort  Wayne  lie 
acted  as  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  but  he  was  soon  appointed 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  Lafayette,  which,  next  to  the  ca- 
thedral, had  the  largest  congregation  in  the  diocese.  In  all  these 
positions  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rademacher  acquitted  himself  as  a  priest 
of  ability,  devoted  to  his  flock,  earnest,  pious,  careful  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young.  On  the  21st  of  April,  1883,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Nashville,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  24th  of 
June  by  his  predecessor,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  see  of 
Chicago.  Since  his  enthronement  at  Nashville  Bishop  Rade- 
macher has  labored  earnestly  by  visitations  to  learn  the  wants  of 
his  diocese  and  advance  the  kingdom  of  God. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1884  the  diocese  contained  thirty 
churches,  twenty-six  priests,  a  college,  twenty-one  academies  and 
schools  attended  by  more  than  two  thousand  pupils. 

These  had  increased  at  the  close  of  1890  to  36  churches  and 
29  priests,  26  academies  and  parochial  schools  attended  by  2,750 
students,  including  1  colored  school  of  200  ^^upils.  There  was  a 
Catholic  population  of  21,200. 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHEZ. 


^IGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  CHANCHE, 

First  Bishop  of  Natchez. 

/iDHN  Mary  V'c\jeph  Chanche,  the  son  of  Jolin  Chanclie  and 
Catherine  Provost,  was  born  October  4,  1795,  in  Baltimore,  to 
which  his  parents  had  fled  from  the  horrors  of  St.  Domingo.  At 
the  age  of  eleven  he  was  placed  in  the  college  opened  by  the 
Sulpitians  in  that  city,  jind  soon  showed  that  he  was  called  to 
the  ecclesiastical  state.  He  received  the  tonsure  from  Arch- 
bishop Carroll  when  he  \\as  only  fifteen.  After  receiving  minor 
orders  from  Archbishop  Neale  he  was  ordained  by  Archbishop 
Marechal,  June  5,  1819.  Having  been  received  into  the  com- 
munity of  Saint  Sulpice,  he  was  made  a  professor  in  St.  Mary's 
College,  and  continued  to  discharge  his  duties,  becoming  in  time 
vice-president,  and  in  September,  1834,  on  the  elevation  of  Dr. 
Eccleston  to  the  episcopate,  president  of  the  college,  an  office  for 
which  he  possessed  marked  qualifications. 

Dr.  Chanche  had  been  proposed  for  the  position  of  coadjutor 
at  Baltimore,  at  Boston,  and  at  New  York,  but  steadfastly  de- 
clined the  dignity  of  bishop.  He  t.^ok  an  important  part  in 
several  of  the  Provincial  Councils  of  Baltimore,  his  learning, 
eloquence,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  all  prescribed  forms  and 
ceremonies  being  recognized  by  all.  When  the  see  of  Natchez 
was  erected,  July  28,  1837,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Heyden  was  ap- 
pointed bishop,  but  declined.  The  Rev.  Dr,.  Chanche  was  sub- 
sequently named,  and  was  induced  to  accept  the  bulls  issued  by 
Pope  Gregory  XVL,  December  15,  1840.  His  consecration  took 
place  on  the  14th  of  March  in  the  next  year,  Archbisliop  Eccles- 
ton officiating,  assisted  by  Bishops  Fenwick  and  Hughes.  Dr. 
Chanche  proceeded  to  his  diocese  alone,  and,  landi»ig  at  Natchez, 
began  to  organize  a  diocese  in  the  State  of  Mississippi.     Catlio- 

311 


312  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

licity  was  in  no  flourisliing  condition,  yet  some  of  the  early 
French  settlements  and  missions  had  been  planted  on  its  soil, 
and  in  their  tragic  annals  were  recorded  the  deaths  of  heroic  men 
who  laid  down  their  lives  while  announcing  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  white  settler  and  the  dark-hued  son  of  the  forest. 
Biloxi,  Natchez,  Yazoo  had  been  French  posts  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  secular  priests  St.  Cosme  and  Foucault,  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  Du  Poisson,  Souart,  and  Senat,  had  died  by  In- 
dian hands  in  Mississippi  or  on  the  adjacent  river.  Even  in 
earlier  days  eminent  Dominican  Fathers  had  labored  here  in  the 
colony  of  Tristan  de  Luna. 

During  the  French  occupancy  of  Louisiana  there  was  a 
church  at  -Natchez  attended  by  a  Capuchin  Father,  and  when 
Spain  acquired  the  territory  a  priest  was  maintained  there. 
Bishop  Carroll,  unable  to  send  a  priest  to  a  point  so  remote 
from  other  settled  parts  of  his  diocese,  asked  Bishop  Penalver, 
of  Louisiana,  to  continue  to  supply  the  isolated  church.  Subse- 
queatly  priests  were  sent  from  Spain,  who  remained  till  1798, 
when  the  United  States  took  possession  of  Natchez  and  confis- 
cated the  church  property  to  its  own  use.  From  that  time  the 
mission  was  served  at  intervals  only,  and  the  church  was  at  last 
destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1832.  A  little  chapel  of  the 
Holy  Family  soon  rose,  however,  and  when  Bishop  Chanche  ar- 
rived was  the  only  sign  of  Catholicity ;  but  it  was  so  small  that 
the  faithful  met  in  a  hired  hall.  Rev.  Mr.  Brogard,  the  only 
priest  in  Mississippi,  was  there  but  temporarily,  and  the  bishop 
was  virtually  alone.  He  obtained  aid,  and,  assembling  the  Ca- 
tholics, roused  their  zeal  and  spirit.  In  1842  he  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  his  cathedral,  and  about  the  same  time  opened  an  aca- 
demy for  young  ladies,  under  the  direction  of  accomplished 
teachers  whom  he  brought  from  Frederick,  Md.  His  visitations 
were  rather  missions  to  find,  collect,  and  organize  the  Catholics 
than  visits  to  parishes,  and  his  labors,  like  those  of  the  few 
priests  whom  he  could  induce  to  share  his  ministry,  were  those 
of  a  missionary  priest.  For  the  good  of  his  diocese  he  visited 
Havana  to  secure  documents  to  substantiate  the  claim  of  the 
Catholic  Church  to  its  property ;  but  his  appeal  to  the  United 
States  for  its  restitution  was  unavailing. 


DIOCESE   OF   XATCHEZ.  313 

The  Sisters  of  Charity  came  to  his  diocese  early  in  1848, 
and  soon  had  thriving  schools  and  an  orphan  asylum.  Bishop 
Chanche  was  earnestly  desirous  of  uniting  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
in  America  with  the  order  in  France,  and  went  to  France  with 
the  documents  which  led  to  the  accomplishment  of  that  design. 
By  the  year  1852  the  diocese,  so  utterly  destitute  when  he  ar- 
rived, began  to  show  the  results  of  his  zeal.  He  had  a  nucleus 
of  a  clergy  in  the  eleven  priests  whom  he  had  gathered  around 
him.  Eleven  churches  had  been  built,  and  there  were  more  than 
thirty  places  where  Catholics  gathered  at  stated  times  to  hear 
Mass  and  approach  the  sacraments. 

At  the  First  Plenary  Council,  in  1852,  Bishop  Chanche  was 
chief  promoter,  and  after  the  close  of  its  sessions  he  went  to 
Frederick  to  rest  awhile  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  There  he 
was  seized  with  cholera-morbus,  which  baffled  the  skill  of  phy- 
sicians. He  lingered  several  days  v^dthout  a  murmur,  bearing  all 
his  sufferings  with  resignation  and  serenity  till  he  died,  on  the 
22d  of  July,  1853.  At  his  own  request  his  body  was  conveyed 
to  Baltimore  and  interred  in  the  cathedral  cemetery.  An  able 
and  accomplished  man,  he  had  renounced  the  episcopate  in  sees 
where  the  Church  was  organized  and  progressing,  in  order  to 
devote  his  energies  and  life  to  the  hardest  struggles  in  a  State 
where  the  prospects  of  Catholicity  were  feeble  indeed. 


MOST  REV.  FRANCIS  JANSSENS 

Was  Fourth  Bishojy  of  Natchez,  and  is  now  Flftli  ArchUshop 

of  JSfeio  Orleans. 

Feancis  Janssens  was  born  in  Tilburg,  North  Brabant,  Hoi- 
land,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1843.  After  preliminary  classical 
studies  he  entered  the  episcopal  seminary  of  Bois-le-Duc,  or  'S  Her- 
togenbosch,  but,  wishing  to  devote  himself  to  the  missions  in 
the  United  Stales,  sought  entrance  into  the  American  College  at 
Lou  vain,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Ghent  on  the  21st  of  Decem- 
ber, 1867.     Bishop  McGill,  of  Richmond,  had  visited  the  insti- 


814  THE   CATHOLIC   HIERARCHY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

tution  the  preceding  year  and  depicted  the  wants  of  his  diocese 
so  eloquently  that  the  young  seminarian,  full  of  courage,  offered 
his  services.  He  began  his  labors  in  the  diocese  of  Kichmond 
in  September,  1868,  and  was  soon  recognized  as  a  most  able  and 
energetic  priest,  full  of  resources  and  prompt  at  every  call.  As 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral,  and  from  1870  as  rector,  at- 
tending also  Danville,  Warrenton,  Gordonsville,  and  Culpepper, 
acting  too  as  secretary  and  chancellor  of  the  diocese,  he  en- 
deared himself  to  all.  In  1874  he  was  made  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese,  and  on  the  translation  of  Bishop  Gibbons  to  the 
see  of  Adramyttum,  as  coadjutor  of  Baltimore,  the  Very  Rev. 
Mr.  Janssens  became  administrator  of  the  diocese  of  Eichmond. 
When  Bishop  Keane  was  installed  in  the  capital  of  Virginia  he 
retained  the  able  priest  as  vicar-general  of  his  diocese  and  pas- 
tor of  the  cathedral.  Bishop  Chanche  had  been  succeeded  at 
Natchez  by  the  Kight  Rev.  Dr.  Van  de  Velde,  who  was  trans- 
ferred from  Chicago,  and  the  diocese  had  been  afterwards  ably 
directed  by  Right  Rev.  William  H.  Elder  for  many  years ;  but 
his  appointment  a3  coadjutor  to  the  venerable  Archbishoj)  Pur- 
cell,  of  Cincinnati,  left  the  see  of  Natchez  vacant.  The  Very 
Rev.  Francis  Janssens  was  selected  for  the  position,  and  he  was 
consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter  at  Richmond  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1881,  by  Archbishop  Gribbons,  assisted  by  Bishops 
Becker,  of  Wilmington,  and  Keane,  of  Richmond,  Bishop  Elder 
preaching  the  sermon  on  the  occasion.  The  ceremony  was  the 
grandest  ecclesiastical  function  ever  seen  in  Richmond,  and  at- 
tracted the  largest  gathering  known  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
in  the  State.  After  the  consecration  Bishop  Janssens  made  a 
most  touching  address  to  the  members  of  the  hierarchy  and  to 
his  fellow-clergymen,  whom  he  thanked  for  all  their  kindness 
9,nd  brotherly  feeling  towards  him  from  the  day  of  their  first 
cordial  welcome.  Reaching  Natchez  May  7,  he  visited  his  whole 
diocese,  and  then  proceeded  to  his  native  place,  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  a  public  ovation,  and  with  rapture  by  the  loving  mo- 
ther whom  he  had  left  for  God's  service ;  he  went  to  Rome,  and 
then,  returning  to  this  country,  took  possession  of  his  diocese. 

The  ability  shown  at  Richmond  augurs  a  devoted  and  profit- 
able administration  at  Natchez.     Catholicity  has   not   made  in 


n 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHEZ. 


317 


Mississippi  the  strides  that  it  has  at  the  Northwest,  but  under 
the  care  and  prudence  of  his  predecessors  the  little  grain  of 
mustard-seed  found  by  Bishop  Chanche  has  grown.  The  Catho- 
lic population  was  in  1884  estimated  at  not  quite  14,000,  the 
yearly  baptisms  of  infants  being  736  ;  the  parochial  and  colored 
schools,  chiefly  under  the  care  of  religious  communities,  number 
nearly  2,000  pupils  ;  and  this  body  of  Catholics  has  53  churches, 
attended  by  30  priests. 

In  1884  he  erected  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Rosary  for  the 
Choctaw  Indians,  among  whom  the  Jesuits  labored  in  the  last  cen- 
tury. The  mission  has  succeeded  beyond  expectation,  and  Sisters 
of  Mercy  have  established  a  school  in  the  tribe. 

In  1888  Bishop  Janssens  was  promoted  to  the  see  of  New 
Orleans  as  successor  to  the  late  Archbishop  Leray. 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHITOCHES. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTUS  MARY  MARTIN, 

First  Bislwp  of  Natchitoclies. 

Augustus  Maey  Maetix  was  born  in  Brittany,  France,  and 
after  a  pious  education  was  ordained  priest.  Though  gentle 
and  unassuming,  he  resolved  to  seek  a  foreign  mission,  and  came 
to  the  United  States  in  1842.  Havins:  been  received  into  the 
diocese  of  New  Orleans,  he  was  ap23ointed  chaplain  to  the  Ursu- 
line  nuns.  As  soon  as  he  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  mis- 
sion work  he  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Martin's  Church,  Attaka- 
pas ;  in  1845  he  was  transferred  to  St.  James'  parish,  and  two 
j'ears  later  was  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  St.  Joseph's  Church, 
East  Baton  Rouge,  attending  also  the  dependent  missions  of  the 
Plains  and  Manchac.  In  all  this  parochial  work  he  made  him- 
self singularly  beloved  by  the  people,  and  won  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  fellow-priests.  His  archbishop  showed  his  confi- 
dence by  making  him  vicar-forane.  The  Plenary  Council  of 
1852  recommended  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  New  Orleans, 
and  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Natchitoches.  To  this  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Martin  was  elected  on  the  29th  of  July,  1853,  and  he  re- 
ceived e^^iscopal  consecration  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Blanc 
in  New  Orleans  on  the  last  day  of  November.  His  diocese  com- 
prised the  more  sparsely  settled  part  of  the  State,  lying  north  of 
the  thirty-first  degree.  Natchitoches  had  been  established  as  a 
French  post  as  early  as  1717,  and  a  priest  was  stationed  there 
from  time  to  time ;  not  far  off  was  the  Spanish  mission  of  San 
Miguel  at  Adayes,  founded  in  1715  by  the  Venerable  Father 
Anthony  Margil  de  Jesus.  In  our  time  a  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Francis  was  erected  at  Natchitoches  in  1826.  The  diocese  of 
Natchitoches  when  organized  contained  about  twenty-five  thou- 

S18 


DIOCESE  OF  NATCHITOCHES.  319 

sand  Catholics,  with  only  seven  churches  and  four  priests.  The 
only  institution  was  a  convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart. 

As  the  population  gained  little  by  emigration,  the  great  ob- 
ject of  Bishop  Martin  was  to  give  his  people  churches,  priests, 
and  schools  to  meet  their  wants.  He  encouraged  and  stimulated 
the  erection  of  churches  wherever  they  could  be  maintained,  and 
succeeded  so  that  he  left  more  than  sixty  churches  and  chapels. 
For  works  of  education  and  charity  he  introduced  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  the  Daughters  of  the  Cross,  an  order  founded  by  Sr. 
V'incent  de  Paul. 

After  governing  the  diocese  for  twenty-two  years  he  died 
piously  September  29,  1875. 


RIGHT  REV.  ANTHONY  DURIER, 

Third  JBlshop  of  Natchitoches. 

The  Right  Rev.  Anthony  Durier,  who  succeeded  to  the 
mitre  of  Natchitoches  after  Archbishop  Leray  had  governed  the 
diocese  for  nearly  six  years  as  administrator,  was  born  at  Rouen, 
France,  in  the  year  1833,  of  a  family  which  gave  many  of  its 
members  to  the  priesthood  and  religious  orders,  one  of  them  dy- 
ing as  a  missionary  in  China.  Anthony  was  j)ursuing  his  theo- 
logical studies  at  Lyons  when  with  a  fellow-seminarian  he  re- 
sponded to  an  appeal  of  Archbishop  Blanc  for  priests  for  Louisi- 
ana. He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1855,  and  completed  his 
tlieological  studies  at  Mount  St.  Mary's  of  the  West,  where  he 
acquired  a  familiarity  with  the  English  language.  After  being 
ordained  by  Archbishop  Purcell  in  1856,  he  was  stationed  at 
Cbillicothe,  but  the  next  year  began  his  labors  in  New  Orleans  as 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral  of  that  city.  From  1859  to  his 
elevation  to  the  episcopate  he  was  the  zealous,  charitable,  and 
laborious  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation.  He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Natchitoches  in  St.  Louis'  Cathedral,  New 
Orleans,  by  Archbishop  Leray  on  the  19th  of  March,  1885. 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLY. 


RIGHT  KEV.  AUGUSTINE  MAGLOIRE  BLANCHET, 

First  Bishop  of  Nesqiiolly. 

Augustine  Magloire  Alexander  Blanchet  was  born  on 
the  22d  of  August,  1797,  at  Saint  Pierre,  Riviere  du  Sud,  in  the 
diocese  of  Quebec,  and  after  a  pious  youth  entered  the  seminary, 
and  was  ordained  priest  on  the  3d  of  June,  1821.  The  young 
priest's  earliest  missionary  labors  found  their  field  in  the  islands 
of  La  Magdelaine  and  Chetican  ;  then  he  was  stationed  at  Magre, 
in  Cape  Breton,  in  1822.  For  sixteen  years  dating  from  1826 
he  exercised  the  holy  ministry  in  the  diocese  of  Montreal  as 
parish  priest  of  St.  Luc  de  I'Assomption,  St.  Charles,  Riviere 
Richelieu,  and  St.  Joseph  de  Soulanges.  His  parish  was  the 
scene  of  some  of  the  patriot  risings  in  1837.  He  was  subse- 
quently appointed  by  Bishop  Bourget  one  of  the  canons  of  the 
chapter  of  Montreal.  When  the  Holy  See,  in  1845,  erected  the 
dioceses  of  Walla  Walla  and  Fort  Hall  in  Oregon,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  Walla  Walla,  and  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of 
Montreal  on  the  27th  of  September,  1846.  The  diocese  embraced 
the  territory  between  the  Pacific  and  White  Salmon  River 
above  the  Cascades,  the  British  possessions,  and  the  Columbia 
River.  The  Jesuit  Fathers  had  already  begun  missions  among 
the  Coeurs  d'Alenes,  Flatheads,  and  Kalispels,  and  Protestant 
missionaries  were  engaged  in  attempting  to  gain  converts  in 
other  native  tribes.  Bishop  Blanchet  set  out  from  Montreal  in 
March,  1847,  and  reached  Fort  Walla  Walla  on  the  5th  of  Sep- 
tember, accompanied  by  four  Oblate  Fathers  and  two  secular 
priests.  His  arrival  excited  great  bitterness  at  the  Protestant 
missions,  and  the  invitation  of  the  Cayuse  chief  Tamatowe  to 


DIOCESE  OP  NESQUALLY.  321 

the  bisliop  added  to  tlie  feeling.  Before  the  bishop  and  his 
priests  could  begin  any  active  mission  work  the  Cayuses  mur- 
dered Dr.  Whitman,  a  Protestant  missionary,  and  his  wife; 
another  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding,  was  saved  from  a 
similar  fate  only  by  the  exertions  of  one  of  Bishop  Blanchet's 
priests,  Rev.  Mr.  Brouillet.  The  bishop,  then  at  Tamatowe's 
camp,  used  every  effort  to  rescue  the  whites  held  as  prisoners 
by  the  Indians  and  to  prevent  further  crime,  but,  finding  himself 
powerless,  retired  to  St.  Paul.  Rev.  Mr.  Brouillet  remained,  but 
was  soon  compelled  to  leave,  and  his  house  was  burned,  as  well 
as  the  chapel.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding,  far  from  showing  any 
gratitude  to  the  men  who  saved  his  life,  began  at  once  to  charge 
the  Catholic  bishop  and  clergy  with  complicity  in  the  massacre 
and  to  inflame  the  public  mind  against  them.  This  course  he 
pursued  for  years,  and  though  the  calumny  has  been  again  and 
again  refuted,  it  is  repeated  to  this  day. 

Bishop  Blanchet  in  June,  1848,  set  out  for  the  Umatilla  mis- 
sion, but,  being  ordered  back  by  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs,  established  the  Dalles  mission  of  St.  Peter. 

The  Cayuse  war  prevented  the  progress  of  settlements,  and, 
the  difficulty  of  restoring  missions  being  great,  a  change  was 
made.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff  on  the  31st  of  May,  1850,  erected 
the  see  of  Nesquallyand  transferred  Bishop  Blanchet  to  it  in  the 
following  October.  He  took  up  his  residence  at  Fort  Vancouver, 
on  the  Columbia,  and  there  he  soon  had  a  modest  cathedral, 
while  chapels  rose  at  Olympia  and  Steilacoom,  on  the  Cowlitz 
River,  and  among  the  Chinooks.  In  1853  the  diocese  of  Walla 
Walla  was  suppressed,  and  part  of  it,  including  the  Dalles  and 
Cayuse  territory,  was  annexed  to  Nesqually. 

Bishop  Blanchet  took  part  in  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Oregon  and  in  the  Plenary  Councils  of  Baltimore  in  1852  and 
1866. 

When  the  Territory  of  Washington  was  organized  in  1853 
the  diocese  of  Nesqually  was  made  to  include  it.  Religion  was 
at  last  making  sure  but  steady  progress,  when  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  diverted  immigrants,  and  even  sent  many  from 
Oregon  to  that  tempting  field.  The  Catholic  population,  of  about 
six  thousand,  lost  severely,  and  even  the  number  of  priests  and 


322  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cliapels  declined.  From  1856  the  diocese  liad  Sisters  of  Charity, 
who  established  an  academy  and  hospital  at  Vancouver,  and  in 
time  spread  to  Steilacoom,  Walla  Walla,  St.  Ignatius,  and  Tulalip. 

Through  all  the  trials  and  difficulties  that  checkered  his 
episcopate  from  the  outset  Bishop  Blanchet  labored  on  courage- 
ously, seeking  to  do  all  that  could  be  effected  for  his  flock.  Jn 
February,  1879,  he  was  relieved  of  the  burden,  which  had  become 
too  great  for  his  years  and  health,  and  became  titular  Bishop  of 
Ibora,  taking  up  his  abode  at  St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  Vancouver. 
The  diocese,  when  he  transferred  it  to  his  successor,  contained  1 6 
priests,  24  churches  and  chapels,  Indian  missions  at  Fort  Colville, 
Yakima,  and  Tulalip,  colleges  at  Vancouver  and  Walla  Walla, 
with  the  numerous  institutions  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  a 
Catholic  population  which  had  grown  to  nearly  twelve  thousand. 

Bishop  Blanchet  died  in  the  hospital  of  the  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence at  Fort  Vancouver,  February  25,  1887. 


RIGHT  REV.  ^GIDIUS  JUNGER, 

Second  BisJiop  of  JSFesqually. 

^GiDius  JuNGER  was  bom  on  the  6th  of  April,  1833,  at 
Bu/tscheid,  near  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  the  diocese  of  Cologne,  and, 
after  preparing  by  a  pious  youth  and  the  study  of  years,  was 
ordained  priest  on  the  26th  of  July,  1862.  Destined  for  the 
American  mission,  he  came  to  this  country  October  31,  1862.  On 
reaching  the  diocese  of  Nesqually  he  was  stationed  at  Walla 
Walla  City,  and  attended  the  church  there  with  its  dependent 
missions;  but  from  1864  he  was  attached  to  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Augustine  and  St.  James  at  Vancouver.  There  his  ability,  zeal, 
and  piety  made  him  favorably  known.  When  the  aged  Bishop 
Blanchet  was  at  last  permitted  to  resign  the  see  which  he  had  so 
long  filled,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Junger  was  elected  Bishop  of  Nesqually, 
and  was,  consecrated  on  the  28th  of  October,  1879. 

Since  he  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  diocese  the  Territory  of 


DIOCESE  OF  NESQUALLY. 


323 


Washino^ton  has  been  broiis^lit  into  closer  communication  with 
the  East  by  railroad.  Coal-mines  have  been  opened  and  new 
towns  are  arising.  Some  of  the  incoming  population  is  Catholic, 
and  the  number  of  the  faithful  is  on  the  increase.  There  were  in 
1884  twenty-seven  priests  attending  thirty  churches  and  sixty- 
two  stations  and  Indian  missions  ;  the  number  of  institutions  had 
grown,  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary  having 
entered  the  diocese  to  aid  the  Sisters  of  Charity  or  of  Providence 
in  the  labors  which  they  have  so  long  and  so  heroically  sus- 
tained. Bishop  Junger  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  November,  1884. 

The  summary  for  the  year  1891  as  compiled  from  authentic 
sources,  shows  the  following:  39  priests,  46  churches,  99  chapels 
and  stations,  3  colleges,  14  academies,  5  parochial  schools  with 
625  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  40,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  NEWARK. 


RIGHT  REV.  WINAND  MICHAEL  WIGGER, 

TJiird  Bishop  of  Newarlc. 

WiNAND  M.  WiGGEK,  wlio  became  third  Bishop  of  Newark — 
Bishop  Bayley,  the  first,  having  been  promoted  to  the  see  of  Bal- 
timore, and  Bishop  Corrigan,  his  successor,  having  been  promoted 
to  the  see  of  Petra  as  coadjutor  of  New  York — was  born  in  the 
city  of  New  York  on  the  9th  of  December,  1841,  his  parents,  who 
had  emigrated  from  Westphalia,  having  settled  in  that  city.  He 
pursued  a  classical  course  at  St.  Francis  Xavier's  College,  under 
the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and,  resolving  to  serve  God 
in  his  sanctuary,  entered  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Seton  Hall, 
South  Orange,  New  Jersey,  where  he  remained  some  years ;  but 
in  October,  1862,  enrolled  his  name  among  the  theological  stu- 
dents at  the  college  of  Brignoli  Sale,  Genoa,  where  he  completed 
his  divinity  course,  winning  the  doctor's  cap.  He  was  ordained 
priest  in  1865,  and,  returning  to  the  diocese  of  Newark,  became 
assistant  priest  at  the  cathedral.  On  the  death  of  Rev.  James 
D'Arcy  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St.  Vincent's  Church,  Madi- 
son, where  he  remained  several  years,  enjoying  the  respect  and 
attachment  of  his  flock  and  of  persons^  of  all  creeds,  his  only  ab- 
sence being  a  temporary  removal  to  Summit  for  his  health.  On 
the  promotion  of  Bishop  Corrigan  the  diocese  of  Newark  was  re- 
duced to  the  counties  of  Hudson,  Passaic,  Bergen,  Essex,  Morris, 
Union,  and  Sussex,  the  rest  of  the  State  being  formed  into  the  new 
diocese  of  Trenton.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Wigger,  elected  to  the  see  of 
Newark,  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Newark  on  the  1 8th 
of  October,  1881,  by  Archbishop  Corrigan,  assisted  by  Bishop 
McQuaid,  of  Rochester,  and  Bishop  Loughlin,  of  Brooklyn.     Un- 

334 


DIOCESE  OF  NEWARK. 


325 


der  his  care  the  diocese,  though  small  in  extent,  has  advanced  in 
the  way  of  prosperity,  containing  at  the  close  of  the  year  1884  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Catholics,  with  eighty-eight  churches 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  priests.  It  had  three  colleges, 
seventeen  seminaries  for  young  ladies,  twenty  thousand  Catholic 
children  in  the  parochial  schools,  and  twelve  asylums  and  hospi- 
tals. 

This  large  and  important  diocese  in  1891  presented  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  showing:  202  priests,  1,027  brothers  and  sisters 
in  convents  and  monasteries,  112  churches  and  12  stations,  1  sem- 
inary, 3  colleges  with  330  students,  IS  academies  for  young  ladies 
with  1,420  students,  79  parochial  schools  and  25,914  pupils  in 
attendance,  6  orphan  asylums  and  4  hospitals,  in  a  Catholic  popu- 
lation of  170,000. 


DIOCESE   OF  OGDENSBURG. 


RIGHT  REV.  EDGAR  P.  WADHAMS, 

First  Bishop  of  Ogdenshurg. 

Edgar  R  Wadhams,  son  of  Luman  Wadhams  and  Lucy 
Bostwick,  was  born  on  the  21st  of  May,  1817,  in  the  township 
of  Lewis,  Essex  County,  N.  Y.,  and  was  graduated  at  Middle- 
bury  College,  Vermont.  Brought  up  a  Protestant,  he  resolved  to 
prepare  for  the  ministry,  and  went  through  the  course  of  studies 
at  the  Protestant  Episcopal  General  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York.  After  receiving  deacon's  orders  in  that  denomination  he 
became  a  missionary  at  Ticonderoga,  but  there  the  doubts  as  to 
his  religious  position  yielded  to  the  power  of  reason  enlightened 
by  prayer.  Retaining  his  wish  to  serve  in  the  ministry,  he  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  where  he  was 
received  into  the  Church  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Fredet  in  June,  1846. 
Entering  on  the  course  of  sound  study,  he  received  the  tonsure 
and  minor  orders  from  Archbishop  Eccleston,  September  2, 
1847  ;  deaconship,  October  24,  1849,  and  was  ordained  priest  in 
St.  Mary's  Pro-Cathedral,  Albany,  by  Right  Rev.  John  McClos- 
key  on  the  loth  of  January,  1850.  He  was  immediately  appoint- 
ed assistant  at  the  pro-cathedral,  and  retained  the  same  position 
in  the  cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  on  its  dedication 
in  1853  till  he  became  rector  in  1866.  Acting  also  as  vicar-gene- 
ral of  the  diocese,  his  mission  life  was  one  of  labor  and  consolation. 
When  the  diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  set  off  he  was  appointed 
to  it  on  the  15th  of  February,  1872,  and  was  consecrated  by 
Archbishop  McCloskey,  of  New  York,  assisted  by  Bishops  de 
Goesbriand  and  Williams,  in  the  cathedral  at  Albany,  on  the 
feast  of  St.  Pius  V. — a  pope  who  took  a  zealous  interest  in  the 
progress  of  the  faith  in  our  territory.     Bishop  Wadhams  was 


DIOCESE  OF  OGDENSBURG. 


327 


installed  in  St.  Mary's  Catliedral,  Ogdensburg,  on  the  16tli  of 
May,  1872.  The  modern  city  occupies  the  site  of  the  Mission  of 
the  Presentation,  founded  in  the  last  century  by  a  zealous  Sulpi- 
tian,  the  Abbe  Picquet.  The  diocese  has  an  area  of  ten  thousand 
five  hundred  square  miles,  including  the  Adirondack  Mountains 
and  some  of  the  wildest  scenery  in  the  State.  The  population 
is  scattered,  the  sixty-three  thousand  Catholics  intermingled 
among  a  total  of  three  hundred  thousand. 

Limited  as  the  resources  of  Bishop  Wadhams  have  been,  he 
has  been  seconded  in  zeal  by  hard-working  clergy  and  a  flock 
ready  to  make  sacrifices.  In  this  wilderness-diocese  of  New  York 
State,  during  his  administration,  thirty-three  churches  have  arisen 
where  there  was  never  a  church  before,  and  churches  already  ex- 
isting when  he  became  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg  have  been  rebuilt 
or  enlarged. 

Gradually,  under  the  impulse  he  has  given,  provision  is  made 
for  the  education  of  the  rising  generation,  and  there  are  twenty 
schools  with  about  fifteen  hundred  pupils.  The  Oblate  Fathers 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  now  the  great  missionary  body  of 
Canada,  have  a  house  at  Plattsburg,  the  Augustinians  at  Car- 
thage, the  Franciscans  at  Croghan  and  Mohawk  Hill,  and  the 
Missionary  Fathers  of  the  Sacred  Heart  at  Watertown.  The 
d'Youville  Sisters  of  Charity  (Gray  Nuns),  Sisters  of  Charity,  of 
Mercy,  and  of  St.  Joseph,  with  Franciscan  Sisters,  supply  fifty 
teachers  for  schools. 

In  1891  there  were  in  this  diocese,  78  priests  and  8  seminari- 
ans,  98  churches  and  68  chapels  and  stations,  17  parochial  schools 
with  3,250  pupils  in  attendance,  1  hospital  and  1  orphanage 
under  the  charge  of  the  Grey  Nuns,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
<';"), 390,  out  of  a  total  population  of  305,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  OMAHA. 


BIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'GOEMAN, 

First   Vicar-Apostolic. 

James  Michael  O'Gorman  was  born  in  the  County  Limerick, 
Ireland,  in  1809,  and  entered  the  Trappist  Order  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  renouncing  the  world,  and  all  preferments  even  in  the 
Church.     He  was  one  of  the  first  sent  from  Melleray  to  found  a 
new  monastery  of  Trappists  in  Iowa.     There  he  showed  himself 
a  religious  full  of  the  spirit  of  the  Cistercian  Order,  discharging 
with  zeal  the  ministry  for  the  benefit  of  the  souls  placed  under 
his  care.     When  the  Rev.  Father  Smyth  was  appointed  to  the 
see  of  Dubuque,  Father  O'Gorman  became  prior  of  New  Melleray 
and  governed  the  monastery  with  charity  and  prudence.  In  1859 
the  voice  of  the  Holy  Father  called  him  from  his  cloister  to  as- 
sume the  episcopate  as  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Nebraska.     He  was 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Raphanea  on  the  8th  of  May.     Everything 
was  to  be  done  in  the  Territory.     There  were  scattered  Catholics, 
but  only  one  or  two  churches,  three  priests,  and  not  a  single  in- 
stitution of  any  kind.     A  monk  of  an    austere,    contemplative 
order,  observing  the  strictest  silence,  seemed  scarcely  fitted  for 
the  task ;  but  Bishop  O'Gorman  displayed  all  the  powers  of  ad- 
ministration and  organization.     He  induced   zealous   priests  to 
join  his  vicariate,  and  aided  them  to  build  up  church  and  school ; 
he  introduced  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Benedictine  nuns,    so  that 
academies,  schools,  hospital,  asylum  soon  attested  Catholic  life. 
When  he  laid  down  the  burden  there  were  twenty  priests  and 
as  many  churches  under  his  care,  many  stations,  and  several  In- 
dian missions. 

331 


332  THE   CATHOLIC   HIERARCHY   IN  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

While  at  Cincinnati  in  tlie  summer  of  1874  lie  was  attacked 
by  cholera  morbus,  and  died  on  the  4th  of  July,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five.  His  remains  were  conveyed  to  Nebraska  and  laid  in 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Philomena  in  the  city  of  Omaha. 


BIGHT  REV.   JAMES   O'CONNOR, 

I^lrst  Bishop  of  Omaha. 

We  have  seen  the  career  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  O'Connor,  the 
distinguished  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  and  come  now  to  sketch 
briefly  the  career  of  his  able  brother.  James  O'Connor  was  born 
in  Queenstown,  Ireland,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1823,  and, 
coming  to  this  country  in  1888,  finished  his  preparatory  studies 
in  the  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo,  Philadelphia,  from 
which  he  was  sent  to  the  Urban  College  at  Rome.  Trained 
there  to  the  soundest  philosophy  and  theology  by  the  eminent 
professors  of  the  College  of  the  Propaganda,  he  was  ordained  in 
the  Eternal  City  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation  in  the  year 
1845.  On  his  return  to  this  country  he  was  for  seven  years  en- 
gaged in  missionary  duties  in  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh.  In  1857 
he  was  appointed  superior  of  St.  Michael's  Theological  and  Pre- 
paratory Seminary  at  Glen  wood,  near  Pittsburgh,  and  organized 
the  different  departments,  directing  the  whole  so  ably  that  he 
was  compelled  to  erect  an  additional  Aving  in  1862  to  accommo- 
date the  increased  number  of  students. 

Resigning  his  position  in  the  following  year,  he  was  appoint- 
ed Director  of  the  Seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  at  Over- 
brook,  near  Philadelphia,  filling  also  the  chairs  of  philosophy, 
moral  theology,  and  ecclesiastical  history,  until  the  year  1862, 
when  he  visited  Europe  and  on  his  return  became  pastor  of  St. 
Dominic's  Church,  Holmesburg.  In  1876  he  was  elected  Vicar- 
Apostolic  of  Nebraska,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of 
Dibona  on  the  20th  of  August.     He  founded  Creighton  College 


DIOCESE  OF  OMAHA. 


333 


in  1879,  and  confided  it  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
and  introduced  the  Franciscan  Fathers,  who  have  two  houses  of 
their  order.  The  vicariate,  when  Bishop  O'Connor  attended  the 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  contained  more  than 
seventy-five  priests,  one  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  and  six 
charitable  institutions,  six  academies,  and  seventeen  parochial 
schools. 

In  1885  the  State  of  Nebraska  was  made  the  diocese  of 
Omaha,  and  Bishop  O'Connor  was  transferred  to  the  new  see. 
He  was  engaged  in  establishing  an  order  of  nuns  for  work  among 
the  Indians  when  death  closed  his  useful  career  May  27,  1890. 

The  vacant  see  of  Omaha  in  1891  contained  81  priests,  11 
ecclesiastical  students,  126  churches  and  62  chapels  and  stations, 
1  college  and  4  academies,  33  parochial  schools  with  3,200  pupils, 
3  hospitals  and  1  orphan  asylum,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
60,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  PEORIA. 


EIGHT  EEV.  JOHN  LANCASTER  SPALDING, 

£^i7'st  Bishop  of  Peoria. 

John  Lancaster  Spalding  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Ky.,  on  the 
2d  of  June,  1840,  "coming,"  as  Bishop  Rosecrans  well  said  on  the 
day  of  his  consecration,  "  from  a  family  of  priests  who  have  sup- 
ported the  fabric  of  our  religion  in  this  country,  and  will  main- 
tain its  honor,  not  only  among  Catholics,  but  will  defend  it  also 
amono;  those  who  are  not  Catholics."  After  brilliant  studies  in 
America  and  Europe  he  was  ordained  by  dispensation  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1863,  and  was  recognized  as  a  priest  of  great  intel- 
lectual ability  and  high  culture,  in  general  literature  as  well  as 
in  the  lore  of  the  theologian. 

Returning  to  his  native  State,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
clergy  at  the  cathedral  at  Louisville,  where  he  remained  till 
1870,  when  he  took  charge  of  St.  Augustine's  Church,  which  had 
been  opened  for  colored  Catholics.  He  also  acted  as  secretary 
and  chancellor  of  the  diocese  till  1873,  when  he  removed  to  New 
York  and  became  one  of  the  priests  laboring  in  the  large  and 
important  parish  of  St.  Michael.  His  eloquence  and  ability  led 
to  frequent  applications  for  his  services  in  the  pulpit  on  impor- 
tant occasions,  while  his  zeal  and  prudence  showed  his  fitness  for 
more  responsible  duties  than  had  hitherto  been  assigned  to  him. 

When  the  diocese  of  Peoria  was  foi'med  in  Illinois,  in  1877, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Spalding  was  selected  for  the  new  see,  and  was  con- 
secrated on  the  feast  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  James,  the  1st  day  of 
May,  in  the  cathedral  of  New  York,  by  His  Eminence  John  Car- 
dinal McCloskey,  Archbishop  of  New  York,  Bishop  Rosecrans, 
of  Columbus,  preaching  on  the  occasion. 

The  diocese  confided  to  his  care  comprised  the  central  portion 

334 


DIOCESE  OF  PEORIA.  335 

of  the  State  of  Illinois,  between  the  dioceses  of  Chicago  and  Alton. 
There  were  already  seventy-five  churches,  attended  by  fifty-one 
priests,  and  a  Catholic  population  estimated  at  forty-five  thou- 
sand. Fathers  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  Ladies  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  Sisters  of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Dominic,  and  of  St.  Francis, 
were  in  charge  of  academies  or  charitable  institutions. 

Bishop  Spalding  developed  the  resources  of  his  diocese,  and 
new  churches  with  institutions  soon  rose  in  various  parts,  so  that 
by  the  close  of  the  year  1884  there  were  in  the  district  under  his 
episcopal  charge  159  churches,  109  priests,  8  academies,  41  paro- 
chial schools  with  nearly  7,000  pupils,  5  hospitals,  and  an  orphan 
asylum.  The  Catholic  population  had  increased  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  the  annual  baptisms  being  3,574. 

Bishop  Spalding  has  co-operated  actively  in  the  movement  for 
Catholic  colonization,  and  his  own  diocese,  as  well  as  others  fur- 
ther West,  show  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  effort  to  aid  immi- 
grants in  taking  up  lands  for  their  new  homes  where  they  can 
enjoy  the  consolations  of  their  religion. 

The  project  of  a  great  Catholic  University  in  the  United 
States  is  also  one  for  which  Bishop  Spalding  has  labored  assidu- 
ously, his  project  being  encouraged  by  the  Third  Plenary  Coun- 
cil of  Baltimore,  which  adopted  his  plans  in  1884,  a  noble- 
heai-ted  young  Catholic  lady,  Miss  Caldwell^  having  given  $300,- 
000  to  begin  the  great  undertaking. 

The  diocese  of  Peoria  in  1891  contained  115  priests  and  12 
clerical  students,  166  churches,  9  academies  and  49  parochial 
schools  with  7,842  pupils,  5  hospitals,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  65,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  PITTSBURGH. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  O'CONNOR, 

Fird  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  and  First  Bishop  of  Erie. 

Like  many  of  the  able  and  energetic  bishops  of  the  United 
States,  the  Right  Rev.  Michael  O'Connor  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. He  was  born  near  Cork  September  27,  1810,  and,  after  re- 
ceiving his  earlier  training  at  Queenstown,  was  sent  to  France  to 
follow  a  course  for  the  priesthood,  to  which  he  aspired.  From 
his  talents  and  piety  he  was  selected  by  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne  as 
a  student  at  the  Urban  College  in  Rome.  The  learning  and 
ability  displayed  in  his  defence  of  his  theses  for  the  doctor's  cap 
attracted  the  attention  of  all.  He  was  ordained  priest  June  1, 
1833,  and  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Holy  Scripture  in  the 
Propaganda,  and  vice-rector  of  the  Irish  College.  After  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  parish  priest  at  Fermoy,  in  the  diocese  of 
Cloyne,  for  some  time,  he  came  to  Philadelphia  in  1839  on  the 
invitation  of  Dr.  Kenrick,  who  desired  to  secure  the  services  of 
the  learned  priest  for  his  seminary  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo.  Of 
that  institution  he  soon  became  president;  but  while  thus  ab- 
sorbed in  scholastic  duties  he  did  not  forego  the  work  of  a  mis- 
sionary priest,  taking  charge  of  stations,  and  building  a  church, 
which  he  dedicated  to  St.  Francis  Xavier.  His  veneration  for 
that  Apostle  of  the  Indies  was  an  indication  of  his  desire  to  en- 
ter the  Society  of  Jesus — a  desire  which  he  never  abandoned. 

In  1841  he  was  appointed  vicar-general  of  the  Avestern  part 

of  the  diocese  of  Philadelphia,  and  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church 

in  Pittsburgh.     The  historian  of  that   portion  of  the  State  says 

that  his  arrival  marked  a  new  era.     Schools,  churches,  a  Catholic 

Institute  showed  the  designs  of  the  active  mind.     In  May,  1843, 

he  went  to  Rome  to  solicit  permission  to  enter  the  Society  of  Je- 
sse 


DIOCESE  OF  PITTSBURGH, 

sus — a  step  which,  as  a  student  of  the  Propaganda,  he  could  not 
take  without  direct  sanction  from  Rome.  But  when  he  obtained 
an  audience  of  the  Holy  Father  he  was  forbidden  to  rise  till  he 
promised  to  accept  the  mitre  as  first  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh.  He 
was  consecrated  in  St.  Agatha's  Church,  in  Rome,  on  the  feast  of 
the  Assumption,  1843,  by  Cardinal  Fransoni. 

He  visited  Ireland,  and,  obtaining  some  candidates  for  the 
priesthood  and  Sisters  of 'Mercy,  reached  Pittsburgh  in  Decem- 
ber. The  diocese  comj)rised  fourteen  counties,  over  which  were 
scattered  some  twenty-five  thousand  Catholics,  attended  by  four- 
teen priests.  There  were  only  thirty-three  churches  and  one  or- 
phan asylum.  The  only  religious  orders  were  the  Priests  of  the 
Most  Holy  Redeemer  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity.  This  district 
had  in  earlier  times  been  the  field  of  labor  of  the  great  mission- 
ary Prince  Dmitri  A.  Galitzin,  who  endeavored  to  build  up  Ca- 
tholic colonies  near  his  church  at  Loreto.  Here  in  1847  the 
Franciscan  Brother's,  invited  by  Bishop  O'Connor,  established  a 
house  of  their  teaching  order.  The  year  before  the  Rev.  Boni- 
face Wimmer  began  a  community  of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict. 
It  has  grown  into  a  congregation,  of  which  he  was  in  1884  arch- 
abbot.  The  Benedictines  have  a  great  Abbey  of  St.  Vincent's 
near  Latrobe,  and  several  abbeys  and  many  priories,  filiations 
of  St.  Vincent's,  exist  in  the  United  States,  the  missionaries 
laboring  in  college  or  j^arochial  work,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  Bishop  O'Connor  also  obtained  a  colony  of  Passionists 
from  Rome  in  1852,  and  these  austere  religious  have  increased, 
and  by  their  missions  revived  the  faith  in  thousands.  Among 
other  aids  the  bishop  also  obtained  some  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 

The  diocese  had  increased  so  much  that  in  1852  the  Plenaiy 
Council  solicited  its  division,  and  a  new  see  was  erected  at  Erie. 
To  this  Bishop  O'Connor  was  transferred  July  29,  1853;  but  as 
Dr.  Young  was  reluctant  to  replace  him  at  Pittsburgh,  Bishop 
O'Connor  returned  to  that  see. 

His  cathedral  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  in  1851,  but  he  had 
at  once  begun  the  erection  of  a  new  and  finer  edifice.  This  was 
dedicated  with  great  solemnity  on  the  24th  of  June,  1855.  But 
the  active  zeal  of  Bishop  O'Connor  was  arrested  by  softening  of 
the  brain,  attended  with  great  pain,  and  he  earnestly  sought  re- 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

lief  from  tlie  responsibilities  of  his  bishopric.    In  May,  1^60,  Pope] 
Pius  IX.  permitted  him  to  resign  his  see,  and  Dr.  O'Connor  at 
once  carried  out  the  project  of  his  early  years  by  entering  the] 
Society  of  Jesus,     At  this  time  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgh  alone] 
contained  eighty-six  priests  and  seventy-seven  churches,  with 
seminary,  a  college,  academies,  and  schools,  as  well  as  charitable 
institutions.     The  population  was  estimated  at  fifty  thousand. 

In  the  order  which  he  entered  he  edified  all  by  his  humility! 
and  piety.  As  his  health  permitted  he  discharged  the  ministry 
in  the  confessional  and  the  pulpit,  and  especially  in  giving  re- 
treats to  religious  communities.  He  died  most  piously  amid  his 
religious  brethren  at  Woodstock,  in  Maryland,  on  the  18th  of 
October,  1872.  The  historian  of  the  Pittsburgh  diocese,  Rev,  A. 
A.  Lambing,  justly  styles  him  "  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lights 
that  has  ever  shed  its  lustre  on  the  Church  in  the  United  States." 


^  RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  DOMENEC, 

Second  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 

Michael  Domenec  was  born  at  Rioz,  near  Tarragona,  in 
Spain,  in  1816,  and  at  an  early  age  corresponded  to  a  vocation 
to  the  priesthood.  While  studying  at  the  Spanish  capital  the 
disturbed  state  of  his  native  country  induced  him  to  proceed  to 
France.  Continuins^  his  course  there  under  the  Priests  of  the 
•Congregation  of  the  Mission,  he  joined  that  family  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1837  with  the  Very 
Rev.  John  Timon.  Completing  his  studies  at  the  seminary  of  the 
order  at  the  Barrens,  Missouri,  he  was  ordained  June  29,  1839.j 
After  acting  as  professor  at  St.  Mary's  College  he  founded  St.  Vin^i 
cent's  Male  Academy  at  Cape  Girardeau  in  1842,  and  was  subse- 
quently employed  on  mission  duties  in  the  State  of  Missoun. 
In  1845  he  was  sent  to  Pennsylvania,  and,  after  some  service^ 
at  Nicetown,  erected  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  in  Ger* 
mantown,  of  which  he  was  pastor  when  he  was  selected  as  suol 


DIOCESE  OF  PITTSBURGH.  339 

cessor  to  Bishop  O'Connor.  He  was  consecrated  in  tlie  cathedral 
at  Pittsburgh  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  of  Baltimore,  on  the  9th 
of  December,  1860.  The  progress  of  religion  continued  during 
the  administration  of  Bishop  Domenec,  several  new  churches 
having  been  erected.  The  bishop  visited  Rome  in  1862  and 
again  in  1867  to  attend  the  canonizations  in  those  years.  In 
1875  the  diocese  of  Pittsburs^h  was  reo:arded  as  too  larsre  for  a 
single  bishop,  as  it  contained  115  churches,  160  priests,  and,  as 
was  believed,  200,000  Catholics.  A  new  see  was  erected  at  Al- 
legheny. To  this  Bishop  Domenec  was  transferred  on  the  11th 
of  January,  1876,  being  succeeded  in  Pittsburgh  by  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  Tuigg.  The  organization  of  the  new  diocese  engaged  Bishop 
'Domenec's  attention,  and,  ever  zealous  and  active,  he  doubtless 
planned  many  things  for  its  advantage.  But  the  division  of  the 
diocese  entailed  difficulties  which  he  bad  not  foreseen.  In  order 
to  bring  all  questions  to  a  decision  Dr.  Domenec  proceeded  to 
Rome  in  1877,  but,  finding  the  matter  a  difficult  one,  he  resigned 
the  see  of  Allegheny  on  the  2yth  of  July  and  retired  to  Barce- 
lona. There  he  impressed  all  by  his  eloquence  and  zeal.  To- 
ward the  close  of  the  year  he  set  out  for  his  native  city,  but  at 
Tarragona  was  seized  with  a  fatal  illness,  and  expired  calmly  on 
the  7th  of  January,  1878. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  TUIGG, 

Third  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 

The  Right  Rev.  John  Tuigg,  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  is  a  native 
of  Ireland,  born  in  the  County  Cork  in  the  year  1820.  His 
divinity  studies,  begun  at  the  Missionary  College  of  All-Hallows', 
Drumcondra,  were  completed  at  St.  Michael's  Seminary,  Pitts- 
burgh. He  was  ordained  May  14,  1850,  and  while  assistant  at 
the  cathedral  founded  the  parish  of  St.  Bridget,  beginning  to 
erect  the  church ;  but  in  1853  he  was  assigned  to  the  im2)ortant 
mission  of  Altoona,  of  which  he  was  the  first  resident  pastor. 


340  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

He  acquired  a  pastoral  residence,  a  cemetery,  and  enlarged  tb^ 
chiii'cli.  A  very  fine  school-building  was  the  next  work,  and,  ii 
the  hands  of  Sisters  of  Charity,  the  parochial  school  has  been 
erreat  blessins^. 

Rev.  Mr.  Tuigg  had  charge  also  of  several  dependent  missionsi 
and,  having  been  appointed  vicar-forane  of  the  eastern  part  of  th^j 
diocese  in  1869,  soon  required  other  priests  to  aid  him.     He  thei 
commenced  a  new  church,  which  was  dedicated  in  1875. 

Having  been  appointed  to  the  see  of  Pittsburgh  in  the  fol-^ 
lowing  year,  he  was  consecrated  on  the  19th  of  March,  1876jj 
by  the  Most  Rev.  James  F.  Wood,  Archbishop  of  Philadelphia.1 
The  diocese  committed  to  his  care  was  no  slight  burden,  but  on 
the  resignation  of  Bishop  Domenec  the  administration  of  Alle- 
gheny was  also  confided  to  him.  The  arduous  duties  proved  too 
trying  even  for  his  vigorous  constitution.  In  December,  1882, 
he  was  prostrated  by  an  attack  of  heart-disease  and  his  life  was 
despaired  of ;  but  he  I'allied,  and,  though  he  was  stricken  with 
paralysis,  recovered  sufiiciently  to  administer  the  dioceses  under 
his  care. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1884  the  united  dioceses  of  Pitts- 
burgh and  Allegheny  contained  192  priests,  132  churches,  and 
44  chapels.  There  were  three  colleges,  six  academies,  and  sixty- 
five  parochial  schools  attended  by  nearly  twenty  thousand 
pupils.  The  i:eligious  orders  were  numerous :  Benedictine  monks, 
Capuchin  and  Carmelite  friars,  Passionists,  Redemptorists, 
Priests  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary, 
Franciscan  Brothers,  Benedictine  and  Ursuline  nuns.  Sisters  of 
Charity,  of  Mercy,  of  St.  Joseph,  of  St.  Agnes,  of  St.  Francis,  of 
Divine  Providence,  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Pool*,  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  teach  the  ignorant,  minister 
to  the  afflicted,  or  strive  to  reform  the  erring. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1891  the  diocese  of  Pittsburgl 
contained  233  priests  and  14  seminarians,  135  churches  and  44j 
chapels,  8  monasteries  and  55  convents,  6  colleges,  with  570  sti 
dents,  9  academies  and  400  students,  79  parochial  schools  witi 
21,000  pupils;  there  were  reported  8,846  annual  baptisms,  and  ^ 
Catholic  population  of  about  185,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  PITTSBURGH.  o4.^ 


EIGHT  REV.   RICHARD  PHELAN,   D.D., 

Bishop  of  Cehyra  and  Coadjutor  to  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 

The  Riglit  Rev.  Richard  Phelan,  son  of  Michael  Phelan  and 
Maiy  Keoghan,  was  born  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1828,  near 
the  small  town  of  Ballyragget,  in  the  County  of  Kilkenny,  Ire- 
laud,  the  oldest  of  a  family  of  nine,  four  of  whom  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  God.     After  attending  schools  near  his 
home,  and  receiving  private  instruction,  he  entered  St.  Kyran's 
College,  Kilkenny,  about   1844,  and,  finding  no  vacancy  in  the 
seminary  of  his  native  diocese,  accepted  an  invitation  from  Bishop 
O'Connor  and  was  one  of  six  who  came  to  Pittsburgh  in  January, 
1850.     He  made  his   divinity  course  at  St.   Mary's  Theological 
Seminary,  Baltimore,  and  was  ordained  priest  at  Pittsburgh,  May 
4,  1854,  by  Bishop  O'Connor.     He  was  first  stationed  in  Indiana 
County,  but  repaired  to  Pittsburgh  to  aid  the  clergy  of  that  city 
during  the  cholera  then  raging.     After  three   years'  service   in 
Pittsburgh  Cathedral  he  was  sent  to  Freeport,  where  he  found 
heavy  debts  to  meet  aud  a  large  district  to  attend.    Succeeding  Dr. 
Mullen  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  Allegheny,  he  built  a  new  church, 
costing  $150,000,  on  a  more  advantageous  site,  and  paid  nearly 
all  its  cost  as  well  as  that  of  schools.     In   1876  this  church  be- 
came the  pro-cathedral  of  the  new  diocese  of  Allegheny.      In 
1881  Dr.  Phelan  was  administrator  of  the  dioceses  of  Pittsburgh 
and   Allegheny  during  the   absence  of  Bishop  Tuigg,  and  was 
next  made  vicar-general.     When  Bishop  Tuigg  was  stricken  Avith 
partial  paralysis,  and  recovery  seemed  remote,  the  Very  Rev.  Dr. 
Phelan  was  selected  by  the  Pope  as  coadjutor.     He  was  conse- 
crated August  2,  1885,  at  Pittsburgh  by  Archbishop  Ryan,  and 
entered   on  the  discharge  of  the  episcopal  duties  which  Bishop 
Tuigg's  health  precluded  him  from  performing.     Bishop  Plielan 
continued  to  reside  in  Allegheny,  St.  Peter's  again  enjoying  the 
presence  of  one  invested  witii  tlie  episcopal  dignity.    He  succeeded 
to  the  see  on  the  deatli  of  Bishoi)  Tuigg,  December  7,  1889 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND. 


RIGHT   REV.  DAVID  W.  BACON, 

First  Bishop  of  Portland. 

David  W.  Bacon  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  the 
year  1814,  and  after  an  academic  course  he  was  sent  to  the  Sul- 
pitiau  Seminary,  Montreal,  and  subsequently  entered  Mount  ISt. 
Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  where  he  was  distinguished  for 
his  brilliant  and  studious  course.  After  his  ordination  by  Arch- 
bishop Eccleston,  on  the  13th  of  December,  1838,  he  returned  to 
the  diocese  of  New  York.  One  of  the  first  positions  of  the 
young  priest  was  that  of  assistant  at  Utica,  but  he  was  soon  ap- 
pointed to  organize  a  new  parish  in  Brooklyn.  He  acquired  an 
unfinished  building  begun  as  a  revolt  from  the  Church,  and  on 
the  foundation  reared  a  church  which  he  dedicated  to  Our  Lady 
in  her  Assumption.  His  flock,  at  first  poor  and  scanty,  gradu- 
ally increased,  many  converts  being  won  by  the  zealous  priest. 
Though  gentle,  he  was  firm,  and  his  decision  saved  the  church  of 
St.  James  from  destruction  by  a  mob.  During  seasons  of  sick- 
ness and  epidemics  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon  was  untiring  and  fearless. 
In  time  he  projected  a  new  chucch  to  meet  the  wants  of  Catho- 
lics in  the  growing  city,  and,  collecting  money  from  house  to 
house,  began  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  "  Star  of  the  Sea " ;  but 
though  he  nearly  completed  it,  he  refused  to  leave  his  old  parish. 

He  was,  however,  summoned  to  a  higher  charge,  having  been 
appointed  to  the  new  see  of  Portland.  The  diocese  of  Avhich  it 
was  the  spiritual  centre  comprised  the  two  States  of  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire,  where  Catholics  were  few,  but  prejudice  and  iri- 
tolerance  intense.  A  year  before  a  zealous  and  blameless  priest, 
the  Rev.  John  Bapst,  was  tarred  and  feathered,  by  order  of  a 

344 


DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND.  345 

town  meeting,  at  Ellsworth,  and  churclies  in  New  Hampsliire — a 
State  in  which  to  this  day  no  Catholic  can  hold  office — had  been 
attacked  and  burned. 

Bishop  Bacon  was  consecrated  in  the  church  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception,  Portland,  April  22,  1855,  and  courageously  un- 
dertook to  extend  Catholicity  in  the  dangerous  field  assigned  to 
him,  in  which  there  were  estimated  to  be  thirty  thousand  Catho- 
lics, but  only  ten  priests  in  the  two  States  attending  the  humble 
churches.  Yet  Catholicity  had  been  the  first  to  plant  the  altar 
in  Maine,  at  Boone  Island  and  Mount  Desert ;  and  there  were  in 
the  State  Catholic  Indians,  descendants  of  the  converts  of  early 
Jesuit,  Capuchin,  and  Recollect.  Bishop  Bacon  began  his  work 
with  judgment  and  zeal.  Aided  by  the  friends  his  course  had 
made  in  Brooklyn,  he  was  enabled  to  meet  some  pressing  wants. 
The  Sisters  of  Mercy  came  in  response  to  his  call  for  arid,  and 
churches  began  to  arise,  while  zealous  priests  came  to  open  new- 
fields.  Year  by  year  the  progress  of  the  faith  could  be  seen,  and 
after  an  administration  of  nearly  twenty  years  he  had  a  fine 
cathedral,  sixty-three  churches,  fifty-two  priests,  twenty-three  pa- 
rochial schools,  and  nearly  eighty  thousand  Catholics.  In  1874 
his  health  failed,  and,  in  hopes  of  regaining  strength,  he  visited 
Europe  with  Archbishop  McCloskey.  On  reaching  Brest  it  was 
necessary  to  convey  him  to  an  hospital.  Rallying  after  a  time, 
he  longed  to  return  to  America,  but  reached  New  York  only  to 
expire,  at  St.  Vincent's  Hospital,  soon  after  his  arrival,  November 
5,  1874. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  AUGUSTINE  HEALY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Portland. 

James  Augustine  Healy  was  born  in  1830  near  Macon, 
Georgia,  but  was  educated  in  the  North,  having  passed  several 
years  in  Quaker  schools  on  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey.  He 
then  entered  the  college  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  was  graduated  in  1849.     Feeling  that  he  was 


34t>  THE  CATHOLIC  HIEKARCHY  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

called  by  God  to  the  ecclesiastical    state,  lie  then  entered  the 
theological  seminary   in   Montreal    directed  by   the    SulpitiansJ 
and  completed  his  course  in  the  institution  at  Paris  directed  byi 
the  same  association  of  ? earned  priests. 

.  On  returning  to  the  diocese  of  Boston,  to  which  he  had  be«| 
come  attached,  he  was  stationed  at  the  cathedral,  where  he  acted] 
for  many  years  as  chancellor  and  secretary.  He  then  became 
pastoi*  of  St.  James'  Church,  Boston,  holding  the  position  for  nin< 
years,  winning  the  respect  of  his  fellow-priests  and  the  attachi 
ment  of  the  flock  confided  to  him.  From  this  position  he  W£ 
summoned  by  the  voice  of  the  Holy  Father  to  assume  the  bur-' 
den  of  the  episcopate.  He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Portland 
on  the  2d  of  June,  1875. 

During  his  nine  years'  administration  more  than  thirty  new 
churches  were  erected,  and  the  clergy  rose  from  fifty -two  to  eighty< 
nine.  The  immigration  of  Catholics  from  Europe  was  more  than 
equalled  by  the  influx  of  Canadians,  who  settled  in  the  factory^ 
towns  and  diew  priests  of  their  own  language  from  the  neighbor- 
ing Dominion.  To  meet  the  wants  of  his  people  Bishop  Healy 
introduced  Sisters  of  Charity,  Sisters  of  the  Congregation  of  Notre 
Dame,  as  well  as  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  of  Jesus  and  Mary 
from  Canada,  and  also  Marianite  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and 
Sisters  of  the  Good  Shej^herd. 

In  1884  the  Holy  See  erected  the  State  of  New  Hampshire 
into  a  diocese,  of  which  Manchester  became  the  episcopal  see, 
Bishop  Healy  retaining  the  less  promising  field  of  Maine,  which 
now  constitutes  the  diocese  of  Portland.  After  the  division  the 
diocese  of  Portland  had  51  priests,  55  churches,  and  11  chapels, 
with  8  academies  and  1 2  parochial  schools,  3  of  them  for  Indian 
children,  with  more  than  3,000  pupils  under  Catholic  training. 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  of  Charity,  of  the  Good  Shej^herd,  and  of  the 
Confrregration  of  Notre  Dame  acted  as  teachers  and  conducted 
asylums.     The  annual  baptisms  were  2,690. 

In  1891  the  above  summary  had  increased  to  the  following: 
70  priests,  70  churches  and  10  chapels,  1  college,  4  academies,  15 
parochial  schools  with  5,700  pupils,  3  schools  for  Indians;  a 
Catholic  population  of  about  8'>,000,  one  thousand  of  whom  are 
Indians. 


DIOCESE  OF  PROVIDENCE. 


RIGHT  REY.  THOMAS  F.  HENDRICKEN, 

First  Bishop  of  Providence. 

Providence  was  for  a  time  the  residence  of  the  Bishop  of 
Hartford,  but,  a  division  being  made  in  the  diocese,  the  Rhode 
Island  capital  became  an  episcopal  see.     Right  Rev.  Thomas  F. 
Hendricken,  the  first  Bishop  of  Providence,  was  born  in  the  ca- 
thedral parish  of  the   city  of  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  5th  of 
May,  1827,  his  parents  being  John  Hendricken  and  Anne  Maher. 
After  preliminary  studies  in  McDonald's  Academy,  Kilkenny,  he 
entered  St.  Kyran's  College  in  that  city,  and  showed  such  ability 
that  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  few  to  enter  the  great  theo 
logical  seminar}^  at  Maynooth  in  1847.     He  was  ordained  at  All 
Hallows'  College,  Dublin,  April  29,  1853,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Ber 
nard  O'Reilly,  of  Hartford,  to  whom  he  had  offered  his  services 
His  earliest  missions  in  America  were  at  the  cathedral  in  Provi 
dence,  at  St.  Joseph's,  in  the  same  city,  at  Woonsocket  and  Nev 
port.     On  the  17th  of  January,  1854,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of 
St.  Joseph's,  West  Winsted,  Conn.^  and  on  the  5th  of  July  in  the 
ensuing  year  was   stationed   at  Waterbury,  in   the   same   State. 
This  became  a  permanent  field  of  labor,  and  for  seventeen  years 
he  was  the  zealous  pastor  of  AVaterbury  and  of  the  missions  de- 
pendent on  it. 

What  he  accomplished  in  this  parish  commended  him  to  a 
higher  appointment,  and  on  the  division  of  the  diocese  of  Hart- 
ford he  was  selected  as  Bishop  of  Providence.  The  district 
placed  under  his  charge  comprised  the  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
together  with  Bristol,  Barnstable,  and  part  of  Plymouth  County 
in  Massachusetts,  and  the  islands  of  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Nan- 
tucket. 


848  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Bishop  HeadrickeQ  was  consecrated  bishop  on  the  28th  of 
April,  1872,  and  proceeded  to  organize  his  diocese. 

During  the  Revolutionary  war  the  chaplains  of  the  French 
army  and  navy  officiated  in  Rhode  Island.  The  famous  convert, 
Rev'.  John  Thayer,  had  visited  Newport  as  early  as  1791,  and 
ministered  to  the  Catholics  there,  and  they  were  occasionally 
visited  in  later  years;  but  it  was  not  till  1828  that  Rev.  Robert 
D.  Woodley,  purchasing  an  old  school-house,  opened  the  first 
church  in  that  city.  In  the  same  year  a  lot  was  given  for  a 
church  in  Providence.  From  such  small  beginnings  the  faith 
grew,  and  when  Bishop  Hendricken  assumed  the  direction  of 
his  diocese  Providence  had  ten  churches,  that  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  becoming  his  pro-cathedral,  and  there  were  thirty-three 
churches  outside  the  limits  of  his  episcopal  city.  The  Catholic 
body  had  grown  to  the  imposing  strength  of  125,000,  and  there 
were  institutions  directed  by  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools, 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  Sisters  of  Charity.  Yet  there  was  work 
to  be  done,  and  the  bishop  zealously  undertook  it.  Canadian- 
French  had  settled  in  the  factory-towns,  and  Portuguese  in  the 
fishing-villages  on  the  coast,  once  the  nursery  of  hardy  New 
England  seamen.  These  needed  priests  able  to  address  them  in 
their  own  lano;uao^e.  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  Ursuline 
nuns  established  academies  of  a  higher  grade  than  any  yet  in 
the  diocese.  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names  and  of  the  Holy  Cross  in- 
creased the  number  of  teachers,  while  the  Little  Sisters  of  the 
Poor  opened  a  Home  for  the  Aged.  Nearly  a  hundred  priests 
were  laboring  in  1884  in  this  diocese,  and  there  were  fifty-five 
churches  ;  parochial  schools  are  numerous,  and  the  attendance 
reaches  nearly  ten  thousand,  the  whole  Catholic  population 
being  estimated  at  156,000,  the  baptisms  in  Rhode  Island  in 
1883  being  3,602,  and  in  Massachusetts  2,500.  A  large  and  im- 
posing cathedral,  worthy  of  the  diocese,  was  nearly  completed  in 
1884. 

Bishop  Hendricken  died  at  Providence  on  the  11th  of  June, 
1886,  having  won  the  esteem  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  alike. 
Durinf;  his  administration  he  erected  a  fine  cathedral  and  in- 
creased  greatly  the  number  of  churches,  academies,  and  schools. 


DIOCESE  OF  RICHMOND. 


RIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  KELLY, 

First  Bishop  of  Richmond. 

Virginia  had,  as  a  colony,  closed  her  doors  against  the 
Catholic.  Lord  Baltimore  was  not  permitted  to  land,  and  when 
his  son  founded  a  home  for  Catholics  in  Maryland  the  fanati- 
cism in  the  older  colony  left  traces  of  its  bitterness  in  the  penal 
laws  on  her  statute-book.  There  were  few  Catholics  in  Viro-inia 
at  the  period  of  our  Revolution,  and  few  emigrants  of  the  an- 
cient faith  ventured  to  settle.  Yet,  small  as  the  body  was,  there 
were  malcontents,  chiefly  at  Norfolk,  where  a  plot  was  formed 
to  bring  in  a  Jansenist  bishop  from  Holland.  About  1820  they 
succeeded  in  persuading  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  that  the  Catholics 
of  Virginia  were  neglected,  and  that,  as  they  were  able  and 
willing  to  maintain  a  bishop,  the  State  ought  to  be  formed  into 
a  separate  diocese. 

The  see  of  Richmond  was  erected  in  1820,  and  the  Rev. 
Patrick  Kelly,  President  of  Birchfield  College,  was  selected  as 
first  bishop.  He  was  consecrated  at  Kilkenny  on  the  24th  of 
August,  1820,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Troy,  of  Dublin, 
and  in  January  of  the  next  year  reached  Norfolk.  He  found 
but  seven  churches  in  the  whole  State,  four  of  them  attended  by 
priests  living  in  Maryland.  The  resources  of  the  Catholics 
proved  to  have  been  grossly  exaggerated,  and  th(^,  learned  ])ishop 
opened  a  school  at  Norfolk  in  order  to  maintain  himself,  tlie 
congregation  being  unable  to  support  him.  He  struggled  man- 
fully, to  aiford  the  scattered  Catholics  the  consolations  of  their 
religion,  but  the  difficulty  of  travel  and  communication  at  that 
pei'iod  made  it  no  easy  task  to  reach  them.  After  a  year's 
arduous  service  Bishop  Kelly's  health  failed,  and  in  July,  1822, 

349 


350  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERaKCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

he  was  translated  to  the  united  sees  of  Waterford  and  Lismore, 
wliich  lie  held  till  his  death,  October  8,  1829,  leaving  a  repu- 
tation for  piety  and  earnest  zeal  in  his  episcopal  functions. 


EIGHT  KEV.  RICHARD  VINCENT  WHELAN, 

Second  Bishop  of  Michniond  and  First  Bishop  of  Wlieeling. 

After  the  departure  of  Bishop  Kelly  the  administration  of 
the  diocese  of  Richmond  was  committed  to  the  Archbishop  of, 
Baltimore  and  his  successors  in  that  see,  nor  was  it  till  twenty! 
years  later   that  the  Catholic  body  in  Virginia  had  grown  so 
large  as  to  require  a  resident  bishop. 

Right  Rev.  Richard  Vincent  Whelan,  selected  as  the  second 
Bishop  of  Richmond,  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  28th  of 
January,  1809.  After  some  years  spent  at  Mount  St.  Mary's 
College,  Emmittsburg,  he  was  sent  to  Paris,  where  he  pursued 
studies  for  the  priesthood  under  the  disciples  of  the  Venerable 
Mr.  Olier.  He  was  ordained  in  1832  and  was  soon  after  sent  to 
Virginia ;  he  traversed  a  large  part  of  the  State,  finding  scattered 
Catholics,  but  meeting  great  courtesy  from  the  people  at  large. 
Martinsburg  became  his  central  mission,  whence  he  attended 
Harper's  Ferry,  trudging  to  and  from  it  on  foot.  He  also  made 
missionary  excursions  to  Winchester  and  Bath.  To  aid  him  in 
his  work  he  obtained  three  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  founded  a 
house  at  Martinsburg.  When,  in  1838,  Archbishop  Eccleston 
found  that  Virginia  had  a  Catholic  population  of  nine  thousand, 
and  eight  churches,  he  requested  the  Holy  See  to  fill  the  long- 
vacant  see  of  Richmond.  The  zealous  pastor  of  Martinsbui*g 
was  selected,  and  he  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  Balti- 
more on  the  21st  of  March,  1811.  He  besran  a  theoloo-ical  semi- 
nary  in  order  to  create  a  supply  of  priests,  opened  an  asylum  at 
Richmond  under  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  a  school  at  Norfolk 
which  he  committed  to  other  members  of  that  community. 

Bishop  Whelan  visited  his  diocese  and  became  fully  aware  of 


DIOCESE  OP  RICHMOND.  851 

the  condition  and  prospects  of  his  flock.  Catliolics  were  increas- 
ino-  so  much  in  numbers  in  Western  Virs-inia  that  in  1846  he 
resolved  to  take  up  his  residence  at  Wheeling.  Here  he  found 
more  abundant  work;  but  as  the  distance  from  Richmond  was 
great,  he  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  bishop  in  each  city. 
The  Fathers  of  the  Seventh  Council  of  Baltimore,  adopting  his 
view,  petitioned  the  Holy  See  for  a  division  of  the  diocese.  The 
see  of  Wheeling  was  erected  by  a  bull  of  July  23,  1850,  and 
Bishop  Whelan  was  transferred  to  it.  When  he  fixed  his 
residence  in  the  western  city  its  Catholic  population  did  not 
exceed  six  hundred,  and  they  had  one  small  church.  Outside 
the  city  there  was  one  other  church  in  the  new  diocese.  Yet 
Bishop  Whelan  resolved  to  erect  a  cathedral,  and,  purchasing  one 
fine  house  for  a  convent-school  and  another  for  a  site  of  his  pro- 
jected church,  took  it  down  to  lay  the  corner-stone.  By  the 
time  it  was  ready  for  use  there  were  two  priests  attached  to  the 
cathedral,  a  large  school  taught  by  six  seminarians,  and  an 
academy  under  Visitation  nuns.  The  rest  of  his  diocese  was  not 
neglected.  He  traversed  mountain  and  stream  to  visit  his  flock, 
preaching  in  churches,  court-houses,  administering  confirmation, 
encouraging  his  hard-working  priests.  His  activity  and  courage 
were  great,  and  even  advancing  age  could  not  diminish  them. 
On  one  of  his  visitations  he  was  prostrated  by  illness,  and  had 
not  a  charitable  family  taken  him  in  and  nursed  him  the  Bishop 
of  Wheeling  might  have  died  uncared  for. 

In  1853  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  opened  an  hosj^ital ;  in 
1866  a  college  was  begun  at  Wheeling,  and  at  Parkersburg  a 
Visitation  academy  and  a  high-school  for  boys  were  opened. 
The  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  also  enlarged  their  Avork,  establishing 
academies  at  Charleston  and  Grafton. 

Bishop  Whelan  lived  to  see  forty-eight  churches  and  twenty- 
nine  priests  where  he  had  found  two  churches  and  four  priests. 
He  died  piously  at  St.  Agnes'  Hospital,  Wheeling,  July  7,  1874. 


Ml^/: 


352  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

RIGHT  REV.  JOHN   McGILL, 

TJiird  Bishop  of  Richmond. 

John  McGill  was  born  in  PLiladelpliia,  November  4,  1809,  his 
parents,  James  McGill  and  Lavinia  Dougherty,  natives  of  Ireland, 
liavino;  settled  and  married  there.  Bardstowu  became  the  home 
of  the  family  in  1818,  and  two  years  after  John  entered  St. 
Joseph's  College  at  its  opening.  His  father,  liberally  educated 
himself,  wished  his  son  to  enjoy  every  advantage.  He  was  grad- 
uated in  due  time  with  distinguished  honor.  Pie  studied  law, 
and  fame  and  wealth  seemed  certain,  but  he  threw  all  aside  to 
enter  the  seminary,  where  he  was  trained  to  the  spirit  and  learn- 
ing befitting  a  priest  by  the  venerable  Bishop  David,  by  whom 
he  was  ordained  June  13,  1835.  As  pastor  of  St.  Peter's, 
Lexington,  and  assistant  at  St.  Louis'  Church,  Louisville,  his 
ministry  was  marked  by  success.  In  1838  he  was  sent  to  Europe 
to  accompany  the  venerable  Bishop  Flaget  on  his  return  to  Ken- 
tucky. P'hen  he  resumed  his  duties  in  the  parish,  and  as  editor 
of  the  Catholic  Advocate  made  a  decided  impression  on  the  pub- 
lic mind  in  his  clear  and  convincins:  articles.  When  a  leasfue 
of  Protestant  ministers  was  formed  to  denounce  Catholicity  in  a 
series  of  sermons,  Dr.  McGill  answered  them  so  ably  as  to  put 
them  on  the  defensive  and  finally  compel  them  to  retire  from 
the  field.  He  then  published  a  criticism  on  some  statements  in 
Macaulay's  "  England"  in  reply  to  Rev.  James  Craik.  This  was 
followed  by  a  translation  of  Audin's  "Life  of  Calvin." 

Bishop  Spalding  made  the  learned  and  able  clergyman  his 
vicar-general,  and  in  1850  he  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Rich- 
mond. He  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Keni'ick,  of  St.  Louis, 
on  the  10th  of  November,  in  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Bardstown, 
where  he  had  made  his  First  Communion,  received  the  tonsure 
and  holy  orders.  His  aged  parents  were  present  to  receive  his 
episcopal  blessing. 

In  Virginia  Bishop  McGill  found  a  warm  welcome  and  ac- 
quired the  esteem  of  all.  He  zealously  undertook  the  direction 
of  the  diocese,  acting  in  concert  with  his  clergy,  and  adding  to 
the  means  for  preserving   the  faith  of  the  people.     His  diocese 


DIOCESE   OF   RICHMOND.  353 

comprised  eastern  Virginia  and  the  valley  formed  by  tLe  Blue 
Ridge  and  Allegheny  Mountains  as  far  as  Monroe  County,  where 
it  crossed  the  valley  and  followed  the  Blue  Ridge  as  the  line  di- 
viding it  from  the  diocese  of  Wheeling.  There  were  but  ten 
churches  in  it  and  only  eight  priests.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  from 
Emmittsburg  had  two  institutions  in  the  diocese,  combining  orphan 
asylum  and  school.  Under  his  administration  churches  were 
erected  and  dedicated  at  Norfolk,  Fortress  Monroe,  Richmond, 
Fredericksburg,  Warrenton,  and  at  Fairfax  Station.  His  dio- 
cese was  the  great  battle-ground  of  the  civil  war,  and  the  Catholic 
churches  fared  ill  at  the  hands  of  both  armies.  The  church  at 
Bath  was  destroyed  by  fire  while  used  as  quarters  by  Confed- 
erate soldiers.  The  United  States  troops  stabled  their  horses  in 
the  church  at  Winchester  and  utterly  wrecked  it.  Bishop  Mc- 
Gill  had  therefore  a  heavy  charge,  but  he  formed  a  little  semi- 
nary, and  after  the  war  introduced  the  Visitation  and  the  Bene- 
dictine nuns,  who  gave  Richmond  fine  academies,  and  Sisters  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  who  established  a  similar  institution  in  Alexan- 
dria. He  had  fourteen  parochial  schools — a  large  number  for  a 
Catholic  population  of  not  more  than  seventeen  thousand. 

Bishop  McGill  visited  Rome  at  the  definition  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  in  1852,  and  to  attend  the  General  Council  of 
the  Vatican.  While  Bishop  of  Richmond  he  published  ''The 
True  Church"  and  "Faith  the  Victory."  His  health  failed  in 
1871,  and  he  made  a  farewell  visit  to  his  relatives  in  Kentucky. 
Upon  his  return  he  gradually  grew  worse,  and,  after  great  suffer- 
ing, expired  Sunday,  January  14,  1872. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KEANE,  D.D., 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Richmond^  and  now  Hector  of  the  Catholic 
University^  Washington,  D.  C. 

John  J.  Keane  was  born  at  Ballyshannon,  County  Donegal, 
Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1839,  and  came  with  his 
family  to  the  United  States  when  he  was  seven  years  old.     He 


354 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERABCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


received  his  early  education  iu  Baltimore,  and,  after  a  classical 
course  at  St.  Charles'  College,  entered  St.  Mary's  Seminary, 
Baltimore,  and  was  ordained  in  1866.  He  was  immediately  ap- 
pointed assistant  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  labored  in  that  position  with  such  zeal  and 
earnestness  that  he  was  selected  in  1878  to  fill  the  see  of  Kich 
mond.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  25tli  of  August  in  that  year. 
The  State  in  which  the  first  Catholic  altar  in  our  land  was 
reared  by  the  sons  of  St.  Dominic,  ere  the  sixteenth  century 
had  reached  its  zenith,  had  not  been  favorable  to  the  growth  ofj 
the  Church  of  the  living  God.  In  colonial  days  it  had  degraded 
the  children  of  the  faith  to  the  level  of  the  negro  slave;  in  1878 
only  twenty- two  churches  were  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Dominion^ 
where  Divine  Worship  was  offered  to  the  Most  High. 

Bishop  Keane  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  organization  oi 
Catholic  societies   throughout  the  country.     He  was  one  of  the] 
leading  members  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in' 
1884.     In   1885  his   diocese  contained   thii^ty-five  churches,  with 
twenty-seven  priests,  four  academies,  thirty-two  parochial  schools 
with  more  than  two  thousand  pupils. 

He  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Ajasso  in  August,  1888,  and 
became  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America,  which  was 
dedicated  at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  November  13,  1889.  Rt.  Rev^ 
A.  Van  de  Vyver,  D.D.,  succeeded  him  as  Bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  Richmond,  Va.     The  latter  was  consecrated  in  October,  1889. 

There  were,  at  this  time,  in  the  diocese,  28  secular  and  4  regu- 
lar priests,  39  churches  and  '20  chapels,  2  convents,  5  academies 
with  430  students,  32  parochial  schools  and  2,000  j^upils,  4 
charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  15,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  ROCHESTER 


RIGHT  REV.  BERNARD  J.  McQUAID, 

First  Bishop  of  Rochester. 

Beknaed  Joseph  McQuaid  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  and,  after  preliminary  studies  at  one  of  the  schools  there, 
was  sent  to  Chambly,  and  subsequently  to  the  College  of  Mon- 
treal, directed  by  the  priests  of  the  Association  of  St.  Sulpice. 
He  was  one  of  the  students  of  St.  Joseph's  Theological  Seminary 
at  Fordham  after  its  establishment  by  Bishop  Hughes,  and  was 
ordained  on  the  18th  of  January,  1848.  His  first  appointment 
was  that  of  pastor  of  the  church  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  at 
Madison,  New  Jersey ;  the  congregation  of  St.  Mary's,  Morris 
town,  being  also  under  his  charge.  He  showed  himself  an  active 
and  energetic  missionary  in  the  care  of  a  large  district,  and  when 
the  diocese  of  Newark  was  formed,  in  1853,  Rev.  Mr.  McQuaid 
was  selected  by  Bishop  Bayley  as  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral. His  influence  was  soon  apparent,  and  when  Seton  Hall  Col- 
lege was  opened,  in  1856,  at  Madison,  he  was  appointed  j^resi- 
dent ;  but,  after  organizing  that  institution,  resumed  his  position 
at  the  cathedral  till  1859,  when  he  resumed  the  presidency.  In 
Newark  he  organized  a  Young  Men's  Catholic  Association,  which 
erected  the  Catholic  Institute  in  New  Street — a  fine  building, 
with  library,  reading-room,  and  halls  for  innocent  diversions. 
This  Institute  rendered  such  service  to  the  young  men  that  it  re- 
ceived the  warmest  encomiums  from  the  city  authorities  and  the 
best  class  of  the  people.  In  1866  he  became  vicar-general  of  the 
diocese,  and  in  that  capacity,  as  in  that  of  superior  of  a  college 
and  theological  seminary,  and  of  pastoi-  of  important  parishes,  at- 
tracted such  attention  that  when  the  diocese  of  Rochester  was 
formed,  in  1868,  he  was  selected  as  the  first  bishop,  and  was  con- 


358  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

secrated  on  the  12tli  of  July.     The  diocese  comprised  the  coun- 
ties   of    Monroe,   Livingston,   Wayne,   Ontario,   tSeneca,   Cayuga, 
Yates,  and  Tompkins,  and  contained  sixty  churches,  with  thirty- 
eight  priests.     Kochester  had  a  house  of  liedemptorist  Fathers, 
academies  under  the  Ladies  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  a  hospital  and  asylum  for  girls  under  Sisters  of  Charity, 
one  for  boys  under  Sisters  of  St,  Joseph,  and  a  German  asylum 
under  School  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.     Parochial  schools  existed? 
in  several  parishes.     After  organizing  his  diocese  and  ascertain- j 
ing  its  wants.  Bishop  McQuaid  labored  to  create  churches,  and] 
especially  schools,  wherever  Catholics  could  maintain  them.     H( 
showed  the  injustice  of  the  public-school  system,  which,  while^ 
professing  to  be  neutral,  really  imposes  Protestant  ideas,  preju- 
dices, and  forms  on  Catholic  pupils,  imbuing  them   with   what 
must  sap  their  religious  faith. 

In    1870    Bishop    McQuaid,   always   earnest  in  bringing  up! 
zealous  young  clergymen  for  his  diocese,  founded  St.  Andrew 'si 
Preparatory  Seminary  to  foster  vocations  to  the  priesthood  iDt] 
the  district  committed  to  his  care.     It  opened  with  seven  stu- 
dents, but  they  were  so  well  chosen  that  six  entered  the  theo- 
logical seminary  at  Troy. 

\  Bishop  McQuaid  has  taken  part  in  the  deliberations  of  a] 
provincial,  a  national,  and  an  oecumenical  council,  evincing  atj 
New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Rome  learning,  great  experience  iaj 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  position^ 
of  the  Catholics  in  this  country,  and  the  dangers  to  which  the^ 
faith  of  the  rising  generation  is  exposed.  By  his  clear  and^ 
forcible  arguments  he  obtained  for  Catholic  inmates  of  eleemosy- 
nary and  penal  institutions  in  his  diocese  the  opportunity  of  j 
exercising  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  i 
their  conscience,  which  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  New 
York  guarantees  to  the  meanest  of  her  citizens. 

In  1891  Bishop  McQuaid  had  in  his  jurisdiction  78  secular 

priests  and  4  priests  of  the  congregation  of  the  Holy  Redeemer, 

.besides  59  ecclesiastical  students.     There  Avere  91  churches  and 

■'chapels,  1   hospital  and  4  orphan  asylums,  3(3  parochial  schools 

with  10,650  pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  77,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO. 


KIG^HT  KEV.  ANTHONY  DOMINIC  PELLICER, 

First  Bishop  of  San  Antonio. 

Anthony  Dominic  Pellicee  was  born  in  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  in  the  year  1825 ;  he  was  descended  from  the  brave 
leader  of  the  Minorcans  of  New  Smyrna  who  in  the  last  cen- 
tury revolted  against  the  tyranny  of  Turnbull  and  marched  to 
St.  Augustine,  where  they  revived  Catholicity.  Anthony  Domi- 
nic, with  his  cousin,  Dominic  Manucy,  made  a  college  course  at 
Spring  Hill  College,  near  Mobile,  and  both  devoted  themselves 
to  God's  service.  After  his  ordination,  Aug.  15,  1850,  Rev.  Mr. 
Pellicer  was  sent  to  St.  Peter's  Church,  Montgomery,  Alaba- 
ma, where  he  spent  several  years,  visiting  Wetumpka,  Tuskigee, 
Whitecreek,  and  Lowndesborough,  and  about  1856  beginning  a 
church  at  Camden,  and  subsequently  organizing  a  congregation 
at  Selma.  In  1865  he  was  recalled  to  Mobile,  and  became  one 
of  the  active  priests  attached  to  the  cathedral,  and  was  in  the 
council  of  the  bishop,  who  in  1867  made  him  vicar-general. 

During  the  Civil  War  he  was  post-chaplain  and  was  unre- 
mitting in  his  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  His  zeal  and 
devotedness  struck  those  who  were  strangers  to  the  faith,  and  as 
many  as  three  hundred  sought  his  guidance. 

When  the  see  of  San  Antonio  was  erected  the  Very  Rev.  Dr. 
Pellicer  was  elected  the  first  bishop,  and  was  consecrated  at  Mo- 
bile on  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in  the  year  1874. 
His  episcopal  city  dated  back  to  the  early  Spanish  days,  and 
several  time-honored  churches  attested  the  zeal  and  labors  of  the 
Franciscan  Fathers  who,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Venerable 
Antonio  Margil,  planted  Christianity  in  Texas.  The  diocese  of 
San  Antonio^  as  erected  September  3,  1874,  comprised  the  por- 


360  THJi  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tion  of  the  State  of  Texas  lying  between  the  Colorado  and 
Nueces  rivers.  In  it  there  were  forty  thousand  Catholics,  who 
had  several  churches  and  chaj^els,  attended  by  thirty-five  priests. 
At  San  Antonio  there  was  a  college  under  the  Brothers  of  Mary, 
an  academy  directed  by  Ursuline  nuns,  a  hospital  and  an  or- 
phan asylum  in  charge  of  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word ;  there 
were  in  the  diocese  eighteen  parochial  schools  under  the  care  of 
Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  Sisters  of  Mercy,  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception,  and  Sisters  of  Divine  Providence. 

Bishop  Pellicer  soon  made  a  visitation  of  his  diocese,  travel- 
ling in  a  wagon  or  riding  on  horseback,  often  sleeping  on  the 
open  prairie.  He  thus  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  every 
parish  in  his  diocese,  and  began  his  labors  to  supply  every  want 
that  he  had  detected.  Under  his  impulse  new  churches  arose  at 
many  places,  with  schools,  and  to  carry  on  the  work  he  obtained 
many  zealous  priests.  His  labor  was  so  incessant  that  his  health 
gave  w^ay.  He  died  piously  at  San  Antonio  on  the  14th  of 
April,  1880. 


RIGHT  REV.  J.  C.  NERAZ, 

Secoiid  Bishop  of  San  Ajitonio. 


J.  C.  Neraz  was  born  on  the  12th  of  January,  1828,  at  Ause, 
in  the  Department  of  the  Rhone,  France,  and,  after  acquiring 
the  rudiments,  entered  the  diocesan  seminaiy  of  St.  Jodard ;  his 
philosophical  course  he  followed  at  the  Alix  branch  of  the  Great 
Seminary  of  Lyons,  and  completed  his  theology  under  the  Sul- 
pitians  at  Lyons.  Resolving  to  devote  himself  to  foreign  mis- 
sions, he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1852,  aind  was  ordained 
subdeacon  by  Bishop  Odin  on  the  28th  of  September,  receiving 
the  holy  order  of  priesthood  on  the  19th  day  of  March  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year. 

The  young  priest  was  assigned  to  the  mission  of  Nacogdoches, 
in  eastern  Texas,  which  embraced  all  the  northeastern  part  of 


DIOCESE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO.  361 

the  State  as  far  as  Red  River.  After  ten  years'  labors  in  this 
ai'diious  field  he  was  transferred  in  1864  to  Liberty  County,  in 
southern  Texas,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  1866  he  was 
made  assistant  at  San  Antonio,  but  in  September,  1868,  was  re- 
moved to  Laredo.  There  he  completed  the  convent  which  had 
long  previously  been  commenced,  and  erected  the  present  church. 
In  1873  he  was  recalled  to  San  Antonio  to  become  pastor  of  the 
church  of  San  Fernando.  When  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  was 
established  the  zealous  priest  was  appointed  vicar-general  by 
Bishop  Pellicer.  On  the  death  of  that  prelate  he  became  ad- 
ministrator of  the  diocese,  and,  having  been  chosen  to  succeed 
him,  was  consecrated  bishop  on  the  Sth  of  May,  1881.  He  at- 
tended the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

During  his  administration  as  bishop  the  Priests  of  the  Holy 
Cross  have  opened  St.  Edward's  Academy,  in  Travis  County,  and 
the  Sisters  of  the  Incarnate  Word  an  academy  at  Hallettsville, 
in  Lavaca  County.  The  diocese  contained  at  the  commencement 
of  the  year  18»5  forty-seven  priests  and  fifty  churches. 

On  the  Sth  of  July,  1877,  Pope  Pius  IX.  established  the  lim- 
its of  the  diocese  of  San  Antonio  as  follows :  All  that  portion  of 
Texas  lying  between  the  Colorado  and  the  Rio  Grande  rivers,  ex- 
cept the  county  of  El  Paso  and  that  portion  south  of  the  Arroyo 
de  las  Hermanas,  which  empties  into  the  Rio  Grande,  and  of  San 
Roque,  which  runs  into  the  Nueces  River ;  then  south  of  the  Nue- 
ces River,  with  the  exception  of  the  counties  of  Live  Oak,  Bee, 
Goliad,  and  Refugio. 

Within  the  above  limits  in  1891  there  were  51  priests  and  7 
clerical  students,  52  churches  and  12  chapels,  3  colleges  for  boys 
and  3  academies  for  young  ladies,  26  parochial  schools  and  3 
charitable  institutions,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  50,000.  There 
were  also  1  church  and  2  schools  for  the  colored  population,  with 
250  communicants. 


DIOCESE  OF  SAVANNAH. 


RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  XAVIER  GARTLAND 

JFirst  Bishop  of  Savannah. 

Francis  Xavier  Gartland  was  bom  in  Dublin  in  1805,  but^ 
coming  to  this  country  in  his  youth,  entered  Mount  St.  Mary's, 
Emmittsburg,  and  was  ordained  priest  by  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Con- 
well,  Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  in  1832.  The  Rev.  John  Hughes, 
the  future  great  Archbishop  of  New  York,  had  Just  erected 
St.  John's  Church,  and  the  young  priest  was  appointed  his  as- 
sistant. When  Dr.  Hughes  was  made  coadjutor  of  New  York, 
Rev.  Mr.  Gartland  became  pastor  of  St.  John's.  His  zeal  and 
eloquence  endeared  him  to  his  congregation,  and  his  virtues  won 
him  the  esteem  of  his  bishop  and  his  fellow-priests.  From  the 
year  1845  he  acted  also  as  vicar-general  of  the  diocese,  and  when 
the  Holy  See,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Seventh  Council  of 
Baltimore,  formed  a  new  diocese  with  the  episcopal  see  at  Savan- 
nah, the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Gartland  was  selected  as  the  first  bishop. 
He  was  consecrated  in  his  own  church  at  Philadelphia,  on  the 
10th  of  September,  1850,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Eccles- 
ton. 

The  diocese  of  Savannah,  as  constituted  by  the  bull  of  erec- 
tion, comprised  the  State  of  Georgia  with  East  Florida.  For  the 
five  thousand  scattered  Catholics  there  were  eight  churches  in 
Georgia  and  five  in  Florida,  Savannah,  Augusta,  and  Locust 
Grove  being  the  cradles  of  Catholicity  in  the  former  State. 
There  were  no  institutions  except  a  convent  of  the  Sisters  of 
Our  Lady  of  Mercy  at  Savannah,  and  an  asylum  with  a  school 
at  Augusta. 

The  Church  was  feeble  in  Georgia ;  for  though  Oglethorpe 
planted  the  colony  as  a  refuge  for  the  afilicted  and  persecuted^ 

362 


DIOCESE  OP  SAVANNAH.  363 

lie  was  a  slave  to  unmanly  bigotry,  and,  by  its  fundamental  law, 
Georgia  was  forbidden  to  receive  a  Catholic  witliin  its  borders. 
Dr.  Gartland,  after  acquainting  himself  with  the  state  of  his  dio- 
cese, visited  Euro]3e  to  obtain  aid  for  it.  Then  he  devoted  him- 
self zealously  to  give  his  actual  flock  and  the  increase  which  he 
felt  would  surely  come  every  advantage  for  practising  their  re- 
ligion. He  made  several  visitations,  enlarged  the  church  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  which  he  selected  as  his  cathedral,  erected 
churches  at  Jekyll  Island,  St.  John's  Beach,  Palatka,  and  Man- 
darin, and  was  preparing  to  establish  one  at  Dalton.  In  1853 
the  Sisters  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy  began  a  convent  and  academy 
at  Augusta.  The  next  year  the  yellow  fever  descended  on  the 
fair  city  of  Savannah,  and  Dr.  Gartland  showed  the  people  of 
Georgia  what  a  Catholic  bishop  was.  When  others  fled  he  went 
from  house  to  house,  visiting  the  sick  by  day  or  night,  shrinking 
from  none  of  the  terrible  forms  of  death,  till  he  was  himself 
prostrated  by  the  disease,  and  died  on  the  20th  of  September, 
1854. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  BARRY, 

Second  Bishop  of  Savannah. 

John  Barry  was  born  in  Wexford,  Ireland,  in  1799,  and 
while  in  a  seminary  volunteered  to  become  a  missionary  in  the 
diocese  of  Charleston.  Completing  his  studies  under  Bishop 
England,  he  was  ordained  by  that  great  prelate  September  24, 
1825.  After  one  or  two  temporary  missions  he  became  pastor  of 
the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Augusta,  in  1827,  with  about 
one-third  of  Georgia  for  his  parish.  T^velve  years  after  he  was 
made  yicar-general  for  that  State,  and  in  1844  for  the  whole  dio- 
cese. Recalled  at  that  time  to  Charleston,  he  assisted  in  the  ca- 
thedral, was  superior  of  the  seminary,  and  was  commissioned  to 
attend  all  vacant  stations  in  the  diocese.  The  historian  of  the 
Church  in  the  Carolinas   and    Georgia  says:    "He   labored    on 


3^4  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

every  mission,  in  every  cliurcli,  and  in  nearly  every  town  in 
the  three  States  at  one  time  or  another.  He  was  known  to  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  either  personally  or  by  reputation."  He 
was  full  of  activity  and  zeal,  creating  asylum  and  school,  caring 
for  the  young  and  the  helpless.  During  the  visitations  of 
the  cholera  and  yellow  fever  he  was  unremitting  in  his  care.  In 
1844  he  was  theologian  to  Bishop  Reynolds  in  tlie  council  held 
at  Baltimore.  When  the  diocese  of  Savannah  was  established  he 
remained  at  Augusta,  and  became  Bishop  Gartland's  vicar-general 
in  1853,  and  on  the  bishop's  death  hastened  to  Savannah  to  re- 
place him  in  attending  the  sick.  After  governing  the  diocese  for 
two  years  as  administrator  he  reluctantly  accepted  the  mitre, 
and  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  in  the  cathedral 
of  Baltimore  August  2,  1857.  But  his  constant  and  unremitting 
labors  had  broken  the  strong  constitution  and  the  buoyant 
spirit.  He  went  to  Europe  in  1859,  ho2:>ing  to  derive  benefit 
from  a  change  of  climate,  but  at  Paris  he  sought  admission 
into  the  hospital  of  the  Brothers  of  St.  John  of  God,  and 
there  expired  on  the  19th  of  November,  1859,  edifying  all 
by  his  patience  and  piety.  His  body  lay  in  the  Cemetery  of 
Pere  La  Chaise  till  1869,  when  Bishop  Persico  conveyed  it  to 
Savannah  and  laid  it  beside  that  of  his  predecessor. 


RIGHT  REV.  AUGUSTINE  VEROT, 

Third  Bishop  of  Savannah  and  First  of  St.  Augustine. 

Augustine  Verot  was  born  at  Le  Puys,  France,  in  May,  1804, 
and,  after  passing  through  a  grammar-school,  entered  the  semi- 
nary of  St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  After  making  a 
course  of  j^hilosophy  and  theology,  with  Lacordaire  and  Dupan- 
loup  as  fellow-students,  he  was  ordained  by  Archbishop  de  Quelen 
September  20,  1828.  Having  been  admitted  into  the  society  of 
St.  Sulpice,  he  was  sent  to  Baltimore  in  1830,  and  was  for  several 
years  professor  in  St.  Mary's  College  and  in  the  seminary.     In 


DIOCESE  OP  SAVANNAH.  365 

1853  lie  was  pastor  at  Ellicott's  Mills,  but  liis  learning  and  pru- 
dence were  so  well  recognized  that  Archbisliop  Huglies  desired 
him  to  become  superior  of  the  provincial  seminary  which  he  had 
established  at  Troy. 

Florida,  which  had  belonged  successively  to  the  dioceses  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  St.  Christopher,  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Charles- 
ton, and  Savannah,  was  formed  into  a  vicariate-apostolic,  and  Dr. 
Verot  was  selected,  December  11,  1857,  as  the  first  to  govern  it. 
He  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Danabe  on  the  25th  of 
April  in  the  ensuing  year.  The  vicariate  comprised  all  the  State 
of  Florida  lying  east  of  the  Apalachicola  River.  When  the  vi- 
cariate was  established  there  were  only  three  priests  within  its 
limits,  two  at  St.  Augustine  and  one  at  Jacksonville,  the  other 
churches  and  chapels  being  deprived  of  resident  pastors.  Bishop 
Verot  was  installed  June  3,  1858,  and,  regarding  the  education 
of  the  young  as  his  most  urgent  duty,  introduced  the  Brothers  of 
the  Christian  Schools  and  Sisters  of  Mercy;  he  completed  the 
church  at  Palatka,  enlarged  that  at  Fernandina,  and  took  steps 
to  erect  churches  at  Mandarin,  Orange  Spring,  and  Tampa  Bay. 
He  revived  the  memory  of  early  martyrs  of  the  faith  in  Florida 
and  endeavored  to  regain  the  Church  property.  His  impulse  was 
felt  in  all  parts  of  Florida.  But  the  State  was  not  to  be  his 
sole  charge.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Barry  he  was,  in  July,  1861, 
transferred  to  Savannah,  but  retained  the  direction  of  Florida  as 
vicar-apostolic.  The  period  during  which  he  wore  the  mitre  of 
Savannah  includes  that  of  the  Civil  War.  In  that  terrible  period 
the  bishop  had  much  tribulation  and  much  to  stimulate  his  zeal. 
St.  Mary's  Church  in  Camden  County  and  the  elegant  church  at 
Dalton  were  destroyed  by  fire,  but  the  church  at  Atlanta  was 
spared  amid  the  general  desolation.  Notwithstanding  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  times,  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Savan- 
nah was  completed  and  dedicated,  and  when  peace  was  restored 
a  church  was  erected  at  Albany.  The  Ursuline  convent  at  Co- 
lumbia having  been  destroyed  during  the  war,  a  colony  of  the 
nuns  established  a  school  at  Macon,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
from  St.  Augustine  opened  a  house  at  Columbus.  At  Jackson- 
ville, Florida,  the  church  and  parochial  residence  fell  victims  to 
the  flames. 


366  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Dr.  Verot  directed  tlie  diocese  of  Savannah  and  tlie  vicariate 
of  Florida  till  the  erection  of  the  see  of  St.  Augustine,  in  1870, 
when,  at  his  own  desire,  he  was  transferred  to  it.  In  1876  his 
health  failed,  but  he  remained  cheerful,  and  no  immediate  dan- 
ger was  suspected ;  but  after  saying  Mass  on  the  10th  of  June  he 
expired  so  suddenly  that  there  was  no  opportunity  to  administer 
Extreme  Unction  or  recite  the  prayers  for  the  dying. 

Bishop  Verot  sjDoke  and  wrote  well,  and  prepared  one  of  the 
best  catechisms  in  use  in  the  country. 


EIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  PERSICO, 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Savannah. 

loNATros  Persico  was  born  in  Naples  on  the  30th  of  January, 
1828,  of  a  noble  Sorrentine  family,  and  received  in  baptism  the 
name  of  Camillus  William  Mary  Peter.  After  completing  his 
classical  course  in  the  college  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers  at  Naples 
young  Persico  renounced  all  worldly  prospects  that  lay  open  to 
him  through  the  influence  of  his  family  with  the  government, 
and  in  April,  1839,  entered  the  order  of  Minor  Capuchins,  desir- 
ing to  devote  himself  to  the  foreign  missions.  His  course  of 
study  was  most  thorough,  embracing  the  whole  range  of  secular 
and  sacred  lore.  He  made  his  vows  in  January,  1844,  and  was 
ordained  by  dispensation  January  25,  1846.  He  then  proceeded 
to  Rome  to  enter  the  missionary  college  of  the  order  and  pass  the 
examination  at  the  Propaganda.  Having  been  made  apostolic 
missionary,  he  was  sent  to  the  vicariate-apostolic  of  Patna.  For 
some  years  he  visited  the  remotest  parts  of  that  extensive  vica- 
riate, reaching  the  frontiers  on  every  side,  including  Nepaul, 
Sickim,  and  Chinese  Tartary.  In  1852  he  was  chosen  com- 
panion to  Bishop  Hartman,  apostolic  visitor  in  the  East  Indies. 
The  pretensions  of  the  Archbishop  of  Goa  seriously  embarrassing 
all  the  vicars-apostolic  in  India,  Father  Persico  was  unanimously 


DIOCESE  OF  SAVANNAH.  367 

selected  to  proceed  to  Rome  as  commissary.  He  obtained  tlie 
celebrated  bull  Plene  nostis,  and  then,  witb  the  approval  of  the 
Holy  See,  went  to  England  to  advocate  before  the  English  gov- 
ernment the  interests  of  the  Catholic  population  in  India.  His 
mission  had  most  satisfactory  results,  and  the  position  of  Catho- 
lics was  completely  changed,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  vicars-apos- 
tolic and  military  chaplains,  but  also  in  regard  to  the  erec- 
tion of  churches,  asylums,  schools,  and  other  institutions.  Catho- 
lics being  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  Protestants.  Having 
been  chosen  coadjutor  to  the  vicar-apostolic  of  Bombay  March 
8,  1854,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Gratianopolis,  and  sooa  af- 
ter was  made  apostolic  visitor  of  the  Agra  vicariate,  which  he  vis- 
ited, and,  being  made  vicar-apostolic,  governed  it  with  great  fruit. 
His  administration  was  most  laborious  and  eventful,  his  cure  ex- 
tending to  Cashmere,  Cabul,  Afghanistan,  and  Thibet.  He  estab- 
lished schools  and  orphanages,  created  new  missions,  and  formed 
villages  of  native  Christians  till  the  Sepoy  war  swept  all  away, 
leaving  nothing  but  ruins  and  slaughtered  missionaries  and  Chris- 
tians. Bishop  Persico  was  confined  for  months  in  the  fort  of  Agra, 
subjected  to  every  hardship  and  privation.  On  his  release  he  served 
as  chaplain  to  the  British  army,  doing  much  to  save  unfortunate 
people.  After  the  war  he  sailed  for  Europe  to  solicit  means  to 
restore  the  Church  in  his  vicariate  to  its  former  condition,  but 
was  shipwrecked  and  escaped  almost  miraculously.  Having  suc- 
ceeded in  his  mission,  he  returned  to  the  vicariate,  and  his  energy 
and  zeal  were  soon  rewarded  by  consoling  results.  The  changed 
condition  of  India  after  the  war  required  another  delegation  to 
England  to  secure  Catholic  interests,  but  his  constant  labors  and 
journeys  had  enfeebled  Bishop  Persico  so  much  that  the  climate 
of  India  menaced  his  life.  Having  resigned  the  vicariate,  he 
was  advised,  at  the  centenary  of  St.  Peter  in  1867,  to  try  the  cli- 
mate of  the  United  States,  and  spent  two  years  at  Charleston  as 
an  active  missionary.  He  attended  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Baltimore  and  the  Vatican  Council,  and  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1870,  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Savannah.  For  three  years  he  di- 
rected the  diocese,  but,  as  his  former  symptoms  reappeared,  he 
was  compelled,  against  his  will,  to  resign  the  see.  He  was  then 
sent  by  the  Holy  See  to  Canada  to  adjust  some  delicate  ques- 


368 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UXITED  STATES. 


tions  there,  and  subsequently  to  Malabar,  where  lie  obtained  the 
submission  of  the  Chaldean  Patriarch  Auder.  In  1878  he  was 
appointed  bishop  of  the  united  dioceses  of  Aquino,  Pontecorvo, 
and  Sora ;  here,  having  officiated  as  bishop  in  three  continents,  Dr. 
Persico  labors  as  earnestly  as  ever,  adding  to  his  episcopal  duties 
those  of  consultor  of  the  Propaganda  and  apostolic  visitor  of  the 
Chinese  College  in  Na^Dles. 


KT.  EEV.  WILLIAM  H.  GROSS,  D.D., 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Savannah, 
was  transfeiTed  in  1885  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Oregon. 


RT.  REV.  THOMAS  A.  BECKER,  D.D., 

Sixth  Bishop  of  Savannah, 

was  transferred  to  this  see  from  that  of  Wilmington,  under  which 
a  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found. 


DIOCESE  OF  SCRANTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  WILLIAM  O'HARA, 

Fii'st  Bislwp  of  Scranton, 

Tbj;  fii'st  Bishop  of  Scranton,  Right  Rev.  William  O'Hara,  is 
a  native  of  the  County  Derry,  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  country 
with  his  parents  in  1820.  They  made  Philadelphia  their  home, 
and  sent  their  son  to  a  select  school  till  he  was  ready  to  enter 
Georgetown  College.  From  the  early  age  of  sixteen  he  felt  him- 
self called  to  serve  God  in  his  sanctuary,  and,  having  attracted 
the  notice  of  Bishop  Kenrick,  he  was  sent  to  Rome.  There  he 
remained  eleven  years,  pursuing  a  most  thorough  course  in  the 
Urban  College  of  the  Propaganda.  After  his  ordination  in  18-13 
he  was  for  thirteen  years  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church ;  he  was 
also  for  many  years  rector  and  professor  in  the  theological  semi- 
nary. In  1860  he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Wood  vicar-general. 
When  the  diocese  of  Scranton  was  set  off,  in  1868,  this  learn- 
ed and  experienced  priest  was  elected  the  first  bishop,  and  was 
consecrated  on  the  12th  of  July.  The  district  placed  under  his 
episcopal  care  comprises  Luzerne,  Lackawanna,  Bradford,  Sus- 
quehanna, Wayne,  Tioga,  Sullivan,  Lycoming,  Pike,  and  Monroe 
counties.  He  found  most  of  the  churches  in  a  very  primitive 
condition,  but  by  his  untiring  zeal  the  diocese  has  attained  a 
flourishing  condition,  with  fine  places  of  worship,  zealous  priests, 
and  large  congregations.  He  found  fifty  churches,  twenty-eight 
priests,  and  one  religious  community,  the  Sisters  of  the  Immacu- 
late Heart  of  Mary.  In  1884  he  could  report  seventy  churches 
with  sixty-six  priests,  and  sixteen  parochial  schools.  Sisters  of 
Mercy  and  Sisters  of  Christian  Charity  having  come  to  aid  in 


370 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


education.  Bishop  O'Hara  had  to  contend  with  a  long  and 
obstinate  litigation  begun  by  a  priest  whom  he  attempted  to  re- 
move from  a  church  whose  interests  had  been  grossly  neglected 
and  mismanaged.  Though  the  courts  finally  decided  in  the 
bishop's  favor,  it  gave  him  great  anxiety  and  entailed  heavy 
losses. 

In  1891  Bishop  O'Hara  could  report  in  his  diocese  110  priests, 
104  churches  and  36  missions,  22  convents,  9  academies,  28 
j»arochial  schools,  26  ecclesiastical  students,  9,311  pupils  in  Catho- 
lic schools,  1  orphanage  with  140  orphans,  1  college,  and  a  Catho- 
lic population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  SPRINGFIELR 


RIGHT  REV.  P.  T.  O'REILLY, 

First  Bishop  of  Springfield. 

The  Right  Rev.  R  T.  O'Reilly  is  a  descendant  of  the  old 
Breft'ny  tribe,  and  was  born  in  Cavan,  Ireland,  on  the  24th  of 
December,  1833.  He  came  to  this  country  when  a  boy,  and,  as 
he  had  an  uncle  in  Boston,  a  chemist  in  affluent  circumstances, 
he  was  brought  up  in  that  city.  Evincing  a  desire  to  become  a 
priest,  he  was  sent  to  St.  Charles'  College,  Maryland,  and  from  it 
passed  in  due  course  to  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore.  He  was 
ordained  priest  in  the  cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  Boston,  on 
the  feast  of  the  Assumption  in  the  year  1857,  by  Bishop  Ba- 
con, of  Portland,  who  officiated  in  consequence  of  the  illness  of 
Bishop  Fitzpatrick.  After  spending  five  years  as  assistant  to 
the  Rev.  John  Boyce  at  Worcester,  he  was  appointed  to  organize 
St.  Joseph's  parish,  Boston,  of  which  he  became  the  first  pastor, 
and  remained  so  till  January,  1864,  when  he  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed Rev.  Mr.  Boyce  as  pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  Worcester. 

The  diocese  of  Springfield,  established  June,  1870,  comprises 
the  counties  of  Berkshire,  Franklin,  Hampshire,  Hampden,  and 
Worcester,  and  at  that  time  contained  fifty-four  churches  built 
or  in  course  of  erection,  and  forty  priests,  not  including  the 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  attached  to  the  fine  college  of 
the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester.  There  were  a  few  schools,  direct- 
ed by  Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame.  Rev.  Mr. 
O'Reilly  was  elected  Bishop  of  Springfield  June  28,  1870,  and 
was  consecrated  in  St.  Michael's  Church,  which  became  his  ca- 
thedral, on  the  25th  of  September  by  Archbishop  McCloskey,  of 
New  York.     The  diocese  has  prospered  under  his  prudent  zeal, 

371 


372  THE  CATHOLIC  UIEHARCHT  IX  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  at  the  commencement  of  tlie  year  1885  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  priests  engaged  in  its  limits,  the  churches 
numbering  ninety  and  the  parochial  schools  twenty-one,  Sisters 
of  St.  Joseph,  Sisters  of  St.  Anne,  and  Sisters  of  Charity,  as  well 
as  Gray  Nuns  from  Canada  and  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools, 
co-operating  with  the  clergy 

The  above  numbers  had  increased  in  1891  to  the  following: 
162  priests  and  50  seminarians,  107  churches  and  9  stations,  24 
convents,  1  college,  23  parochial  schools  with  10,000  children  in 
attendance,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  170,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 


RIGHT   REV.   JOHN   MOORE, 

Second  Bishop  of  St.  A^igustine. 

JoHX  Moore  was  born  in  Castletown  Devlin,  County  "West- 
meath,  Ireland,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1835.  Arriving  in  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  in  October,  1848,  he  began  his  classical  studies  in 
the  Collegiate  Institute  and  in  the  seminary  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist.  In  July,  1851,  he  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Courbree, 
where  he  remained  four  years,  commencing  his  philosophical 
studies.  After  pui^suiug  a  theological  course  in  the  Urban  Col- 
lege of  the  Propaganda  he  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the 
priesthood  by  Mgr.  Luigi  Busso  in  1860.  Returning  to  his  own 
diocese,  he  was  for  five  years  assistant  at  St.  Finbar's  Cathedral, 
Charleston,  witnessing  its  destruction  during  the  war ;  he  was 
then  for  twelve  years  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  that  city, 
and  for  six  years  vicar-general  of  the  diocese.  While  still  pastor 
of  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Charleston,  the  Very  Rev.  Mr.  Moore 
was  appointed  by  the  Holy  See  to  succeed  Dr.  Verot ;  he 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  St.  Augustine  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Lynch  in  St.  John's  Pro-cathedral  on  Sunday,  May  13,  1877, 
the  Right  Rev.  James  Gibbons,  then  Bishop  of  Richmond,  deliv- 
ering the  sermon.  He  was  duly  installed  in  his  diocese  on  the 
20th.    He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 

Florida  is  the  oldest  State  in  the  Union,  dating  from  its  first 
permanent  settlement,  St.  Augustine  having  been  founded  Sep- 
tember 8,  1565.  The  records  of  the  parish  church,  preserved  in 
Havana  and  Florida,  exist,  and  cover  nearly  three  centuries,  ex- 
tending from  159-4  to  the  present  time.  From  the  first  settle- 
ment of  St.  Augustine  there  was  a  parish  church,  besides  various 


a75 


^76  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

chapels  in  or  near  the  city,  and  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth! 
century  the  Franciscan  Fathers  established  a  convent  there,  whichl 
save  missionaries  to  the  Indian  tribes  from  Albemarle  Sound  t( 
Pensacola.      Many  of  the  missionaries    lost  their   lives   at   the 
hands  of  the  Indians    or  the  English  of  the  neighboring  pre 
vinces. 

The  parishes  and  missions  of  Florida  were  subject  to  the 
bishops  of  Santiago  de  Cuba ;  nor  was  the  supervision  merely 
nominal,  several  of  the  bishops  making  regular  visitations  of 
Florida,  and  not  without  danger,  one  of  them,  while  on  his  way 
to  Florida,  falling  into  the  hands  of  pirates,  from  whom  he 
was  with  difficulty  ransomed.  During  the  last  century  bish- 
ops-auxiliary were  aj^pointed  to  the  Bishop  of  Santiago,  and,  as 
these  were  charged  exclusively  with  the  affairs  of  Florida,  they 
resided  in  St.  Augustine.  The  most  eminent  of  these  was  the 
zealous  Bishop  San  Buenaventura  Tejada,  who  established 
schools  in  St.  Augustine,  and,  having  been  translated  to  a  see  in 
Mexico,  died  from  the  hardshij)s  he  underwent  in  making  a  visita- 
tion of  the  missions  in  Texas.  Among  others  who  lived  in  Florida 
as  auxiliary  bishops  were  Dr.  Pedro  Ponze  de  Cari-asco,  Dr.  Ricino, 
a  native  of  Havana,  and  Right  Rev.  Cyril  de  Barcelona,  of  the 
Capuchin  Order,  who  became  auxiliar  to  the  Bishop  of  Havana 
when  that  see  was  erected  and  Florida  assigned  to  it.  Florida 
was  again  under  that  jurisdiction  when  it  became  part  of  the 
United  States,  after  having  for  a  time  been  included  in  the  bish- 
opric of  Louisiana.  When  a  bishop  was  placed  in  St.  Augus- 
tine in  our  time,  the  Catholic  property  had  been  almost  all  swept 
away  from  the  Church ;  the  ''  Casa  Episcopal,"  the  house  and 
grounds  occupied  and  owned  by  the  auxiliar  bishops,  had  been 
given  by  the  United  States  government  to  the  Episcopalians ; 
the  ancient  convent  of  the  Franciscans  is  still  held  by  the  gov- 
ernment  as  barracks. 

The  diocese  of  St.  Augustine,  comprising  East,  Middle,  and 
South  Florida,  contained  in  1801  18  priests  and  9  ecclesiastical 
students,  12  churches  and  14  chapels  with  31  stations,  10  convents, 
8  academies  and  20  parochial  schools  having  1,480  pupils,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  5,000. 


\ 


DIOCESE  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  CRfiTIN, 

^'ii'st  Bisliop  of  St.  Paul, 

The  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Cretin,  first  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  was 
born  at  Lyons,  in  France,  in  the  year  1800,  and  had  studied  for 
the  priesthood  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  foreign  missions. 
Soon  after  his  ordination  Bishop  Loras,  of  Dubuque,  appealed  for 
zealous  priests  to  aid  him  to  create  a  Catholicity  in  Iowa,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Cretin  offered  his  services.  Accompanied  by  another 
volunteer,  Bishop  Loras  and  his  young  coadjutor  reached  his  dio- 
cese in  April,  1839.  Rev.  Mr.  Cretin  was  at  once  attached  to 
St.  Raphael's  Cathedral,  and  was  soon  appointed  vicar-general  of 
the  diocese,  laboring  zealously  in  attending  distant  and  scattered 
bodies  of  Catholics.  In  1843  he  began  a  mission  among  the 
Winnebagoes,  and  revived  the  early  missions  among  them  until 
he  was  expelled  in  1848  by  the  United  States  government,  which 
had  constantly  thwarted  his  Christian  work  of  civilization.  He 
then  resumed  his  duties  at  the  cathedral  of  Dubuque ;  but  when 
the  diocese  of  St.  Paul,  embracing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota, 
was  erected  in  1850,  the  Very  Rev,  Mr.  Cretin  was  appointed 
bishop.  Having  accepted  the  appointment,  he  visited  France  to 
appeal  to  the  zeal  of  his  countrymen  to  contribute  to  the  arduous 
work  before  him.  He  was  consecrated  at  Belley  January  26, 
1851,  and  set  out  for  his  diocese,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
pioneer  priest.  Rev.  Mr.  Ravoux.  The  first  report  of  the  diocese 
showed  only  seven  churches,  ten  priests,  and  one  school.  The 
bishop  began  a  seminary,  planned  a  cathedral,  opened  schools, 
l)i'oiig]it  in  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  who  created  academies,  asylums, 
hospitals,  schools.     The  Brothers  of  the  Holy  Family  were  next 

377 


378  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  aid  liim ;  but  tlie  Benedictine  prior  Wittraan  founded  at  St. 
Cloud  a  house  to  grow  in  time  to  a  great  abbey  and  college. 
Bishop  Cretin  revived  his  old  mission  among  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  recalled  the  Chippewas  to  the  faith.  Of  Catholic  emigration 
he  was  an  active  and  persistent  advocate,  and  saw  its  beneficial 
results.  Gauged  by  time,  his  administration  was  a  short  one,  but 
by  results,  and  it  was  most  successful.  He  died  of  apoplexy 
February  22,  1857. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  L.  GRACE,  O.S.D., 

Second  BisJwp  of  St.  Paul. 

Tho:^ias  L.  Grace  was  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on 
che  16th  of  November,  1814,  Evincing  in  childhood  a  strong 
inclination  to  minister  at  God's  altar,  he  commenced  his  studies 
in  the  seminary  of  his  native  city  when  he  had  attained  the'age 
of  fifteen.  But  the  next  year  he  entered  the  convent  of  St.  Rose 
in  Kentucky,  assuming  as  a  novice  the  white  habit  of  St.  Domi- 
nic. After  years  of  retirement,  prayer,  and  study  he  was  sent  to 
Rome,  and  for  seven  years  pursued  a  most  thorough  theological 
course  at  the  Minerva.  He  was  ordained  priest  at  Rome  Decem- 
ber 21,  1839.  Returning  to  this  country  five  years  later,  he  was 
engaged  in  missionary  duties  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  for 
many  years.  Memphis  was  the  chief  theatre  of  his  labors ;  he 
erected  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  one  of  the  finest 
in  that  city,  as  well  as  the  convent  of  St.  Agnes  and  an  orphan 
asylum.  During  his  long  pastorship  of  thirteen  j^ears  Father 
Grace  had  endeared  himself  to  all  the  people  of  Memphis,  and 
his  appointment  to  the  see  of  St.  Paul  in  1859  came  with  a  sense 
of  j)ersonal  loss  to  them.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedi-al 
of  St.  Louis  by  Archbishop  Kenrick  on  the  24th  of  July,  1859. 
and  two  days  after  set  out  with  a  delegation  of  the  clergy  of  the 
diocese  who  had  come  to  escort  him  to  St.  Paul,  which  he 
reached  by  steamer,  there  being  no  lines  of  railroad. 

The  labor  before  Bishop  Grace  was  immense,  giving  him  inces- 


DIOCESE   OF   ST.   PAUL.  379 

saut  occupation,  but,  without  discouragement,  he  devoted  himself 
with  wonderful  zeal.  Northern  Minnesota  was  set  oif  as  a  vica- 
riate in  1S75,  and  in  that  same  year  the  bishop  obtained  a  coadjutor 
in  the  person  of  the  Right  Kev.  John  Ireland.  Dakota,  which 
liad  also  been  subject  to  Bishop  Grace,  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  a  vicar-apostolic  in  1879.  Five  years  afterwards  the  diocese 
of  St.-  Paul,  thus  curtailed,  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
priests  and  more  than  two  hundred  churches,  with  hospitals,  asy- 
lums, protectories,  academies,  and  schools.  Mere  statistics  give 
little  idea  of  the  real  work  of  a  bishop  in  looking  after  the 
neglected  Catholics,  exciting  faith,  guiding  the  clergy,  stimu- 
latins;  them  in  their  arduous  labors,  watchino-  over  the  rising^ 
generation.  In  July,  1884,  Bishop  Grace  celebrated  the  silver 
jubilee  of  his  episcopate,  the  city  tendering  him  a  most  heartfelt 
ovation.  Then,  to  the  regret  of  all,  he  resigned  the  see  of  St. 
Paul  and  became  titular  Bishop  of  Mennith. 


MOST  KEY.  JOHN  IRELAND, 

Third  Bishop  and  First  Archbishop  of  St.  Paid. 

The  third  Bishop  of  St.  Paul,  Right  Rev.  John  Ireland,  was 
born  at  Burnchurch,  County  Kilkenny,  Ireland,  on  the  11th  of 
September,  1838,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  America  when 
he  was  eleven  years  old.  After  temporary  residence  at  Burling- 
ton, Vermont,  and  Chicago,  Illinois,  his  father,  Richard  Ireland, 
settled  in  St.  Paul  and  became  a  builder.  While  a  pupil  in  the 
cathedral  school  young  Ireland  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Cretin,  who  discerned  in  the  talented  boy  a  vocation  to  the 
priesthood.  He  was  sent  by  the  bishop  to  Meximeux,  France, 
where  he  went  through  the  Preparatory  Seminary,  and  entered  the 
Grand  Seminary  at  Hyeres  for  his  theological  course.  Returning 
to  Minnesota  in  1861,  he  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Grace  on  the 
21st  of  December.  The  young  priest  was  soon  on  his  way  to  the 
front  as  chaplain  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  regiment,  and  for  fif- 
teen months  he  served,  fearlessly  confronting  all  dangers,  so  as  to 


380  THE   CATHOLIC   HIERARCHY   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

excite  the  admiration  and  reverence  of  those  most  prejudiced 
against  his  faith.  When  his  health  yielded  to  the  constant 
and  laborious  duty  on  the  field,  he  was  recalled  to  St.  Paul  and 
became  pastor  of  the  cathedral.  Here  his  zeal,  activity,  and 
energy  made  him  a  marked  man.  The  building  up  of  the  State 
by  immigration,  the  study  of  its  early  history,  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance, all  found  in  him  an  active  advocate,  while  no  one  was 
more  exact  and  devoted  in  his  priestly  duties.  On  the  12th  of 
February,  1875,  he  was  appointed,  by  the  Pope,  Bishop  of  Ma- 
ronea*^  and  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Nebraska.  To  prevent  his  diocese 
from  losing  so  able  a  man,  Dr.  Grace  went  to  Pome  and  pleaded 
so  successfully  that  the  bishop-elect  was  made  his  coadjutor;  as 
such  he  was  consecrated  on  the  anniversary  of  his  ordination, 
December  21,  1875.  His  work  as  an  advocate  of  temperance  be- 
came more  general.  He  entered  warmly  into  projects  for  form- 
ing Catholic  colonies  in  Minnesota,  engaging  capitalists  in  the 
East  in  the  good  work,  and  obtaining  most  consoling  results,  so 
that  some  districts  are  permanently  Catholic,  with  schools  under 
Catholic  direction.  It  is  a  sign  of  the  general  appreciation  with 
which  he  is  regarded  that  he  has  been  for  several  years  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Minnesota.  He  attended 
the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  and  on  his  return  to 
his  diocese  presided  in  New  York  at  a  meeting  to  organize  a 
Catholic  Historical  Society  for  the  United  States.  In  the  es- 
tal)lishment  of  a  Catholic  University  he  has  also  been  a  most  ac- 
tive worker.  Soon  after  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  that 
institution  in  Washington,  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  erected  a  new 
ecclesiastical  province,  with  St.  Paul  as  the  metropolitan  see.  Dr. 
Ireland  then  became  Archbishop  of  St.  Paul  and  received  the 
pallium  towards  the  close  of  the  year  1888. 

There  were  in  the  archdiocese  of  St.  Paul  in  1891,  the  follow- 
ing: 137  priests  and  51  seminarians,  176  churches,  1  seminary 
and  8  academies,  6G  parochial  schools  with  11,000  pupils,  14 
charitable  institutions,  including  3  hospitals  and  3  asylums,  and 
a  Catholic  poj)ulation  of  203,484. 


DIOCESE  OF  TRENTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  MICHAEL  J.  O'FARRELL, 

First  Bisliop  of  Trenton. 

Michael  J.  O'Faerell  was  born  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  on  the 
2d  of  December,  1832,  of  a  family  which  had  given  many  zealous 
priests.     After  preliminary  studies  he  entered  the  college  of  All- 
Hallows  in  1848,  and  during  his  theological  course  proceeded  to 
St.  Sulpice,  Paris,  where  he  completed  his  studies  under  the  able 
disciples  of  Olier.     After  receiving  ordination  in  Ireland  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1855,  he  returned  to  Paris  and  was  received  into 
the  community  of  St.   Sulpice.     On  the  conclusion  of  his  novi- 
tiate  he  was  appointed  professor  of  dogmatic  theology  at  Paris, 
and  he  subsequently  held  a  professorship  in  their  seminary  in 
Montreal.     He  was  made  pastor  of  St.  Patrick's  Church  in  that 
city,  and  showed   as  great  zeal  and  ability  in  parochial  work  as 
he  had  displayed  learning   in  the  professor's  chair.      In  July, 
1869,  he  became  assistant  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  New  York,  and 
in  1S72  pastor  of  Rondout.     But  when  the  Rev.  William  Quinn 
was  transferred  to  the  cathedral  the  Rev.  Dr.  O'Farrell  became 
pastor  of  New  York's  oldest  church.     During  his  administration 
he  erected  a  noble  school-house,  fitted  with  every  requisite^  and 
was  consoled  by  seeing  it  filled   with    children.      In   1881   the 
Holy  See  divided  the  diocese  of  Newark,  and  fourteen   coun- 
ties of  New  Jersey,  embracing  all  the  seaboard,  were  formed  into 
the  diocese  of  Trenton.     Having  been  elected  first  bishop.  Dr. 
O'Farrell  was  consecrated  on  All  Saints'  day  in  St.  Patrick's  Ca- 
thedral, New  York,  by  his  Eminence  Cardinal  McCloskey,  as- 
listed  by  Archbishop  Corrigan  and  Bishop  Loughlin.     He  made 

381 


38-  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tlie  churcli  of  St.  Maiy  his  cathedral,  and  prepared  to  establish] 
institutions  to  develop  religion  in  the  southern  part  of  New  Jer-:| 
sey.     The  progress  did  not  fail  to  excite  hostility,  and  in  1883; 
St.  John's,  the  oldest  of  the  churches  in  Trenton,  was  set  on  fire. 
Bishop  O'Farrell  has  issued  pastorals  of  remarkable  vigor  and^ 
ability,  and  has  stimulated  the  erection  of  many  churches  and  in- 
stitutions.    He  labored   successfully  to  obtain  for  Catholics  in 
prisons  and  reformatories  a  deliverance  from  the  horrible  and 
unchristian  persecution  by  which  they  were   deprived  of  their 
own    worship    and    forced    to    attend    services    which   they   ab- 
horred.    He  was  one  of  the  most  learned  and  eloquent  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

Bishop  O'Farrell,  in  1891,  had  in  his  diocese,  88  priests  and 
16  ecclesiastical  students,  226  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  various 
religious  orders,  in  6  convents,  87  churches,  40  chapels  and  sta- 
tions, 1  seminary  and  1  college,  7  academies  and  29  parochial 
schools  with  6,931  pupils,  1  orphanage  with  62  orphans,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  YINCENNES. 


EIGHT  KEV.  SIMON  GABRIEL  BRUTi:, 

First  Bishop  of   Vincennes. 

Sdion  William  Gabriel  Brut^:  de  Kemur  was  born  March 
20,  1779,  at  Rennes,  France,  where  his  family  had  long  held  an 
influential  23osition.  Losing  his  father  at  an  early  age,  he  was 
formed  for  the  career  before  him  by  his  mother,  a  woman  of 
judgment  and  piety.  The  famous  Abbe  Carron  prepared  him 
for  his  First  Communion  in  1791,  when  the  terrible  Rev^olution 
was  already  in  progress,  and  young  Brute  witnessed  and  re- 
corded some  of  the  most  heartrending  persecutions  and  slaugh- 
ters of  priests  and  religious.  A  diligent  student,  with  a  mind 
that  grasped  at  all  knowledge  and  a  happy  memory,  he  made 
rapid  progress,  and,  escaping  by  address  the  law  of  conscription, 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1796,  and  completed  it  at  Paris 
in  1803,  taking  the  highest  prize  over  more  than  a  thousand  fel- 
low-students. But,  with  success  before  him,  he  resolved  to  be- 
come a  priest,  and,  after  being  trained  to  ecclesiastical  life  by  the 
Sulpitians,  was  ordained  in  1808.  Declining  a  professorship  in 
the  seminary  at  Rennes,  and  a  canonry,  he  offered  his  services  to 
Bishop  Flaget  and  came  to  Baltimore  in  the  summer  of  1810. 
After  two  years  spent  as  professor  in  St.  Mary's  Seminary  he 
was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  and  for  many 
years  was  connected  with  tfhat  institution,  training,  under  God, 
numbers  of  excellent  priests.  AVhen  the  see  of  Vincennes  was 
established  in  1834  Dr.  Brute  was  chosen  to  become  its  first  oc- 
cupant. He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Louis  Octo- 
ber  28,   1834,  and  was  soon  after  installed  by   Bishop  Flaget. 

383 


384  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

He  began  his  labors  with  one  priest,  Rev.  S.  P.  Lalumiere.  Vin- 
cennes  was  originally  a  French  post,  established  about  1730,  and 
had  a  series  of  priests  till  the  overthrow  of  the  French  rule  in 
Canada  and  the  American  Revolution  isolated  it.  Then  it  had 
received  occasional  visits,  but  the  people  had  lost  much  of  the 
knowledge  of  their  faith  and  their  early  fervor  while  deprived 
of  the  sacraments.  At  other  and  less  important  French  posts  the 
decline  had  been  still  greater.  All  these  Catholics  were  to  be 
visited,  marriages  rehabilitated,  baptisms  performed,  the  youth  to 
be  instructed  and  prepared  for  First  Communion  and  Confirmation. 
Illinois  was  subject  to  his  authority,  and  there  a  similar  state  of 
affairs  existed.  Besides  those  of  French  descent,  there  were 
English-speaking  immigrants,  more  earnest,  and  bands  of  Indians 
who  still  remembered  the  teachings  of  the  Black  Gowns  of  other 
days.  The  studious  professor,  retained  by  duty  amidst  books  for 
so  many  years,  showed  all  the  fresh  vigor  and  activity  of  a  young 
missionary.  His  visitations  unfolded  to  him  the  condition  of  his 
diocese,  and  the  utter  impossibility  <)f  finding  within  its  limits 
means  to  meet  its  wants.  A  visit  to  Europe  gained  some  zealous 
priests  and  means  to  establish  a  seminary,  asylum,  and  school  at 
Vincennes,  and  aid  in  erecting  plain  chapels  in  places  where 
they  were  most  needed.  He  was  pastor  of  his  cathedral,  director 
of  his  seminary,  teacher  in  the  school;  and  this,  with  the  strain 
on  his  system  in  his  episcopal  visits,  soon  told  upon  his  constitu- 
tion. On  his  way  to  the  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1837  he  took 
a  heavy  cold  which  ended  in  consumption ;  but  he  never  thought 
of  rest,  and  continued  his  labors  and  visits,  refusing  all  indul- 
gence, taking  the  worst  for  himself  on  all  occasions.  At  last  he 
yielded  to  the  disease  and  prepared  serenely  to  die,  his  active 
mind  engaged  in  prayer  or  in  thoughts  of  his  flock.  After  re- 
ceiving the  Viaticum  he  directed  the  Commendation  of  a  De- 
parting Soul  to  be  recited,  and  surrendered  his  soul  to  his  Maker 
on  the  26th  of  June,  1839. 


DIOCESE  OF  VINCENNES.  385 


RIGHT  REV.    CELESTINE    REN£   LAWRENCE    Gr.    DE 
LA   HAILANDIERE, 

Second  Bishop  of  Vincennes. 

The  second  Bishop  of  Vincennes  was  born  at  Combourg,  in 
Brittany,  May  2,  1798,  and  was  baptized  the  same  day  by  a 
priest  wlio  was  concealed  in  the  house.  He  was  educated  by  a 
good  clergyman  at  Rennes,  and  studied  law  to  fit  hiniself  for 
the  magistracy.  At  a  mission  given  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Faith 
he  resolved,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  to  renounce  the  world,  al- 
though he  had  been  appointed  to  a  judicial  position,  w^hich  he 
accepted  only  in  obedience  to  his  father's  command,  but  soon  re- 
signed. He  entered  the  seminary  at  Rennes  and  was  ordained 
at  Paris,  May  28,  1825.  His  career  won  him  the  esteem  of  his 
bishop,  who,  when  Dr.  Brute  asked  him  to  name  a  priest  worthy 
to  be  his  vicar-general  and  coadjutor,  selected  the  Abbe  de  la 
Hailandiere.  After  aiding  Bishop  Brute  to  obtain  some  good 
priests  and  candidates  he  came  to  America  with  him  in  1836,  and 
began  his  labors  in  Indiana.  Two  years  subsequently  he  was  sent 
to  Europe  in  the  interest  of  the  diocese,  and  while  busily  en- 
gaged at  Paris  received  information  of  Dr.  Brute's  death  and  his 
own  appointment  as  Bishop  of  Axiern  and  coadjutor.  He  was 
consecrated  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Paris,  August  18, 
1839,  by  Bishop  Forbin  Janson,  and  used  every  exertion  to  ob- 
tain needed  aid  for  his  diocese.  He  sent  over  vestments  and 
plate  for  churches,  Eudists  to  found  a  college,  Brothers  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  Sisters  of  Providence.  Then  he  came  himself  to  la- 
bor in  his  diocese.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  hold  a  retreat  for 
his  clergy,  vvhich  was  followed  by  a  diocesan  synod  in  1844.  He 
was  a  man  of  projects  and  action,  and  his  energy  made  him  un- 
popular with  some ;  seeing  this,  he  endeavored  to  resign  his  see 
in  1845,  but  on  visiting  Rome  was  so  encouraged  by  Pope  Gre- 
gory XVI.  that  he  resumed  his  laboi*s  for  his  diocese  and  return- 
ed to  it.  But  the  troubles  had  not  ceased.  Discouraged  com- 
pletely, he  again  urged  the  Holy  Father  to  accept  his  resignation, 
and  was  permitted  in  1847  to  lay  down  the  burden  that  had  bet 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

come  too  heavy.  He  died  on  an  estate  at  Triandin  belonging  to 
the  family,  May  1,  1882.  By  his  own  desire  his  remains  were 
brought  to  the  diocese  he  had  loved  so  well,  and  laid  beside  the 
bodies  of  the  other  bishops  of  Vincennes  who  had  gone  to  their 
rest. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  STEPHEN   BAZIN, 

Third  Bishop  of  Yincennes. 

John  Stephen  Bazin  was  born  in  the  diocese  of  Lyons  in 
1V96,  and  entering  the  priesthood  in  France,  came  to  the  dio- 
cese of  Mobile  as  a  missionary  in  1830.  The  city  of  Mobile 
was  the  theatre  of  his  labors  for  seventeen  years.  He  exercised 
the  ministry  with  great  zeal,  and  devoted  himself  especially  to 
the  education  and  spiritual  instruction  of  the  young.  He  was 
made  vicar-general  of  the  diocese  by  Bishop  Portier,  who  sent 
him  in  1846  to  France  to  obtain  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
to  assume  the  direction  of  the  college  at  Spring  Hill.  On  the 
recommendation  of  the  Sixth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore  he 
was  appointed  Bisho^^  of  Vincennes.  He  was  consecrated  in  the 
Vincennes  cathedral  on  the  24th  of  October,  1847,  by  Bishop 
Portier,  of  Mobile.  He  issued  a  pastoral  letter,  in  which  he  said 
to  his  clergy :  "  Having  been  inured  for  many  years  to  the  la- 
bors of  a  missionary  life,  we  feel  ready,  in  spite  of  our  advanced 
age,  to  share  with  you  all  the  hardships  of  the  ministry.  We 
are  ambitious  of  no  distinction.  We  expect  to  find  in  each  of 
you  a  friend." 

But  he  was  almost  immediately  stricken  down  by  illness,  and 
expired  on  the  23d  of  April,  1848. 


DIOCESE  OF  VINCENNES.  38? 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  M.  MAURICE  DE  LONG  D'AUSfeAC 

DE   SAINT-PALAIS, 

Fourth  BisJiop  of  Vincennes. 

Maurice  de  Saint-Palais,  of  an  old  family  of  kniglitly  fame, 
was  born  at  La  Salvetat,  in  the  diocese  of  Montpelier,  November 
15,  1811.  He  made  a  brilliant  course  of  studies,  and  was  about 
to  enter  on  a  career  of  honors  when  the  insecurity  of  human 
grandeur  made  him  resolve  to  serve  a  Master  ^vho  knows  no 
vicissitude.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  his  twenty-fifth  year  by 
Archbishop  de  Quelen,  of  Paris,  and,  won  by  the  virtues  and 
sanctity  of  Bisho]3  Brute,  offered  his  services  to  him.  He  came 
to  Vincennes  in  1836  and  was  sent  to  a  new  district,  where  he 
built  St.  Mary's  Church,  attending  stations  in  two  adjacent 
counties,  fertile  in  resources,  and  neglecting  none,  German  or  In- 
dian, in  his  district.  At  Chicago,  though  malcontents  burned  his 
Avretched  shanty,  he  built  another  St.  Mary's  Church.  Logans- 
port  was  his  next  mission,  then  Madison.  Bishop  Bazic  during 
his  brief  administration  made  the  Abbe  de  Saint-Palais  his 
vicar-general,  and  on  his  death-bed  constituted  him  administrator 
of  the  diocese.  He  was  soon  after  elected  bishop,  and  was  con- 
secrated by  Bishop  Miles,  of  Nashville,  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1849.  He  began  with  35  priests,  50  churches,  and  30,000  souls; 
but  what  his  predecessors  had  merely  sketched  out  Bishop  de 
Saint-Palais  effected  in  his  long  and  able  episcopate  of  twenty- 
eight  years.  He  left  151  churches,  117  priests,  90,000  souls,  an 
abbey  of  Fathers  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  2  convents  of 
Reformed  and  1  of  Conventual  Franciscans,  Brothers  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  Sisters  of  St.  Francis,  Benedictine  nuns,  Ursulines,  Sisters 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  Little  Sisters  of  the  Poor,  Sisters  of  St. 
Joseph. 

On  the  morning  of  June  28,  1877,  while  at  St.  Mary's  of  the 
Woods,  he  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and  all  efforts  to  save  him 
failed.    He  prepared  calmly  for  death,  and,  holding  his  rosary  in 


388  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  left  hand  he  was  still  able  to  use,  expired  peacefully  in  the 
afternoon.  His  body  was  removed  to  Vincennes  and  laid  beside 
Bishops  Brute  and  Baziu. 

RIGHT  REV.  FRANCIS  SILAS  CHATARD, 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Vincennes. 

Francis  Silas  Chatard  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  Decem- 
ber 13,  1834,  his  grandfather,  an  able  physician,  having  been  one 
of  the  many  French  residents  who  escaped  the  hands  of  the 
negroes  and  made  a  home  in  the  United  States.  His  father  was 
also  an  able  and  successful  physician,  eminence  in  the  profession 
seeming  hereditary.  The  future  bishop  was  educated  at  Mount 
St.  Mary's,  where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1853.  Adopting 
the  profession  in  which  so  many  of  his  family  excelled,  he  be- 
came a  physician,  but  in  1857  resolved  to  study  for  the  priest- 
hood. Having  been  accepted  by  Archbishop  Kenrick,  he  was 
sent  to  the  Urban  College,  and  after  a  full  six  years'  course  won 
the  cap  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  August,  1863.  Three  months 
afterwards  he  was  appointed  vice-rector  of  the  American  College 
at  Rome,  and  on  the  consecration  of  Dr.  McCloskey  as  Bishop  of 
Louisville  Dr.  Chatard  became  rector,  and  for  ten  years  presided 
over  that  institution,  rendering  great  service  not  only  to  those 
under  his  immediate  charge,  but  to  the  American  bishops  during 
the  Vatican  Council.  Pope  Pius  IX.  valued  his  services  to  re- 
ligion so  highl}^  that  he  presented  to  him  a  gold  medal  of  ex- 
quisite workmanship.  In  consequence  of  failing  health  he  visited 
the  United  States  in  1878  to  collect  for  the  American  College, 
and  soon  after  his  return  to  Rome  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Vin- 
cennes. He  was  consecrated  on  the  12th  day  of  May,  1878,  and, 
repairing  to  his  diocese,  made  Indianapolis  his  residence,  retain- 
ing, however,  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Vincennes.  He  soon  after 
held  the  second  Diocesan  Synod,  and  a  third  in  November,  1880. 
He  also  took  part  in  the  Fourth  Council  of  Cincinnati,  and  in  the 
Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884. 

His  earnest  labors  are  evinced,  in  part,  by  the  following  sum- 
mary for  1891:  priests,  150;  churches,  157;  and  28  chapels  and 
stations;  15  academies,  74  parochial  schools  with  14,000  pupils, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  84,384. 


DIOCESE  OF  WHEELING. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  J.  KAIN, 

Second  Bisho})  of  Wheeling. 

John"  J.  Kain  was  born  in  Martinsburg,  Berkeley  Co.,  West 
Virginia,  on  the  81st  of  May,  1841,  the  only  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Ellen  Murphy  Kain,  who  emigrated  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Macroom,  in  the  county  of  Cork,  Ireland,  and  married  in  this 
country.  Their  son  first  attended  the  academy  then  directed  by 
the  present  Bishop  of  Wilmington,  and,  seeking  to  serve  God  in 
his  sanctuary,  obtained  admission  to  the  Preparatory  Seminary  of 
St.  Charles,  where,  after  a  five  years'  course,  he  was  graduated  in 
1862.  His  philosophical  and  theological  studies  he  pursued  in 
St.  Mary's  College,  Baltimore ;  and  he  was  ordained  by  Arch- 
bishop Spalding  on  the  2d  of  July,  1866.  His  field  of  priestly 
labor  embraced  the  valley  of  Virginia  from  the  Potomac  to  Mount 
Jackson,  and  centred  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Its  extent  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  for  a  considerable  time  he  had  charge  of  the 
Catholics  living  in  eight  counties  of  West  Virginia  and  four  in 
Virginia.  He  then  obtained  an  assistant  to  share  his  arduous 
labors.  During  his  administration  of  this  large  district  he  repair- 
ed the  churches  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg,  which  had 
been  greatly  injured  during  the  Civil  AVar,  and  rebuilt  those 
which  had  been  destroyed  at  Winchester  and  Berkeley  Springs. 
On  the  21st  of  February,  1875,  this  laborious  priest  was  elected 
Bishop  of  Wheeling,  and  was  consecrated  by  Archbishop  Bayley 
on  the  2.'id  of  May,  his  aged  mother,  who  had  attained  the  age  of 
fourscore,  witnessing  the  exaltation  of  her  son. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1885  the  diocese  of  Wheeling 
contained  thirty-four  j^riests,  who  attended  sixty-two  churches, 
eight  chapels,  and  forty  stations.  The  Catholic  white  population 
was  estimated  at  about  twenty  thousand.  There  were  thirty- 
four  academies  and  schools,  a  hospital  and  asylum  under  the  care 
of  Visitation  nuns  and  Sisters  of  St.  Jost^ph. 

In  1893,  there  were  35  priests,  64  churches,  48  chapels  and 
stations,  7  academies,  4  convents,  14  parochial  schools,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  20,000.  In  1893,  Bishop  Kain  was  trans- 
ferred to  St.  Louis  as  Coadjutor,  with  right  of  succession. 


DIOCESE  OF  WILMINGTON. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  A.  BECKER, 

First  Bishop  of  Wihningtoji. 

The  future  Catholic  Bishop  of  Wilmington  was  bom  in 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  of  Protestant  parents,  December  20, 
1832.  After  spending  some  time  in  the  Allegheny  Institute  he 
entered  the  Western  University,  and  completed  his  studies  at  the 
University  of  Virginia. 

His  mind  turned  to  the  great  religious  question,  and,  corre- 
sponding to  the  grace  of  God,  he  was  received  into  the  Church 
by  Bishoj)  McGill.  He  went  to  Rome  in  1854  to  study  for  the 
priesthood  in  the  Urban  College  of  the  Propaganda,  and  after 
receiving  the  doctorate  in  theology  was  ordained  by  Cardinal 
Patrizi  in  the  Basilica  of  St.  John  Lateran  on  the  18th  of  June, 
1859. 

On  his  return  to  Virginia  he  was  assigned  to  the  mission  em- 
bracing Martinsburg,  Winchester,  Berkeley  Springs,  and  the  ad 
jacent  counties.  These  were  attended  until  the  church  of  Mar- 
tinsburg was  seized  by  the  United  States  military  authorities, 
who  converted  it  into  barracks.  He  was  then  sent  to  Baltimore, 
where  Archbishop  Kenrick  selected  him  as  one  of  the  faculty  of 
Mount  St.  Mary's.  Under  Archbishop  Spalding  he  was  one  of 
the  clergy  of  the  Baltimore  cathedral.  Previous  to  the  assem- 
bling of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  the  Rev.  Mr.  Becker  was  one 
of  the  theologians  engaged  in  preparing  the  matters  for  the  ac- 
tion of  the  prelates,  and  during  the  sessions  of  the  council  he  was 
one  of  the  secretaries. 

His  ability  and  learning  displayed  in  such  varied  offices 
marked  him  as  one  to  be  placed  in  an  important  rank.     On  the 


DIOCESE  OF  WILMINGTON. 


393 


erection  of  the  see  of  Wilmington  he  was  elected  bishop,  and  re- 
ceived consecration  at  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Spalding  on  the 
16th  of  August,  1868. 

The  diocese  of  Wilmington,  over  which  he  was  called  to  pre- 
side, embraces  the  State  of  Delaware  with  the  counties  of  Mary- 
land and  Virginia  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Chesapeake.  It 
contains  about  fifteen  thousand  Catholics,  who  have  twenty-nine 
churches,  attended  by  twenty-four  priests. 

On  the  26th  of  March,  1886,  Bishop  Becker  was  transfeiTed  to 
the  see  of  Savannah,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  promotion 
of  Dr.  Gross  to  the  archiepiscopal  chair  of  Oregon  City. 


DIOCESE  OF  DENVER. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  PROJECTUS  MACHEBCEUF,  D.D, 

Fwst  Vicar-Apostolic  of  Colorado  and  First  Bishop  of  Denver. 

Joseph  Projectur  MxVciiebceuf  was  born  at  Riora,  in  th( 
diocese  of  Clermont,  France,  on  the  llth  of  August,  1812,  and 
was  in  childhood  a  pupil  of  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools ; 
after  being  graduated  in  the  college  of  his  native  city  he  entered 
the  Sulpitian  seminary  at  Montferran,  where  he  mastered  phi- 
losophy, theology,  and  other  branches  of  ecclesiastical  learning. 
After  receiving  ordination  in  the  Advent  of  1836,  he  was  employed 
in  the  ministry  in  France  for  three  years,  but,  preferring  to  become 
a  missionary,  volunteered  with  Rev.  Mr.  Lamy,  now  Archbishop 
of  Santa  Fe,  to  accompany  Bishoj)  Purcell  to  his  diocese.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1840,  he  was  appointed  pastor  at  Sandusky,  Ohio, 
where  French  priests  had  reared  a  chapel  in  the  last  century. 
Here  he  remained  eleven  years,  developing  the  church  and  in. 
stitutions.  Having  been  invited  to  New  Mexico  by  Bishop 
Lamy,  then  vicar-apostolic  of  that  Territory,  he  reached  it  by  a 
laborious  route  through  New  Orleans  and  Texas.  As  vicar-gen- 
eral he  labored  earnestly  in  that  old  Catholic  field  till  1860, 
when  Bishop  Lamy  sent  him  to  Colorado,  where  a  new  popu- 
lation was  gathering.  Beginning  as  vicar-general  for  that  Terri- 
tory, Rev.  Mr.  Macheboeuf  maj^  be  said  to  have  created  all  that 
the  Church  has  there  to-day.  He  built  the  first  church  in  Denver, 
and  attended  Catholics  wherever  they  gathered,  till  other  priests 
came  to  assume  local  direction  of  the  churches  that  grew  up.  So 
rapidly  did  Catholicity  develop  in  the  Territory  that  in  1868  there 
were  seventeen  churches  or  chapels.     Denver  had  a  convent  of 

394 


DIOCESE   OF  DENVER. 


395 


Sisters  of  Loretto,  with  an  academy  and  a  school  for  boys.  Pope 
Pius  IX.  in  that  year  constituted  the  vicariate-apostolic  of 
Colorado,  extending  over  the  Territory  of  that  name,  and  also 
over  Utah.  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Macheboeuf,  having  been  appointed 
titular  Bishop  of  Epiphania,  was  consecrated  August  16,  1868,  in 
St.  Peter's  Cathedral.  He  has  lived  to  see  Denver  a  city  of  sev- 
enty-five thousand  inhabitants,  with  six  Catholic  churches,  with 
convents,  academy,  hospital,  asylum,  House  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, and  several  parochial  schools.  There  are  fifty-one  priests  in 
the  vicariate,  officiating  in  ninety-six  churches  and  chapels,  and 
the  Catholic  population  in  1884  was  nearly  fifty  thousand.  He 
died  July  9.  1889, 


DIOCESE  OF  SIOUX  FALLS,  S.  D. 
RIGHT  REV.   MARTIN   MARTY,   O.S.B., 

First  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Dakota  and  First  Bishop  of  Siomo  Falls. 

Martin  Marty  was  born  at  Scli\vyz,  in  Switzerland,  on  the 
12tli  of  January,  1834,  and,  entering  in  youth  the  great  Benedic- 
tine abbey  of  Einsiedlen,  made  his  profession  on  the  20th  of 
May,  1855.  The  young  monk  had  already  pursued  his  theo- 
logical studies  with  such  zeal  and  talent  that  the  next  year 
he  was  ordained,  on  the  14th  of  September.  A  colony  of  monks 
from  Einsiedlen  was  sent  to  Indiana  in  1854,  and  founded  St. 
Meinrad's.  Dom  Marty  arrived  in  1860  to  share  the  labors  of 
the  sons  of  St.  Benedict,  and  when  the  priory  was  established 
five  years  later  he  was  made  the  first  superior.  The  little  com- 
munity prospered,  receiving  postulants  who  persevered,  and  the 
mission  work  increasing.  Pope  Pius  IX.  in  1870  erected  St. 
Meinrad's  into  an  abbey,  constitutiug  the  Fathers  connected  with 
it  into  the  "  Helveto- American  Congregation,"  and  Right  Rev. 
Martin  Marty  was  made  mitred  abbot.  The  corner-stone  of  a 
new  monastery  was  laid  May  22,  1872.  Abbot  Marty  presided 
for  several  years,  perfecting  the  institutions  under  his  care,  and 
extending  the  missions,  erecting  churches,  and  fostering  educa- 
tion. But  he  had  always  desired  to  undertake  missions  among 
the  Indians,  and  at  last  he  went  with  some  Fathers  to  Dakota. 
The  work  there  gave  such  promising  hopes  that  he  resigned  liis 
dignity  of  abbot  to  devote  himself  to  it.  In  1879  the  Territory 
of  Dakota  was  formed  into  a  vicariate- apostolic  and  confided  to 
the  care  of  the  zealous  Benedictine,  who  was  consecrated  Bishop 
of  Tiberias  on  the  1st  of  February,  1880.  When  Bishop  Marty 
attended  the  Plenary  Council,  four  years  later,  there  were  nearly 
ninety  churches  and  fifty  priests  in  his  vicariate,  with  seven  In- 
dian missions  attended  by  his  clergy,  Benedictine,  Ursuline,  and 
Presentation  nuns,  with  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross  and  Youville 
Sisters  of  Charity  aiding  in  the  good  work. 

The  diocese  of  Sioux  Falls,  comprising  the  State  of  South 
Dakota,  was  established  in  1889. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  IDAHO. 


EIGHT  REV.  LOUIS  LOOTENS, 

First   Vicar- Apostolic. 

Louis  Lootens  was  born  at  Bruges,  in  Belgium,  about  1825, 
and  after  being  ordained  in  Europe,  about  1851,  came  to  the 
California  mission  some  six  or  seven  years  afterwards.  His  first 
labors  were  at  St.  Patrick's  Churcli,  Sonora;  but  in  1859  he 
assumed  charge  of  St.  Vincent's  Church  at  Petaluma  and  St. 
Raphael's  Church  in  Marin  County.  Here  he  labored  for  several 
years  with  great  zeal,  erecting  a  neat  church  at  San  Rafael,  and 
enlarging  the  academy  buildings  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

When  it  was  determined  to  erect  the  Territories  of  Idaho  and 
Montana  into  a  vicariate-apostolic.  Rev.  Mr.  Lootens  was  elected 
on  the  3d  of  March,  1868,  and  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Cas- 
tabala  on  the  9th  of  August.  It  was  within  the  limits  of  the 
vicariate  thus  created  that  Father  P.  J.  De  Smet,  S.J.,  had  erect- 
ed the  cross  at  the  Flathead  village  in  1840.  At  this  time  there 
were  missions  among  the  Flatheads,  Pend-d'oreilles,  Coeur  d'Al- 
enes,  and  Nez  Perces,  with  schools  and  hospitals  under  Sisters  of 
Providence,  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Names. 
There  were  also  churches  at  Idaho  City,  Placerville,  Centreville, 
Pioneer,  and  Silver  City.  Under  the  impulse  of  Bishop  Lootens 
churches  rose  at  Granite  and  Deer  Lodc^e.  The  firrowth  of  the 
vicariate  was,  however,  slow,  and  the  difficulties  very  great,  while 
the  resources  were  most  precarious.  The  vicar-apostolic  labored 
for  some  years  till  his  severe  mission  duties  incapacitated  him, 

399 


400  THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  he  resigned  his  office  July  19,  1876,  and  it  was  more  than 
eight  years  before  a  successor  was  appointed,  the  vicariate  being 
administered  by  the  archbishops  of  Oregon.  Bishop  Lootens 
has  since  lived  in  truly  apostolic  poverty — a  poor  return  for  the 
zealous  labors  of  his  early  manhood  on  the  American  missions. 


RIGHT  REV.  A.  J.  GLORIEUX, 

Second  Vicar- Apostolic. 

A.  J.  Gloeieux  was  born  on  the  first  of  February,  1844,  at  Dot- 
tignies,  in  the  Belgian  province  of  West  Flanders,  being  the  son 
of  Auguste  and  Lucy  (Vanderghinste)  Glorieux.  After  a  college 
course  of  six  years  at  Courtrai  he  entered  the  American  College 
at  Lou  vain  to  study  for  the  priesthood,  with  the  view  of  devot- 
ing himself  to  the  missions  in  this  country.  On  completing  his 
divinity  studies  he  was  ordained  in  Mechlin  by  His  Eminence 
Engelbert  Cardinal  Sterckx  on  the  17th  of  August,  1867.  Before 
the  close  of  the  year  he  was  in  Oregon  to  begin  the  mission  work. 
He  was  first  appointed  to  Roseburg,  in  Douglas  County,  attend- 
ing several  dependent  stations.  From  this  charge  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Oregon  City  and  then  to  St.  Paul,  in  French  prairie, 
the  cradle  of  Catholicity  in  Oregon.  In  1871  he  was  made  presi- 
dent of  St.  Michael's  College,  Portland,  and  discharged  the  duties 
of  his  position  so  ably  that  in  1884  he  was  appointed  vicar- 
apostolic  of  Idaho,  the  Catholic  interests  in  that  Territory  having 
since  the  retirement  of  Bishop  Lootens  been  under  the  care  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Oregon  as  administrator.  The  total  Catholic 
population  in  1884  was  estimated  at  2,300,  eight  hundred  being 
Nez  Perce  and  Cceur  d'Alene  Indians.  Bishop  Glorieux  was 
consecrated  in  Baltimore,  in  April,  1885. 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  NORTHERN  MINNESOTA. 


RIGHT  REV.  RUPERT  SEIDENBUSH,  O.S.B., 

F'irst  Vicar-Apostolic. 

RuPEET  Seidenbush  was  born  on  the  30th  of  October,  1830, 
at  Munich,  in  Bavaria,  and  came  to  America  in  1851.  On  the 
6th  of  January  in  the  following  year  he  made  his  profession  as  a 
monk  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  in  St.  Vincent's  Abbey,  West- 
moreland County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the 
2 2d  of  June,  1853.  He  was  employed  on  missionary  duty  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and 
when  the  monastery  of  St.  Louis  on  the  Lake,  now  called  St. 
John's,  was  erected  into  an  abbey  in  1867  he  was  appointed 
first  abbot.  While  at  the  head  of  that  religious  house  he  was 
chosen  to  organize  the  newly-created  vicariate-apostolic  of  North- 
ern  Minnesota,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Halia 
on  the  30th  of  May,  1875.  Under  his  care  religion  has  pro- 
gressed. Northern  Minnesota,  with  a  Catholic  population  of 
about  32,000  Catholics,  had  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1885  sixty 
priests,  eighty-six  churches  and  chapels,  an  abbey,  eight  con- 
vents, a  college,  an  academy,  and  several  schools,  as  well  as  In- 
dian missions. 


401 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  ARIZONA. 


EIGHT  EEV.  P.  BOURGADE,  D.D. 

Bishop  Bourgade  as  second  vicar-apostolic  of  Arizona  now 
directs  the  Churcli  in  tlie  district  first  evangelized  by  the  famous 
German  Jesuit  Kiihn,  and  other  Fathers  of  his  order,  whose  labor 
the  sons  of  St.  Francis  continued.  He  was  born  in  the  Department 
of  Puy-de-D6me,  France,  October  17,  1845,  and  after  proceeding 
from  the  school  of  the  Christian  Brothers  entered  the  College  of 
Billom.  There  the  young  man  felt  called  to  the  priesthood,  and, 
entering  the  Grand  Seminaire,  was  trained  for  the  awful  respon- 
sibility of  the  ministry  by  the  Sulpitians.  As  his  fifth  year  of 
severe  study  was  di"awing  to  a  close,  the  present  Archbishop  Sal- 
pointe  of  Santa  Fe,  who  had  just  been  apjwinted  vicar-apostolic 
of  Arizona,  visited  France  to  receive  episcopal  consecration,  and 
appeal  to  the  candidates  for  the  priesthood  for  volunteers  to  aid 
him  in  the  work  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  there  being  only 
two  priests  in  his  district. 

Young  Bourgade  at  once  felt  impelled  to  go,  his  confessor 
approved  his  inclination,  and,  having  already  received  deacon's 
orders,  he  set  out  with  Bishop  Salpointe,  and  reached  Tucson  in 
June,  1870. 

Having  been  ordained  priest  on  the  last  day  of  November,  he 
began  his  mission  work  at  Yuma,  in  May,  1870,  but  in  the  summer 
of  1873  his  health  was  so  shattered  that  he  returned  to  France  to 
recruit.  In  1875  he  was  again  in  the  vicariate,  and  was  assigned 
by  the  bishop  to  the  mission  of  San  Elzeario,  Texas,  and  after 
six  years'  hard  labor  there  was  sent  to  Silver  City,  Colorado,  the 
vicariate  of  Arizona  comprising  not  only  the  Territory  of  that 
name,  but  parts  of  the  adjacent  State  and  Territory. 

While  here  zealously  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  souls  he 
was,  on  the  23d  of  January,  1885,  appointed  Vicar- Apostolic  of 
Arizona,  and  was  consecrated  titular  Bishop  of  Taumaco  by 
Archbishop  Lamy,  in  the  cathedral  at  Santa  Fe,  May  1,  1885. 


TICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  NORTH  CAROLIM. 


EIGHT  EEV.  LEO  HAID,  O.S.B., 

Vicar- Apostolic  of  North  Carolina. 

The  Right  Rev.  Leo  Haid  was  born  in  Westmoreland  County, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  15th  of  July,  1849,  and  was  educated  at  the 
Benedictine  Abbey  of  St.  Vincent,  in  that  county.  Feeling  a  vo- 
cation to  the  religious  life,  he  sought  admission  into  the  ancient 
order,  and,  after  a  fervent  novitiate,  entered  on  his  studies,  and  was 
ordained  priest  December  21,  1872.  He  was  then  employed  in  the 
Abbey  as  professor  and  director  of  souls,  and  acquired  such 
general  esteem  that  when  the  monastery  in  North  Carolina  was 
erected  into  an  abbey  he  was  elected  to  preside  over  it,  and  was 
consecrated  Abbot  in  the  cathedi-al  of  Charleston  on  the  26th  of 
November,  1885. 

As  superior  of  the  religious  house  and  a  zealous  missionary  in 
North  Carolina,  he  displayed  so  much  prudence  and  zeal  that  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  elected  him  to  fill  the  position  of  Vicar- Apostolic 
of  North  Carolina. 

This  vicariate,  at  the  present  time  (1891),  contains  15  priests 
and  10  seminarians,  24  churches  and  28  chapels  and  stations,  1 
seminary,  1  college,  2  academies  and  13  parochial  schools,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  3,000. 


YICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  UTAH. 


EIGHT  KEV.  LAURENCE  SCANLAN,  D.D. 

The  progress  of  the  Church  in  the  Territory  of  Utah  amid  the 
Mormons,  where  no  Protestiint  denomination  seemed  able  to  do  the 
least  thing  to  stem  the  prevailing  vices,  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able events  in  the  history  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States.  Its 
growth  is  due  mainly  to  the  first  vicar-apostolic  of  that  Territoiy. 

Laurence  Scanlan,  who  was  born  in  the  County  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, in  1843,  after  pursuing  classical  studies  at  Thurles,  entered 
All-Hallows,  the  great  missionary  college  in  Ireland,  in  1863.  He 
was  ordained  in  1868  for  the  diocese  of  San  Francisco,  and  at  once 
placed  himself  at  the  disposal  of  Archbishop  Alemany.  He  was 
made  assistant  at  St.  Patrick's  Church,  San  Francisco.  The  first 
mission  assigned  him  was  the  mining  town  of  Pioche,  in  Nevada, 
where  he  began  his  work  in  1871,  and  succeeded  in  erecting  a  neat 
little  church.  Two  years  afterwards  he  was  sent  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
w^here  the  few  Catholics  had  raised  a  small  church,  but  not  without 
incuiTing  heavy  debt.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Scanlan  set  to  work  witli 
energy  ;  the  debt  was  soon  cleared,  although  his  parish  was  the  Ter- 
ritory, and  he  was  almost  constantly  travelling  on  horseback,  seek- 
ing out  the  scattered  Catholics.  Then  he  obtained  ground  at  Salt 
Lake  City  for  an  educational  establishment,  and  by  the  close  of 
1875  had  a  fine  edifice,  in  which  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross 
opened  St.  Mary's  Academy,  and  these  religious  soon  established  a 
hospital.  Then  under  his  impulse  other  churches  arose — St.  Jo- 
seph's, at  Ogden,  in  1878,  with  its  academy;  St.  Patrick's,  at 
Frisco,  in  the  following  year ;  then  St.  John's,  at  Silver  Reef.  A 
few  years  later  Park  City  had  its  Church  of  the  Assumption.  Silv^er 
Reef  soon  had  a  hospital  under  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Cross.  A 
college,  under  the  name  of  All-Hallows,  was  erected  by  him  at  Salt 
Lake  City  in  1886. 

The  Territoiy  of  Utah  had  been  placed  only  for  a  season  under 
the  care  of  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  and  it  had  now  be- 


404 


VICARIATE-APOSTOLIC  OF  UTAH. 


405 


come  evident  that  it  could  be  formed  in  a  separate  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction,  and  Providence  seems  to  have  dii-ected  the  choice  of 
the  vicar-apostolic.  The  unassuming  priest  who  had  accomplished 
so  much  and  won  the  general  esteem  of  all  classes  was  selected  for 
the  Vicariate- Apostolic  of  Utah,  which  had  been  erected  by  Pope 
Leo  XIII.  on  the  22d  of  November,  1886.  He  was  consecrated  on 
the  29th  of  June,  1887,  Bishop  of  Lavanden.  The  vicariate  con- 
fided  to  him  embi'aces  not  only  the  Territory  of  Utah,  but  also  the 
counties  of  Elko,  Lander,  White  Pine,  N}' e.  Eureka,  and  Lincoln 
in  the  State  of  Nevada.  It  then  contained  eleven  churches,  a  col- 
lege, tw^o  academies,  five  schools,  and  two  hospitals. 

On  January  27,  1891,  it  was  erected  into  a  diocese,  the  Right 
Rev.  Dr.  Scanlan  becomiug  its  first  Bishop.  It  contained,  in  1893, 
17  churches  and  chapels,  1  college,  2  academies,  6  schools,  and  2 
hospitals. 


DIOCESE  OF  SYRACUSE. 


EIGHT  REV.  PATRICK  A.  LUDDEN,  D.D., 

First  Bishop  of  Syracuse. 

In  the  memory  of  many,  New  York  State  and  northern  New 
Jersey  formed  a  diocese ;  but  as  churches  and  congregations  sprang 
up,  one  diocese  after  another  was  set  off — Albany  and  Buffalo  in 
1847;  Brooklyn  and  Newark  in  1853;  Rochester  in  1868 ;  Og- 
densburg  in  1872.  In  1887  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  divide  the 
diocese  of  Albany ;  and  the  counties  of  Broome,  Chenango,  Cort- 
land, Madison,  Oneida,  Onondaga,  and  Oswego  were  erected  into  a 
diocese.  Strangely  enough,  nearly  a  century  before  there  had  been 
a  curious  scheme  to  have  the  Oneida  country  erected  into  a  bishop- 
ric. The  new  diocese  is  one  of  importance,  containing  seventy- 
three  churches  and  seventy-seven  priests.  As  its  bishop  the  Sove^ 
reign  Pontiff  selected  a  priest  of  great  experience,  who  had  for 
several  years  been  vicar-general  of  Albany. 

The  Right  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Ludden  was  born  of  a  pious  family 
near  Castlebar,  in  the  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1836. 
His  early  studies  were  pursued  in  the  academy  of  his  native  town, 
but,  seeking  to  devote  his  life  to  the  service  of  the  Church  in  this 
country,  the  year  1860  saw  him  entering  the  College  of  Montreal, 
where  he  made  his  course  of  philosophy  under  the  present  Bishop 
of  Trenton,  Dr.  O'Farrell.  He  then  entered  the  Great  or  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  where  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  have  trained  so 
many  to  serve  at  the  altar.  He  was  ordained  priest  on  the  21st  of 
May,  1864,  by  the  saintly  Bishop  Bourget.  On  reaching  Albany 
he  was  appointed  by  Bishop  McCloskey  assistant  to  Rev.  J.  J. 
Conroy  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  but  was  soon  transferred  to  the 
cathedral.  On  the  accession  of  Dr.  Conroy  to  the  see  of  Albany 
the  Rev.  Mi*.  Luddeu  was  selected  as  chancellor  and  secretary  of 

406 


DIOCESE  OF  SYRACUSE.  407 

the  diocese.  In  October,  1869,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ludden  accompanied 
his  bishop  to  Rome,  and  remained  there  till  the  sessions  of  the 
Council  of  the  Vatican  were  terminated.  When  Rev.  Mr.  Wad- 
hams  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg,  in  1872,  the  Rev. 
Patrick  A.  liudden  became  rector  of  the  cathedral,  and  was  shortly 
after  made  vicar-general.  After  sixteen  years'  labor  in  Albany, 
where  his  energy  and  zeal  had  been  displayed,  he  became  rector  of 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  Troy,  and  was  still  directing  that  parish  when 
he  was  elected  Bishop  of  Syracuse  by  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII., 
being  the  choice  alike  of  bishops  and  clergy.  He  was  consecrated 
in  the  Church  of  the  Assumption,  in  Syracuse,  on  the  first  day  of 
May,  1887,  by  His  Grace  Archbishop  Corrigan,  of  New  York,  as- 
sisted by  the  venerable  Bishops  Loughlin,  of  Brooklyn,  and  Mc- 
Neirny,  of  Albany,  the  sermon  being  delivered  by  his  former  pro- 
fessor, Right  Rev.  Michael  J.  O'Farrell,  of  Trenton ;  ten  archbishops 
and  bishops  from  Canada,  New  York,  New  Hampshire,  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  adding  lus- 
tre to  the  ceremony  by  their  presence  in  the  sanctuary.  One  of  the 
first  steps  of  Bishop  Ludden  was  to  hold  a  synod  and  adopt  regu- 
lations for  the  diocese  confided  to  his  charge. 

This  diocese  showed  the  effect  o^  the  earnest  labor  and  zeal  of 
Bishop  Ludden  in  the  following  summary  for  1801:  76  priests, 
80  churches,  62  chapels  and  stations,  10  academies,  15  parochial 
schools  with  4,001  pupils,  and  a  Catbolic  population  of  100,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  WICHITA. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  O'REILLEX 

Bishop-Elect. 

The  diocese  of  Leavenworth  had  increased  so  much  in  popu- 
lation that  in  1887  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  Leo  XIIL,  erected  two 
new  episcopal  sees  in  the  State  of  Kansas,  that  of  Concoraia  in  the 
northwest,  and  Wichita  in  the  south.  To  the  diocese  <  'f  Wichita 
were  assigned  the  following  counties ;  Greely,  Wichita,  Scott,  Lane, 
Ness,  Rush,  Barton,  Rice,  McPherson,  Hamilton,  Finney,  Seward, 
Hodgeman,  Ford,  Pawnee,  Edwards,  Comanche,  Stafford,  Pratt, 
Barber,  Reno,  Kingman,  Harper,  Harvey,  Sedgwick,  Sumner,  Stan- 
ton, Gray,  Meade,  Stevens,  Grant,  Morton,  Haskel,  Clarke,  Kiowa, 
Kearney,  and  Gai'field. 

The  choice  for  the  first  bishop  of  the  new  see  fell  on  the  Rev. 
James  O'Reilley,  an  active  and  energetic  priest.  H6  was  born  not 
far  from  Cavan,  Ireland,  where  his  parents  were  substantial  far. 
mers.  Coming  in  boyhood  to  the  United  States,  he  evinced  a 
vocation  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  and,  persevering,  pursued  his 
course  of  theology  in  the  Salesianum  at  Milwaukee.  He  was  or- 
dained priest  by  Bishop  Fink,  of  Leavenworth,  in  1874,  and  sta- 
tioned at  Irish  Creek.  The  bishop,  however,  soon  called  him  to 
Leavenworth,  making  him  assistant  at  the  cathedral,  and  confiding 
to  him  the  charge  of  Fort  Leavenworth  and  Kickapoo.  Never 
sparing  himself,  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Reilley  labored  with  so  much 
zeal  and  earnestness  that  his  health  failed,  and  he  went  to  Europe 
in  1881,  visiting  the  Eternal  City.  Returning  to  the  diocese,  he 
took  charge  of  the  Church  of  the  Assumption  at  Topeka  in  March, 
1882.  Here  he  went  to  work  with  his  wonted  energy,  acquired 
property  for  two  new  churches,  of  which  he  saw  the  necessity,  and 
built   a  parochial  residence. 

408 


DIOCESE  OF  WICHITA.  409 

On  the  erection  of  the  see  of  Wichita  he  was  appointed  the 
first  bishop  on  the  6th  of  July,  1887,  but  before  the  bulls  for  his 
consecration  arrived  his  health  again  gave  way,  and  he  expii'ed  on 
the  26th  day  in  the  same  month  in  which  he  was  appointed. 


RIGHT  REV.  J.  J.  HENNESSY,  D.D., 
Fio'st  Bishop  of  Wichita. 

On  the  demise  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  James  O'Reilley,  unconse- 
crated,  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  an  administrator  till  a 
bishop  was  elected.  The  organization  of  the  new  diocese  thus 
devolved  on  Very  Rev.  M.  J.  Casey,  who  was  made  admin- 
istrator on  the  15th  of  October. 

,In  the  summer  of  1888  His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII.,  elected  to 
the  see  of  Wichita  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Hennessy,  a  priest  of  the 
diocese  of  St.  Louis.  He  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  lost  his 
father  in  early  life.  He  was  educated  in  the  College  of  the 
Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools,  on  Cerre  Street,  St.  Louis,  and, 
after  commencing  his  classical  studies  there,  proceeded  to  Cape 
Girardeau,  where  he  completed  his  coui'se  of  philosophy  and 
theology.  He  was  ordained  at  St.  John's  Church,  St.  Louis.  He 
soon  after  became  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, at  Iron  Mountain,  where  he  remained  until  1880,  when  he 
returned  to  St.  Louis  and  became  j^astor  of  the  Cathedral,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  retained  till  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopate.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  schools,  and  was  especially  instnimental  in 
establishing  the  Reform  School  at  Glencoe,  editing  a  little  journal 
called  The  Homeless  Boy.  The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his 
brother-priests  was  seen  in  his  choice  as  Treasurer  of  the  Clerical 
Mutual  Aid  Society,  and  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  St. 
Louis  Orphans'  Board.  Dr.  Hennessy  is  a  man  of  great  and 
varied-  learning,  an  able  wnter,  and  well  fitted  by  his  piety, 
urbanity,  and  skill  in  the  management  of  affairs  to  build  up  the 
new  diocese. 


DIOCESE  OF  DENVER. 

(See  Y.  a.  of  Colorado,  p.  394.) 


EIGHT  EEV.  NICHOLAS  C.  MATZ,  D.D, 

Coadjiitor- Bishop  of  Denver. 

Catholicity  had  been  built  up  by  Bishop  MacheboBuf  in  Col. 
orado,  and  in  1887  the  see  of  Denver  was  erected;  but  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  give  him  a  coadjutor,  as  he  desii'ed.  The  choice 
fell  on  the  Rev.  Nicholas  C.  Matz,  a  young  and  energetic  priest, 
well  fitted  to  aid  the  founder  of  Catholicity  in  Colorado  and  con- 
tinue his  work.  The  Rev.  Nicholas  C.  Matz  was  born  at 
Miinster,  in  Alsace  Lorraine,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1850,  and  in  his 
fifteenth  year  was  admitted  into  the  Preparatory  Seminary  at 
Finstingen.  Here  he  began  his  classical  course;  but  as  he  looked 
upon  this  countiy  as  the  field  where  Providence  wished  him  to 
labor,  he  came  over  in  1868  and  entered  the  Seminary  of  St. 
Mary's  of  the  West  at  Cincinnati,  where  he  attracted  attention  by 
pious  and  studious  habits.  Having  been  accepted  by  Bishop 
Macheboeuf,  he  went  to  Denver  at  the  close  of  his  studies,  and  was 
ordained  priest  in  the  cathedral  of  that  city  on  Trinity  Sunday, 
1874.  Three  years'  service  in  the  cathedral,  under  the  eyes  of  his 
bishop,  convinced  Dr.  Macheboeuf  of  his  zeal  and  ability,  and  the 
parish  of  Georgetown  was  confided  to  him.  Here  he  erected  a 
church,  school,  and  hospital,  and  won  golden  opinions  from  all.  In 
1885  he  took  charge  of  St.  Anne's  Church,  East  Denver ;  and 
from  this  position  he  was  recalled  to  the  cathedral  by  his  ap 
pointment  as  coadjutor.  "  His  piety  and  prudence,  energy  and 
learning,  admirably  fit  him  for  the  episcopal  dignity."  During  his 
pastorship  of  St.  Anne's  the  church  was  burned,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Matz 
was  laboring  to  repair  the  disaster  when  he  was  made  coadjutor. 
He  was  consecrated  in  the  cathedral  at  Denver  on  the  28th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1887,  by  Archbishop  Salpointe,  of  Santa  Fe. 

410 


DIOCESE  OF  CHEYENNE. 


RIGHT  REV.  MAURICE  F.  BURKE,  D.D., 

First  Bishop  of  Cheyenne. 

In  the  constant  and  rapid  growth  of  the  West,  Wyoming  Terri 
tory  saw  Catholic  churches  springing  up,  and  in  1887  the  time  had 
arrived  when  a  bishop  was  needed  to  organizfc  the  work  of  Catholi- 
city, and  give  that  energy  to  the  creation  of  public  institutions 
which  only  the  presence  of  a  bishop  can  call  forth.  Pope  Leo  XIII., 
in  the  year  of  his  sacerdotal  Jubilee,  erected  Wyoming  Territory 
into  a  diocese  on  the  9th  of  August,  1887.  The  e23iscopal  see  was 
fixed  at  Cheyenne,  in  Laramie  County,  a  growing  city  already  pos- 
sessing a  fine  church,  an  academy  of  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Child  Jesus, 
and  a  parochial  school.  To  guide  the  new  flock  thus  selected  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  elected  the  Rev.  Maurice  F.  Burke,  an  active  and 
energetic  priest  of  the  diocese  of  Chicago.  He  was  born  in  Ireland, 
May  5,  1845,  but  when  a  child  was  brought  to  this  country  by  his 
parents,  who  fixed  their  home  in  Chicago.  There  young  Maurice 
received  his  rudimentary  education,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
entered  the  university  of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Lake.  He  had  chosen 
the  house  of  the  Lord  for  his  inheritance,  and,  having  been  accept- 
ed as  a  student,  was  sent  to  the  American  College  at  Rome,  where, 
after  a  thorough  course  extending  over  nine  years,  he  was  ordained 
by  Cardinal  Patrizi  on  the  22d  of  May,  1875. 

On  his  return  to  his  diocese  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  St. 
Mary's  Church,  Chicago,  as  assistant  priest.  On  the  24th  of  July, 
1878,  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Mary's  parish,  Joliet,  and  by  his 
energy  and  zeal  erected  a  veiy  fine  church  and  parochial  schools, 
confiding  the  care  of  the  young  to  the  Sisters  of  Loretto.  The  evi- 
dent ability  of  devoted  priest  marked  him  as  one  to  whom  impor- 
tant duties  would  be  confided.  When  the  diocese  of  Cheyenne  was 
erected  the  choice  fell  upon  him,  and  he  was  consecrated  bishop  on 

411 


412 


THE  CATHOLIC  HIERARCHY  Il!i  THE  UNITEX   STATES. 


the  28tli  of  October,  1887,  at  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Name, 
Chicago,  by  Archbishop  Feehan,  assisted  by  Bishops  McCloskey, 
of  Louisville,  and  Cosgrove,  of  Davenport.  Plis  diocese  is  one  in 
which  preparation  is  to  be  made  for  an  incoming  population ;  it 
contains  now  about  4,500  white  and  8,500  Indian  Catholics,  at- 
tended by  (1801)  9  priests,  with  13  churches  and  chapels;  also 
43  missions,  1  academy,  1  Indian  school  and  2  parochial  schools, 
with  580  students  in  all. 


DIOCESE  OF  LINCOLN. 


RIGHT  REV.   THOMAS  BONACUM, 

First  Bisliop  of  Lincoln. 

The  diocese  of  Omaha,  on  the  erection  of  the  see,  embraced  the 
State  of  Nebraska  and  the  Territory  of  Wyoming.  In  1887  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Pope  Leo  XHL,  not  only  detached  Wyoming, 
which  became  a  separate  diocese,  but  also  divided  Nebraska,  erect- 
ing a  see  at  Lincoln,  the  capital  of  the  State,  on  the  2d  of  August. 
To  the  new  diocese,  which  comprises  all  south  of  the  Platte  River, 
he  appointed  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bonacum,  born  near  Thurles,  in 
the  County  Tipperary,  Ireland.  While  still  an  infant  his  parents 
came  to  America  and  settled  in  St.  Louis,  where  their  son  grew  up. 
As  he  evinced  a  desire  to  become  a  priest,  he  was  sent  to  the 
Salesianum,  near  Milwaukee,  and  in  that  institution  and  the 
Lazarist  Seminary  at  Cape  Girardeau  he  made  his  course  of  study. 
He  was  ordained  priest  in  St.  Mary's  Church,  St.  Louis,  by  Right 
Rev.  Joseph  Melcher,  first  Bishop  of  Green  Bay,  on  the  18th  of 
June,  1870.  He  at  once  entered  on  the  active  work  of  the  min- 
istry as  assistant  at  St.  Joseph's  Church,  Edina. 

Desirous,  however,  of  perfecting  his  knowledge  of  theological 
sciences,  he  went  to  Europe  and  followed  the  lectures  at  the 
University  of  Wiirzburg.  With  his  mind  stored  with  sound  learn- 
ing, he  returned  with  fresh  vigor  to  his  priestly  labors  at  St.  Ste- 
phen's Church,  Indian  Creek ;  St.  Peter's,  Rolla,  and  St.  Peter's, 
Kirkwood ;  and  being  appointed  pastor  of  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Name,  St.  Louis,  showed  great  ability.  He  was  theologian  to 
Archbishop  Kenrick  at  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 
His  sound  learning,  executive  ability,  piety,  and  zeal  had  already 
induced  his  being  proposed  for  the  see  of  Belleville,  Illinois,  but 
he  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Lincoln  and  consecrated  on  the 
30th  of  November,  1887. 

413 


DIOCESE  OE  CONCORDIA. 


RIGHT  REV.  RICHARD  SCANNELL,  D.U., 
First  Bishop  of  Concordia  and  Second  Bishop  of  Omaha. 

When  Catholicity  Lad  so  spread  through  the  State  of  Kansas 
in  its  days  of  peace  as  to  number  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
churches,  attended  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  priests,  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff,  Leo  XIIL,  determined  to  divide  the  diocese  of 
Leavenworth.  The  counties  of  Cloud,  Republic,  Ottawa,  Saline, 
Jewell,  Mitchell,  Lincoln,  Ellsworth,  Smith,  Osborn,  Phillips, 
Rooks,  Ellis,  Norton,  Graham,  Trego,  Decatur,  Sheridan,  Gove 
Rawlins,  Thomas,  Logan,  Cheyenne,  Sherman,  and  Wallace,  all  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  State,  were  formed  into  the  new  dio- 
cese of  Concordia.  As  its  bishop  was  selected  a  priest  who  had 
labored  long  in  the  hard  missions  of  Tennessee,  and  who  had  dis- 
played ability  in  many  positions. 

The  Right  Rev.  Richard  Scannell  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Cloyne,  County  Cork,  Ireland,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1845,  of  Patrick 
and  Johanna  (Collins)  Scannell.  He  attended  the  school  in  his 
native  place  till  he  was  fifteen,  when  he  went  to  Midleton,  the 
town  in  which  Curran  was  educated.  Here  he  pursued  a  classical 
course  under  Patrick  Riordan,  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College.  He 
lost  his  mother  when  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  but  the  Y^ety 
inherent  in  the  family  inspired  him  with  the  desire  to  become  a 
priest,  and  he  entered  All  Hallows'  College,  Dublin,  in  1866,  where 
he  had  as  fellow-students  Bishop  Scanlan,  of  Utah,  and  Bishop 
O'Reilly,  of  Port  Augustus.  After  passing  through  his  course  of 
philosophy  and  theology,  he  was  ordained  priest  on  the  26th  of 
February,  1871,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Jolin  Francis  Whelan,  Bisbop 
of  Aureliopolis  and  Yicar-Apostolic  of  Bombay.  Having  been 
accepted  for  the  diocese  of  Nashville,  the  young  priest  came  to 
this  country  and  arrived  in  that  city  in  1871.     He  was  assigned 

414 


DIOCESE   OF   CONCORDIA.  415 

to  duty  in  the  cathedral  as  assistant,  and  labored  there  till  1878, 
when  he  was  appointed  rector  of  St.  Columba's  Church  in  East 
Nashville,  taking  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Michael  Meagher,  who 
died  that  year  as  a  martyr  of  charity  while  attending  the  Catho- 
lics at  Memphis  who  were  dyiug  of  yellow  fever.  The  next  year 
he  was  recalled  to  Nashville  to  become  rector  of  the  cathedral. 
When  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Feehan  was  promoted  to  the  see  of 
Chicago,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Scannell  was  appointed  administrator,  sede 
vacante^  and  governed  the  diocese  till  the  consecration  of  Bishop 
Rademacher  in  June,  1883.  He  then  visited  Europe  to  recruit 
his  health,  which  was  seriously  impaii*ed.  In  1885  the  bishop 
entrusted  him  with  the  organization  of  a  new  parish  in  West 
Nashville.  Here  the  active  priest  soon  reared  a  fine  church  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Joseph.  In  August,  1886,  he  became  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese.  This  able,  laborious,  and  experienced  priest  was 
elected  in  July,  1887,  to  the  see  of  Concordia,  and  his  bulls  were 
issued  on  the  9th  of  August.  He  was  consecrated  in  the  church 
which  he  had  erected,  on  the  30th  of  November,  by  His  Grace 
Archbishop  Feehan,  assisted  by  Bishop  McCloskey,  of  Louisville, 
and  Bishop  Rademacher,  of  Nashville.  The  sermon  was  pro- 
nounced by  His  Grace  Archbishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati.  The 
bishops  of  Fort  Wayne,  Covington,  and  Mobile  were  also  present. 
The  diocese  which  he  proceeded  to  govern  had  a  nucleus  of  about 
twenty  priests  and  thirty  churches. 

He  was  transferred  to  the  diocese  of  Omaha  in  December,  1890, 
leaving  in  his  former  diocese  22  priests  and  10  ecclesiastical  stu- 
dents, 48  churches  and  27  stations,  10  parochial  schools  with  1,000 
pupils,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  15,000. 


DIOCESE  OF  BELLEVILLE. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  JANSSEN,  D.D., 

First  Bishop  of  Belleville. 

The  progress  of  the  Church  in  Illinois  has  been  so  rapid  that 
in  1887  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  solicit  the  division  of  the  dio- 
cese of  Alton  into  two  bishoprics.  Accordingly,  at  the  request 
of  the  CoDgregatioD  "  de  Propaganda  Fide,"  His  Holiness  Pope 
Leo  XIH.  formed  the  southern  portion  with  the  episcopal  see  at 
Belleville.  It  includes  all  the  portion  of  Illinois  lying  south  of 
the  boundary  line  between  St.  Clair  and  Madison  Counties, 
extended  across  the  State. 

To  fill  tlie  see  thus  erected,  Pope  Leo  XIII.  elected  the  Very 
Rev.  J.  Janssen,  a  priest  of  experience  and  ability,  who  had,  since 
the  death  of  Bishop  Baltes,  administered  the  diocese  of  Alton, 
and  who  was  known  and  esteemed  by  the  clergy  and  people  of 
the  portion  now  formed  into  the  diocese  of  Belleville. 

John  Janssen  was  born  at  Keppelen,  on  the  Rhine,  March  3, 
1835.  His  early  piety  led  him  to  look  forward  to  the  service  of 
God  and  his  Church  as  the  work  of  his  life.  After  pursuing  his 
classical  course  he  was  received  as  a  student  for  the  priesthood 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  diocese  of  Miinster.  In  1858 
the  institution  was  visited  by  Bishop  Juncker,  of  Alton,  who  made 
known  to  tbe  young  candidates  the  wants  of  his  diocese,  and 
especially  the  want  of  zealous  priests.  Young  Janssen  offered  his 
services  to  the  American  bishop,  who  readily  accepted  the  earnest 
seminarian.  He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1858,  and  was  or- 
dained on  the  19th  of  November  in  that  year.  His  first  field  of 
labor  was  at  Springfield,  111.,  where  he  showed  himself  an  earnest, 
active,  and  devoted  priest.  He  was  next  recalled  to  Alton,  where 
he  became  secretary  to  the  bishop,  and  discharged  the  duties  of 
"ihat  office  during  the  administration  of  Bishop  Juncker,  while 
doing  parochial  work  at  the  cathedral. 

When  Bishop  Baltes  assumed  the  mitre  of  Alton  in  1870  he 
appointed  Rev.  Mr.  Janssen  his  vicar-general,  and  he  continued 

416 


DIOCESE  OF  BELLEVILLE.  417 

his  labors  in  the  cathedral  parish,  which  was  his  especial  field,  till 
\iis  appointment  to  the  see  of  Belleville,  except  a  period  of  two 
years,  1877  to  1879,  when  he  was  pastor  of  St.  Bonifacius'  Church 
at  Quincy. 

He  visited  Europe  in  1880  to  attend  the  golden  wedding  of  his 
parents,  and  in  1883  celebrated  the  silver  jubilee  of  his  own  ordina- 
tion. Known  as  a  good  and  laborious  priest,  familiar  with  all  parts 
of  the  diocese  of  Alton,  he  takes  possession  of  the  see  of  Belleville 
with  the  esteem  of  priests  and  people,  and  fully  able  to  build  up 
a  new  diocese. 

This  young  and  promising  diocese  shows  this  gratifying  sum- 
mary for  1891 :  ^o  priests  and  19  ecclesiastical  students,  87 
churches  and  9  chapels,  55  parochial  schools  with  5,810  pupils, 
3  academies  and  3  hospitals,  1  orphan  asylum,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  about  50,000. 


EIGHT  REV.  JOHN  SHANLEY, 

Fii'st  BisJioy  of  Jamestown. 

John  Shanley  was  born  in  Albion,  N.  Y.,  in  1852.  His 
parents  removed  to  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  in  1857,  and  the  youth  re- 
ceived his  elementary  education  in  that  city.  Having  manifested 
a  vocation  for  the  priesthood,  he  was  sent  to  Rome  in  1869,  and 
began  his  theological  studies  at  the  Propaganda.  In  May, 
1874,  he  was  ordained  a  priest  by  Cardinal  Patrizi,  and  shortly 
afterward  he  returned  to  St.  Paul,  and  was  stationed  at  the 
Cathedral.  In  1875  he  was  appointed  pastor,  relieving  Father 
(now  Archbishop)  Ireland.  During  his  pastorate,  Father  Shanley 
organized  numerous  societies  and  sodalities ;  and  in  the  cause  of 
temperance  he  stood  by  the  side  of  Archbishop  Ireland  in  the  ad- 
vocacy of  total  abstinence.  He  erected  a  splendid  parochial 
school  for  boys,  and  notably  advanced  the  cause  of  education  and 
temperance  in  his  parish. 

Father  Shanley  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Jamestown,  December  27,  1889,  by  Archbishop  Ireland,  in  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  assisted  by  Archbishop  Grace.  Arch- 
bishop Heiss  of  Milwaukee,  and  Bishops  Marty  of  Sioux  Falls, 
Flasch  of  La  Crosse,  Brondel  of  Helena,  and  Hennessy  of  Du- 
buque, and  a  large  number  of  clergy  were  present  at  the  cere- 
monies. 

The  diocese  of  Jamestown  contained,  in  1893,  31  priests,  54 
churches,  86  stations,  3  academies,  1  hospital,  and  11  parochial 
schools. 


[THE  FOLLOWING  BISHOPS  HAYING  BEEN  APPOINTED  TO  VACANT  SEES  SINCE  THE 
PUBLICA  TION  OF  THE  FIEST  EDITION  ARE  FOR  THE  PRESENT  ARRANGED  IN  A 
SUPPLEMENT.'] 


MOST  EEV.  FREDEKIC  X.  KATZER,  D.D., 

Third  Bishop  of  Green  Bay  and  Third  Archhishop  of  Milwaukee. 

(See  p.  248.) 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Krautbauer  in  the  see  of  Green  Bay- 
was  a  priest  of  learning  and  experience.  Frederic  X.  Katzer 
was  born  on  the  7th  of  February,  1844,  at  Ebensee,  in  Upper 
Austria,  but  soon  after  his  entrance  into  the  world  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Theresienthal,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gmiinden,  on  Lake 
Traun.  Here  his  education  began  at  the  "  Principal  School,"  and 
he  soon  entered  on  his  Latin  studies  to  "fit  him  for  the  Jesuit 
College  at  Fresenberg.  This  project  was  defeated  for  a  time  by 
need  of  economy  in  the  household,  but  the  earnest,  studious  char- 
acter  of  the  boy  won  interest  in  his  advancement.  By  the  aid  of 
Bishop  Rudiger,  of  Linz,  and  the  Empress  Caroline  Augusta,  he  was 
enabled  in  1857  to  appear  among  the  students  in  the  college  near 
Linz,  and  prepare  for  the  ecclesiastical  course  which  was  to  fit 
him  for  a  priestly  career. 

A  letter  of  a  veteran  missionary  in  Minnesota,  describing  his 
labors  among  the  Indians  near  Lake  Superior,  caught  the  eye  of 
the  student  in  one  of  the  Austrian  papers,  and  he  resolved  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  advancement  of  the  faith  in  this  country. 

Early  in  1864  he  left  Austria  with  Rev.  Mr.  Pierz  and  several 
theological  students.  On  reaching  Minnesota  he  found,  however, 
that  there  were  no  vacancies  in  the  diocese  of  St.  Paul ;  but,  not  dis- 
couraged, proceeded  to  the  Salesianum,  the  great  theological  sem- 
inary in  Wisconsin,  founded  by  the  present  Archbishop  Heiss, 


U  SUPPLEMENT. 

the  rector,  Dr.  Joseph  Salzmann,  being  a  fellow-countryman. 
Here  he  was  received,  and,  completing  his  theological  course,  was 
ordained  priest  December  21,  1866.  He  was  already  professor  of 
mathematics  in  the  institution,  and  continued  his  course  till  the 
next  year,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  chair  of  dogmatic  theo- 
logy, and  in  1868  he  taught  also  the  class  of  philosophy.  In  this 
laborious  position  he  remained  till  1875,  w^heu  Bishop  Krautbauer 
invited  the  learned  priest  to  accompany  him  to  Green  Bay  as  secre- 
tary of  the  diocese  and  pastor  of  the  cathedral.  His  administrative 
powers  here  appeared,  and  the  studious  professor  became  the  zeal- 
ous priest  in  parochial  work,  and  four  years  later,  on  his  promotion 
to  the  position  of  vicar-general,  won  esteem  throughout  the  diocese. 
He  attended  the  Third  Plenary  Council  with  his  bishop,  whose 
loss  he  was  soon  called  upon  to  deplore. 

On  the  death  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Krautbauer,  Very  Rev.  Mr. 
Katzer  was  appointed  administrator  of  the  diocese,  December  20, 
1885,  his  familiarity  with  its  wants  amply  fitting  him  for  the 
position.  In  May  he  received  notice  that  he  had  been  elected  to 
fill  the  vacant  see,  and  on  the  arrival  of  his  bulls  he  was  conse- 
crated, on  the  21st  of  September,  1886,  in  the  cathedral  of  Green 
Bay,  by  Archbishop  Heiss ;  Bishop  Ireland,  of  St.  Paul,  and  Bishop 
Yertin,  of  Marquette,  being  assistant  prelates.  While  rector  of  the 
cathedral  parish  he  was  instrumental  in  erecting  a  school-house 
and  a  convent  for  the  sisters,  and  since  his  elevation  to  the  episco- 
pate has  shown  his  zeal  and  determination  to  extend  to  his  flock 
the  benefit  of  a  Christian  education,  and  save  the  children  from  the 
system,  maintained  with  so  much  hypocrisy  and  outlay,  for  de- 
priving young  Catholics  of  the  gift  of  faith.  He  has  had  also  to 
contend  with  unscrupulous  attempts  to  pervert  and  proselytize 
portions  of  his  flock. 

Upon  the  death  of  Most  Rev.  Michael  Heiss,  Archbishop  of 
Milwaukee,  March  26,  1890,  Bishop  Katzer  was  promoted  to  that 
archiepiscopal  see,  and  entered  with  zeal  upon  his  official  duties. 


RIGHT  EEV.  ALFRED  A.  CURTIS,  D.D., 

SecoKuL  Bishop  of  Wilmington. 

(See  p.  392.) 

Whex  Bishop  Becker  was  transferred  to  the  see  of  Savannah 
the  choice  for  his  successor  as  Bishop  of  Wilmington  fell  upon  a 
priest  who,  in  the  cathedral  of  Baltimore,  had  won  respect  and 
esteem. 

The  Right  Rev.  Alfred  A.  Curtis  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  born 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1831,  in  Somerset  County,  on  the  Eastern  Shore, 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  diocese  over  which  he  now  presides. 
His  education  was  entirely  domestic,  as  he  attended  no  school,  but 
was  instructed  by  his  father,  whose  death,  when  Alfred  was  only 
seventeen  years  of  age,  left  him  to  provide  for  his  mother  and  four 
sisters.  This  he  effected  by  teaching  in  country  schools ;  but  the 
career  in  life  on  which  he  wished  to  enter  was  the  ministry  of  the 
Episcopal  Church — his  family  being  of  that  denomination.  He 
was  made  a  deacon  by  Bishop  Whittingham,  at  Cambrido-e,  Md., 
September  20,  1856,  having  pursued  his  studies  while  guiding 
others.  The  first  appointment  of  this  energetic  young  man  was  St. 
John's  parish,  Worcester,  which  he  characterized  as  the  poorest  of 
poor  places.  After  being  made  a  presbyter  by  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham, he  was  employed  in  several  parts  of  Maryland ;  he  was  sent 
to  Catoctin,  in  Frederick  County,  and  in  May,  1860,  was  assigned 
to  St.  Luke's  Church,  Baltunore — at  first  to  take  the  place  of  the 
rector,  who  made  a  trip  abroad,  and  subsequently  as  his  assistant. 
In  1862  he  was  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Chestertown,  Kent 
County,  but  at  the  end  of  the  year  he  was  transferred  to  the  rector- 
ship of  Mount  Calvaiy  Church,  Baltimore.  Here  he  remained  till 
Christmas,  1872,  winning  great  esteem,  but  resigned  his  position, 
"  liaving  had  more  than  enough  of  the  Episcoj^al  Churcli  and  the 
Episcopal  ministry."  He  then  went  to  England,  having  j^romised 
to  confer  with  some  eminent  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England 
before  he  decided  to  enter  the  Church  of  Rome,  to  which  all  his 
convictions  now  directed  him.    His  conferences  with  them  afforded 


IV  SUPPLEMENT. 

him  no  ground  to  justify  liis  remaining  in  their  communion.  "  1 
came  to  the  conclusion,"  he  said,  "that  it  must  be  Rome  or 
nothing !  "  He  accordiugly  went  to  Bii'mingham,  and,  after  two 
conferences  with  Doctor  (now  Cardinal)  Newman,  he  made  a 
letreat  in  the  Oratory  over  which  he  presided ;  and  on  the  18th  of 
April  the  futui'e  cardinal  received  his  abjui^ation  of  Anglicanism 
and  his  profession  of  the  Catholic  faith.  He  had  found  rest  for 
his  soul ;  and,  after  some  pedestrian  toui's,  made  with  a  light  and 
cheerful  heart,  he  returned  to  Baltimore  and  went  at  once  to  St. 
Mary's  Seminary.  Received  at  first  as  a  guest,  he  became,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1872,  a  student,  and  was  ordained  priest  on  the  19th 
of  December,  1874,  by  Archbishop  Bayley.  He  was  at  once 
appointed  assistant  to  the  rector  of  the  cathedi'al,  and  secretary. 
These  positions  he  filled  most  edifyiugly  till,  in  1886,  he  was 
selected  to  fill  the  see  of  Wilmington  and  rule  the  Catholic  Chm-ch 
on  that  Eastern  Shore  where  he  had  been  born  and  brought  up. 
He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th  of  November,  1886,  by  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  assisted  by  Bishop  Kain,  of  Wheeling,  and  Bishop  Moore, 
of  St.  Augustine ;  Bishop  Becker  preaching  a  sermon  adapted  to 
the  occasion. 

He  was  soon  installed  in  his  diocese  and  set  to  work  to  guide 
the  growth  of  Catholicity.  His  lo.^ical  mind,  his  ability  for  win- 
ning the  confidence  of  all,  can  hardly  fail  to  give  new  life  to  the 
Church  in  a  diocese  which  embraces  territory  where  Catholicity  has 
never  gained  strength. 

The  liealthful  condition  of  this  diocese  is  evinced  by  the  fol- 
lowing summary  for  1891,  viz.:  23  priests,  29  churches  and  11 
chapels,  2  academies  and  9  parochial  schools  with  1,718  pupils, 
and  a  Catholic  population  of  18,000. 


RIGHT  EEV.  MATTHEW  HAEKINS,  D.D., 

Second  Bishop  of  Providence 

The  next  to  wear  the  mitre  of  Providence  was  the  Right  Rev. 
Matthew  Harkins  who  was  bom  in  Boston,  of  Irish  parents,  on  the 
1 7th  of  November,  1845.  In  boyhood  he  attended  the  Brimmer 
School,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Boston  Latin  School  in  1862, 
wmning  the  Franklin  gold  medal.  His  pions  mind  led  him  to  as- 
pire to  the  priesthood,  and  he  studied  at  Holy  Cross  College  and 
dt  the  Eni^lish  Collesfe  at  Douai,  where  he  fitted  himself  to  enter  the 
Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  at  Paris  for  his  theological  course,  which 
he  completed  by  a  year  s  study  in  Rome. 

After  his  ordination  and  return  to  the  United  States  he  was 
appointed  assistant  at  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  in 
Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  six  j^ears,  laboring  earnestly  but 
unobtrusively.  He  then  became  rector  of  St.  Malachy's  Church 
at  Arlington,  which  he  erected,  as  well  as  the  pastoral  residence. 
During  his  eight  years'  charge  of  this  parish  he  displayed  great 
powers  of  administration,  as  he  had  always  shown  learning,  piety, 
and  zeal. 

Archbishop  Williams  then  summoned  him  to  take  the  direc- 
tion of  the  unportant  Boston  parish  of  St.  James,  and  he  had  been 
its  able  and  esteemed  rector  for  three  years  when  he  was  elected  to 
fill  the  vacant  see  of  Providence.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  14th 
of  April,  1887,  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  at  Provi- 
dence, by  the  Most  Rev.  Arclibishop  AVilliams,  of  Boston,  assisted 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishops  O'Reilly,  of  Spring-field,  aud  ]\IcMahon, 
of  Hartford ;  the  Right  Rev.  James  A.  Healy,  Bishop  of  Portland, 
preaching  the  consecration  sermon. 

There  were  in  the  diocese  of  Providence,  by  the  latest  authen- 
.,10  returns  (1891),  146  priests  and  30  ecclesiastical  students,  71 
churches  and  22  chapels,  11  academies  and  25  parochial  schools, 
with  12,790  students  in  all;  2  orphan  asylums  and  1  hospital. 
The  Catholic  population  is  estimated  at  150,000. 


EIGHT  REV.  JAMES  RYAN,  D.D. 

Tkird  Bishop  of  Alton. 

(See  p.  184.) 

After  the  death  of  Bishop  Baltes,  the  diocese  of  Alton  was 
administered  by  the  Very  Rev.  J.  Janssen  till  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff determined  to  divide  it,  leaving  to  Alton  only  the  portion  of 
the  former  bishopric  which  lay  north  of  the  boundary  line  of  St. 
Clair  and  Madison  countries  extending  across  the  State. 

The  Right  Rev.  James  Ryan,  D.D.,  elected  as  the  third  bishop 
of  Alton,  was  born  near  Thurles,  County  of  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
on  the  17th  of  June,  1848  His  parents  emigrated  to  this  country 
early  in  1855,  and  settled  in  Louisville,  Ky.  ;  but  his  father  died 
soon  after,  leaving  his  widow  to  struggle  in  a  strange  land  to  main- 
tain and  educate  the  future  bishop,  and  a  sister  a  little  older  than 
himself.  In  the  parochial  school  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Dr. 
Martin  John  Spalding,  then  Bishop  of  Louisville,  who  took  the 
boy  into  his  house  and  sent  him  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  St. 
Thomas's  Seminary,  near  Bardstown,  an  institution  rich  in  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  holy  and  eminent  men  who  founded  and  dii'ected 
it,  imbuing  the  students  even  to  our  time  with  an  excellent  eccle- 
siastical spirit.  Here  he  acquired  during  a  six  years'  course  a 
knowledge  of  the  classics  and  of  philosophy  under  Rev.  Dr.  Cham- 
bige  and  Pi'ofessors  Chazal,  Martin,  Russell,  and  Eugene  Crane. 
After  a  divinity  course  at  St.  Joseph's  and  Preston  Park  Semi- 
naries under  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Viala,  Defraine,  Harnist,  and  Very 
Rev.  George  McCloskey,  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Right  Rev^. 
Bishop  McCloskey,  in  his  cathedral  at  Louisville,  on  the  2'4th  of 
December,  1871,  the  present  Bishop  of  Peoria  preaching  on  the 
occasion.  The  young  priest  was  initiated  into  parochial  work  at 
St.  Thomas's  as  assistant  to  Rev.  Mr.  Lacoste,  but  at  Easter  in  the 
next  year  the  bishop  confided  to  him  the  care  of  St.  Martin's 
Church,  in  Meade  County,  with  the  outlying  nnssions  of  St.  Pat- 
rick's, in  Hardin  County,  and  St.  Mary's,  in  Bullitt  County.  There 
^vas  no  residence  for  a  priest  at  any  of  these  churches,  and  he  set 


SUPPLEMENT.  v  a 

to  work  to  erect  a  suitable  dwelling  near  St.  Martin's.  He  col- 
lected about  two  thousand  dollai's,  and  had  made  arrangements  for 
the  work,  when  in  May,  1873,  he  was  transferred  to  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  became  rector  of  St.  James's  Church,  with  charge  of  mis- 
sions at  Nolin  and  Colesburg,  in  Hardin  County.  When  summer 
came  he  found  the  cholera  thinning  his  flock,  in  one  instance  car- 
rying off  in  succession  every  member  of  a  Catholic  family.  The 
zealous  priest  was  prompt  and  untii'ing  in  his  attendance  on  the 
sick. 

The  next  year  Bishop  McCloskey,  yielding  to  his  desire,  ap- 
pointed him  one  of  the  corps  of  professors  at  St.  Joseph's  College, 
Bardstown,  which  was  a  college  for  young  men  and  also  a  Pre- 
paratory Seminary  for  future  ecclesiastics.  The  institution  had 
peculiar  attractions  for  the  Rev.  Mi'.  Kyau ;  it  had  been  the  home 
of  Bishops  Flaget,  David,  Kenrick,  and  Spalding,  and  the  nursery 
which  had  supplied  Kentucky  with  devoted  and  earnest  missiona- 
ries. The  grand  old  cathedral  still  stood  as  a  monument  of  the 
glorious  past.  Here  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ryan  spent  four  years  impart- 
ing knowledge  to  others  and  storing  his  mind  with  ecclesiastical 
learning.  When  the  Right  Rev.  John  Lancaster  Spalding  was  ap- 
l^ointed  to  the  new  diocese  of  Peoria  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ryan  was  per- 
mitted to  offer  his  services  to  the  head  of  the  new  diocese.  Bishop 
Spalding  placed  him  at  Wataga,  in  Knox  County.  There  he 
found  an  unfinished  frame  church,  but  he  soon  collected  means  to 
complete  it ;  but  in  August  he  was  transferred  to  Danville,  where 
the  Catholic  congregation  had  already  outgrown  the  capacity  of 
the  little  church.  The  active  priest  soon  secured  a  site  in  the 
centre  of  the  thriving  city,  and  began  to  erect  a  church  worthy  of 
the  faith,  which  he  accomplished  at  a  cost  of  twenty-three  thou- 
sand dollars.  By  disposing  of  a  farm  belonging  to  the  congrega- 
tion he  completed  the  church  without  leaving  it  encumbered  by 
any  debt. 

When  La  Salle  and  other  counties  were  added  to  the  diocese  of 
Peoria,  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  Terry,  desiring  to  remain  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Chicago,  resigned  the  rectorship  of  Ottawa.  Bishop  Spald- 
ing appointed  Rev.  John  Ryan  to  succeed  him.  The  new  rector 
found  the  foundation  of  a  new  church  wliich  the  difficulties  of  the 
times  had  prevented  from  rising.     In  the  spring  of  1882  the  Rev. 


vni  SUPPLEMENT. 

Mr.  Ryan  took  up  the  work  earnestly,  and,  to  his  own  joy  and  that 
of  his  flock,  had  it  solemnly  dedicated  on  Corpus  Christi,  1884,  by 
Bishop  Spalding.  It  had  cost  seventy  thousand  dollars,  but  the 
resources  had  been  so  admirably  managed  that  at  the  dedication 
the  debt  did  not  exceed  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  It  stands  to  at 
test  the  culture,  generosity,  and  zeal  of  the  Catholic  congregation. 
Under  the  impulse  of  the  rector  their  congregation  of  St.  Colum- 
ba's  have  already  extinguished  half  the  debt. 

This  excellent  priest,  to  whom  the  studious  quiet  has  so  many 
attractions,  but  who  has  led  a  life  of  such  active  usefulness  in  the 
ministry,  brings  to  the  government  of  a  diocese  ripened  expe- 
rience, learning,  prudence,  and  zeal. 

The  eloquence  of  the  new  Bishop  of  Alton  is  shown  in  the 
touching  tribute  which  he  paid  to  the  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Spald- 
ing at  the  month's  mind  of  that  young  priest,  whose  tender  piety, 
untiring  zeal  and  activity  in  a  frail  body,  love  of  meditation  and 
study  had  won  for  him  veneration  everywhere,  and  drew  propo- 
sals of  honors  which  he  always  repulsed. 

"  The  Church  of  God ! — the  title  of  his  book ;  it  was  the  life- 
refrain  of  his  heart  in  youth  and  manhood  alike.  Born  in  its 
bosom,  cradled  in  its  atmosphere,  having  in  his  veins  the  blood  of 
sires  who,  through  generations  of  confiscation  and  penal  law,  po- 
litical disability  and  social  ban,  had  upheld  with  firm  hands  the 
bannei'  of  the  true  religion,  profoundly  read  in  the  history  of  the 
Church,  its  martyrs  and  its  confessors,  its  apostolic  popes  and 
mighty  bishops,  its  missionaries  of  vast  enterprise,  exhaustless 
energy  and  invincible  endurance — his  spirit  had  taken  the  case  of 
its  heroic  mould.  The  chivalry  of  the  old,  old  faith  was  in  his 
heart,  the  cross  of  the  crusaders  on  his  breast. 

"  And  as  self-forgetf ulness  is  a  characteristic  common  to  all 
such  souls,  so  in  him  there  was  a  disinterestedness  that  was  com- 
plete. Touch  himself,  and  he  scarcely  noticed  it ;  it  was  at  most  a 
passing  annoyance.  Touch  an  interest  that  duty  or  affection  bid 
liim  guard,  and  he  was  a  lion  in  the  way,  with  the  lion's  courage 
and  the  lion's  wrath.  Even  in  his  last  illness,  amidst  the  waste  of 
long  sickness,  when  he  had  to  be  helped  from  his  bed  to  his  chair, 
this  nobility  of  spirit  strikingly  appeared.  He  had  something  to 
impress  on  a  friend,  and  high  over  the  lassitude  of  mind  and  fee- 


SUPPLEMENT.  ix 

bleuess  of  frame,  controlling,  dominating  them  then  as  so  often  be- 
fore, uprose  the  masculine  will.  In  the  fii-m,  clear  strokes  of  his 
pen  no  trace  of  his  exhausted  condition  was  to  be  detected  by  the 
closest  scrutiny.  He  had  fulfilled  the  saying  of  the  Saviour, '  He 
that  will  save  his  soul  must  lose  it.'  He  so  poured  himself  out  on 
what  he  had  to  do,  so  lost  himself  in  it,  that  his  work  became  his 
life.  The  honors  of  the  Church — profferred  him  more  than  once 
— ^he  put,  because  of  failing  health,  aside,  only  to  press  with  the 
more  insistance  on  the  duties  which  he  had  in  hand.  Vainly  af- 
fection strove  to  warn  and  hold  him  back ;  again  and  again,  with 
incomplete  recovery,  he  hastened  to  his  post.  The  heart  that  for 
years  had  borne  the  solicitude  of  all  its  people  had  so  gathered  it- 
self about  his  parish — ^its  expiring  energies  had  so  fixed  themselves 
upon  the  completion  of  its  church,  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese, 
that  it  was  only  when  convinced  by  physicians  and  relatives  he 
must  leave  Peoria  and  St.  Mary's  that  the  high,  gallant  spirit 
yielded  at  last.  Till  that  moment  he  had  seemed  to  rally,  but 
then  the  interest  went  out  from  life,  and  he  turned  from  the  world 
to  God." 

Three  years  after  his  consecration  as  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Alton  (1891),  there  were  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Kyan, 
120  priests  and  15  ecclesiastical  students,  131  churches,  2  colleges, 
5  academies,  2  orphanages  and  57  parochial  schools,  with  a  total 
of  7,000  pupila  and  a  Catholic  population  of  75,000. 


RIGHT  KEV.  THOMAS  McGOVERN,  D.D^ 

Second  Bishop  of  Harrishurg. 

Thomas  McGovekn  was  born  m  tlie  parish  of  Sw^nlinbar,  in 
the  diocese  of  Kilmore,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1832,  but  scarcely  tnew 
his  native  land,  his  parents  having  emigrated  to  this  country  in 
the  autumn  of  1833.  His  father  first  settled  in  Schuylkill  County, 
Pennsylvania,  but  soon  took  up  a  permanent  residence  in  Bradford 
County.  After  attending  school  near  Overton  young  Thomas,  in 
1853,  entered  St.  Joseph's  College,  in  Susquehanna  County,  where 
the  late  Bishop  Shanahan  was  a  fellow-student.  In  September, 
1855,  he  was  sent  to  Mount  St.  Mary's  College,  Emmittsburg,  and 
the  next  year  was  enrolled  among  the  seminarians,  Archbishop 
Elder  being  prefect  and  Archbishop  Corrigan  also  a  seminarian. 
After  spending  a  year  in  St.  Charles  Borromeo's  Seminary  he  was 
ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Wood,  December  27,  1861.  After  a 
few  weeks'  temporary  sei'vice  at  St.  Francis'  Church,  Philadelphia, 
he  was  pastor  at  Pottstown  for  a  year,  then  assistant  successively  at 
St.  Michael's  and  St.  Philip's  churches,  Philadelphia.  In  June, 
1864,  he  was  sent  to  Belief onte  to  assume  charge  of  a  parish  em- 
bracing Centre,  Juniata,  and  Mifflin  counties.  During  his  pastor- 
ship he  erected  a  church  at  Snow  Shoe,  the  first  Catholic  place  of 
worship  in  that  district.  From  December  1,  1870,  to  July,  1873, 
he  was  pastor  of  the  ancient  church  at  York.  Assuming  charge 
of  the  parish  at  Danville,  he  labored  there  energetically  for  several 
years,  till  his  health  was  affected,  and  in  1881  made  a  tour  of 
Europe,  visiting  the  sanctuaries  of  the  Holy  Land. 

On  his  return  he  resumed  his  duties,  and  was  still  quietly  dis- 
charging his  work  as  a  parish  priest  when  he  was  elected  Bishop 
of  Ilarrisburg. 

He  was  consecrated  at  the  pro-cathedral  in  Harrisburg  on 
Sunday,  March  11,  1888,  by  Right  Rev.  William  O'Hara, 
Bishop  of  Scranton,  assisted  by  Right  Rev.  Richard  Gilmour, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Cleveland,  and  Right  Rev.  John  A.  Watterson, 


DIOCESE  OF  HAERISBUlia 

D.D.,  Bishop  of  Columbus.  The  Archbishops  of  New  York  and 
Ciucinnati  and  the  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  were  also 
present. 

The  diocese  of  Harrisburg  at  this  time  contained  fifty-one 
churches  and  as  many  priests,  and  the  new  bishop  during  his  years 
of  parochial  work  has  become  personally  familiar  with  the  wants 
of  the  Church  in  most  of  the  counties  comprising  the  diocese. 

In.  three  years  these  numbers  had  increased  to  63  priests,  56 
churches  and  26  chapels,  and  there  were  27  parochial  schools 
with  4,344  pupils,  2  orphan  asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population 
of  36,430. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  SCHWEBACH,  D.D., 

Third  Bishop  of  La  Crosse,  Wis. 

(See  page  114.) 

James  Schwebach  was  born  at  Platen,  parish  of  Bettborn, 
Grand-Duche  of  Luxembourg,  on  the  loth  of  August,  1847.  His 
parents  were  Nicholas  Schwebach  and  Margaret,  nee  Busch.  At 
the  age  of  four  years  James  was  sent  to  the  parochial  school  at 
Bettborn,  and  he  was  often  heard  to  say  that  he  missed  school 
only  one  half  day  !  His  vocation  to  the  holy  priesthood  was  so 
manifest  that  the  people  called  him  in  his  boyhood  "  the  little 
priest."  After  finishing  his  elementary  studies,  he  had  private 
teachers,  and  then  attended  for  two  years  the  college  at  Diekii'ch. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  he  came  to  America,  and  entered  imme- 
diately the  famous  Seminary  of  St.  Francis,  near  Milwaukee. 
Here  he  finished  his  classical,  philosophical,  and  theological 
studies;  his  two  predecessors  in  the  see  of  La  Crosse  being 
among  his  professors.  Advanced  in  the  clerical  state  to  the 
order  of  subdeaconship,  he  was  too  young  for  ordination  to  holy 
priesthood,  and  intended  to  pursue  a  higher  course  of  study  at 
Rome.  But  Bishop  Heiss,  in  need  of  clerical  help,  called  him  to 
La  Crosse,  where  he  arrived  in  February,  1869,  and  soon  after — 
July  24,  same  year — was  ordained  deacon,  and  as  such  officiated 
in  church  and  school,  preaching  to  the  old  and  instructing  the 
young.  On  July  17, 1870,  he  was  ordained  priest  for  the  diocese 
of  La  Crosse  by  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Grace,  of  St.  Paul. 

Father  Schwebach  was  appointed  pastor  to  St,  Mary's  Church, 
La  Crosse,  by  Bishop  Heiss.  He  labored  successfully  for  twenty- 
two  years  among  his  parishioners,  consisting  of  English  and 
French  ;  and  built  the  Church  of  St.  James  and  St.  Mary's  School, 
besides  making  many  improvements  in  his  parish. 

In  1882  Bishop  Flasch  made  him  his  Vicar-General,  and  subse- 
quently Administrator  of  the  Diocese  of  La  Crosse.  The  Very 
Rev.  Administrator  received  on  December  14,  1891,  the  official 
•  document  of  appointment  to  the  bishopric  of  La  Crosse. 

His  parents  attended  his  first  Mass  after  his  consecration. 

In  1893  the  diocese  had  175  churches,  106  priests,  130  stations, 
3  convents,  6  academies,  2  orphanages,  7  hospitals,  and  61  schools. 


EIGHT  REV.  SEBASTIAN  G.  MESSMER,  D.D., 

Fourth  Bishop  of  Greeii  Bay. 

(See  page  248.) 

Rt.  Rev.  Sebastian  Gebhard  Messmer  was  born  at  Goldach, 
in  the  Canton  of  St.  Gall,  Switzerland,  August  29,  1847.  Having 
received  a  good  elementary  education,  lie  entered  St.  George's 
College,  near  St.  Gall,  in  1861,  where  he  began  his  classical 
studies.  He  remained  there  until  1866,  when  he  went  to  Inns- 
bruck, Tyrol,  Austria,  and  entered  on  his  course  of  philosophy 
and  theology,  finishing  in  1871.  He  was  ordained  priest  in  July 
of  that  year.  Having  come  to  the  United  States  he  became  a 
professor  of  theology  at  Seton  Hall  College,  South  Orange,  N.  J., 
where  he  continued  until  1889.  He  acted  as  one  of  the  secreta- 
ries at  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore  in  1884,  and  in 
the  following  year  he  was  made  Doctor  of  Divinity  by  His  Holi- 
ness, Leo  XIII.  In  1889  Dr.  Messmer  was  in  Rome,  and  passed 
some  months  at  the  CoUegio  Apollinare,  where  he  graduated  in 
canon  law. 

Fi'om  September,  1890,  until  March,  1891,  Father  Messmer  was 
Professor  of  Canon  Law  in  the  Catholic  University  of  America, 
Washington,  D.  C;  and  on  December  14  of  the  latter  year  he 
was  appointed  Bishop  of  Green  Bay,  Wis.  He  was  consecrated 
in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Newark,  N.  J.,  March  i37,  1892,  by  Rt. 
Rev.  Otto  Zardetti,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  St.  Cloud,  Minn.,  a  fellow- 
countryman  and  former  fellow-student  of  Bishop  Messmer's  at 
college  and  in  the  university.  Bishop  Messmer  took  possession 
of  his  See  at  Green  Bay  April  7,  1892. 

The  growth  of  the  Church  in  Green  Bay  has  been  rapid  and 
continual  since  the  establishment  of  that  diocese.  It  is  at  present 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  dioceses  in  the  West,  and  under  the 
energetic  administration  of  Bishop  Messmer  will  doubtless  con- 
tinue its  past  record. 

There  were  in  his  diocese  in  1893,  109  priests,  10  ecclesiastical 
students,  3  hospitals,  72  Catholic  schools,  1 1,400  pupils,  3  orphan 
asylums,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  about  120,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  FRANCIS  BRENNAN,  D.D., 

First  Bishop  of  Dallas. 

TnoMAS  Fkancis  Brennan  was  born  in  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
in  the  year  1853.  He  came  to  tlie  United  States  while  very 
young,  and  received  his  education  in  Pennsylvania.  He  gradu- 
ated at  Alleghany  (N.  Y.)  College ;  studied  theology  at  Inns- 
bruck. Germany,  and  afterward  won  the  title  of  Doctor  in 
Rome.  Having  returned  to  the  United  States,  he  built  three 
churches  in  Forrest,  Potter,  and  Elk  counties.  Pa.,  where  he  labored 
hard  for  ten  years,  tramping  day  and  night  through  unbroken 
forests  in  the  performance  of  his  priestly  duties.  He  represented 
the  Erie  diocese  at  the  Pope's  jubilee,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
made  a  domestic  prelate  with  the  title  of  Monsignore.  During 
his  long  stay  in  France,  Austria,  and  Italy  he  had  an  opportunity 
of  studying  the  languages  of  those  countries,  and  in  his  vacations 
he  travelled  extensively  in  the  United  Kingdom,  Spain,  Morocco, 
Algiers,  Hungary,  Servia,  the  Balkan,  Turkey,  and  Greece. 

Bishop  Brennan  was  consecrated  in  St.  Patrick's  Pro-Cathe- 
dral, Erie,  Pa.,  on  April  5,  1891.  Right  Rev.  Tobias  Mullen, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Erie  Diocese,  was  the  consecrator,  and  was 
assisted  by  Bishops  Phelan,  of  Pittsburg,  and  McGovern,  of  Har- 
risburg.  Bishop  Thomas  Heslin,  of  Natchez,  Miss.,  was  also  in 
the  sanctuary.  Very  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Casey,  V.G.,  of  Erie,  read 
the  Papal  bull  authorizing  the  consecration.  Very  Rev.  S.  Wall, 
V.G.,  of  Pittsburg,  preached  the  sermon.  In  the  evening  the 
newly  consecrated  Bishop  officiated  at  Pontifical  vespers,  and 
Bishop  Phelan  preached  the  sermon. 

The  diocese  of  Dallas  was  erected  in  1890,  and  comprises  108 
counties  in  the  northern  and  northwestern  portion  of  Texas,  and 
embraces  about  110,000  square  miles.  It  had  in  1893  thirty 
priests,  thirty  churches,  seventy  chapels  and  stations,  four  hos- 
pitals, seventeen  parochial  schools,  twelve  academies,  five  ecclesi- 
astical students,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  25,000. 


RIGHT  EEV.  THOMAS  D.  BEAVEN,  D.D., 

Second  Bishop  of  Springfield. 

(See  page  371.) 

Thomas  Daniel  Beaven  was  born  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  in 
1849.  He  graduated  with  high  honors  from  Holy  Cross  Col- 
lege, Worcester,  Mass.,  in  1870,  and  for  the  two  following 
years  he  was  engaged  as  professor  at  Loyola  College,  Balti- 
more, Md.  To  complete  his  theological  course  he  entered  the 
Sulj)ician  Seminary,  Montreal,  Canada,  in  1872,  and  was  ordained 
there  on  Christmas  Day,  1875.  He  was  then  sent  as  assistant  to 
the  Rev.  J.  Casson,  Spencer,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  three 
years,  succeeding  to  the  pastorate  in  July,  1879.  In  May,  1882, 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  magnificent  church,  St.  Mary's,  of 
Spencer.  It  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  O'Reilly  May  10,  1887. 
After  a  residence  of  thirteen  years  at  Spencer,  Father  Beaven 
was  called  in  October,  1889,  to  take  charge  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Rosary  at  Holyoke.  At  the  centenary  celebration  of  George- 
town University  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 
He  was  consecrated  October  18,  1892,  as  second  Bishop  of  Spring- 
field.. 

In  1893,  there  were  in  the  diocese  of  Springfield  178  priests, 
107  churches,  50  ecclesiastical  students,  24  convents,  1  college, 
1  hospital,  3  orphanages,  23  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic 
population  of  170,000. 


RIGHT   REV.  JOHN   N.  LEMMENS, 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Vancouver's  Island,  B.  C,  and  Alaska. 

(See  page  152.) 

John  Nicolas  Lemmens  was  born  on  the  3d  of  June,  1850,  at 
Schimmert,  in  the  province  of  Limburg,  Holland.  After  receiving 
an  elementary  education  in  his  native  village,  he  began  his  classical 
studies  in  the  College  of  Herve,  Belgium,  and  finished  them  at 
the  Seminary  of  Rolduc,  Holland,  carrying  off  first  honors.  Hav- 
ing decided  to  adopt  a  missionary  life,  he  entered  the  American 
College  of  Louvain,  where  he  completed  his  theological  studies. 
He  was  ordained  a  priest  on  the  27th  of  March,  1875,  by  Mgr. 
Catani,  Papal  Nuncio  at  Brussels,  who  has  since  become  a  Cardi- 
nal. He  landed  at  Victoria,  B.  C,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1876, 
when  his  experience  as  a  missionary  among  the  Indians  almost 
immediately  commenced.  He  was  first  appointed  to  Nanaimo, 
visiting  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  north  of  the  Island.  In  1883  he 
was  sent  to  the  West  Coast  to  engage  in  Indian  missionary  work. 
In  1884  Father  Lemmens  represented  the  diocese  of  Vancouver's 
Island  and  Alaska  at  the  Third  Plenary  Council,  held  at  Balti- 
more, at  the  close  of  which  he  visited  his  parents  in  Europe,  re- 
turning again  in  the  spring  of  1885.  When  Archbishop  Seghers 
was  murdered  on  the  Yukon,  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  were  unani- 
mous in  their  option  for  Father  Lemmens,  who  was  appointed 
Bishop  and  consecrated  on  the  5th  of  August,  1888.  As  a  scholar, 
a  theologian,  and  an  administrator.  Bishop  Lemmens  has  proved  a 
worthy  successor  of  his  lamented  predecessor.  His  knov/ledge  of 
the  Indian  character  and  languages  has  made  him  conversant  with 
the  requirements  of  the  missions  under  his  charge.  The  erection 
of  the  magnificent  Cathedral  is  due  almost  entirely  to  the  energy 
and  executive  ability  of  Bishop  Lemmens. 

Bishop  Lemmens  is  a  man  who  never  tires  in  the  performance 
of  his  duty;  and,  under  his  vigilant  care,  the  Church  is  advanc- 
ing as  fast  as  could  be  expected  in  his  sparsely-settled  diocese. 
There  are  in  his  diocese  twenty-six  priests,  one  convent  of  relig- 
ious women,  and  ten  schools. 


RIGHT   REV.   OTTO   ZARDETTI,  D.D., 

First  Bishoi)  of  St.  Cloud. 

Otto  Zardetti  was  born  January  24,  1S47,  at  Rohrschach,  in 
the  Swiss  Canton  St.  Gall.  He  was  the  oldest  son  of  wealthy 
and  pious  parents.  His  father,  Joseph  Zardetti,  was  a  thrifty 
merchant,  whose  ancestors  had  lived  in  Milan  in  northern  Italy, 
whence  they  migrated  in  the  last  century  and  settled  at  Rohrs- 
chach. On  his  mother's  side  Bishop  Zardetti  descends  from 
a  very  old  and  noble  family.  x\l though  bereft  of  the  tender  care 
of  a  mother  when  quite  young,  his  youth  was  cautiously  guarded, 
for  his  devoted  father  was  most  painstaking  to  cherish  in  the 
hearts  of  his  children  a  truly  Christian  spirit.  Having  attended 
the  elementary  schools  at  Rohrschach,  and  having  also  received 
some  instruction  in  Latin,  the  youth  was  sent  by  his  father,  who 
had  in  the  meantime  perceived  in  his  son  a  desire  to  study  for  the 
priesthood,  to  the  Jesuit  College  in  Feldkirch,  where  he  soon  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  his  professors  by  his  great  diligence  and 
brilliant  talents.  Two  years  later,  in  the  fall  of  1863,  he  entered 
St.  George's  Seminary  for  boys,  to  devote  himself  to  rhetoric. 
Here  the  eminent  oratorical  powers  of  young  Zardetti  became 
manifest.  His  philosophical  and  theological  studies  he  pursued 
at  the  University  of  Innsbruck.  The  death  of  his  father  during 
this  time  was  a  severe  blow  to  him.  After  receiving  a  thorough 
course  in  theology,  he  was  raised  to  the  priesthood  on  August 
20,  1870.  On  December  21,  1870,  he  received  at  Innsbruck  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology,  and  in  January,  1871,  as- 
sumed a  professorship  in  the  Seminary  of  St.  George.  Soon  after 
he  was  appointed  Honorary  Canon  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Maurice, 
in  Wallis.  Probably  it  was  during  this  time  that  the  thought 
sprang  up  in  the  mind  of  the  young  clergyman  to  come  to  the 
United  States.     Chiefly  for  the  sake  of  learning  the  English  Ian- 


Xviii  SUPPLEMENT. 

guage,  he  spent  the  winter  of  1874-5  in  England.  In  February, 
1876,  Bishop  Grieth  chose  Dr.  Zardetti  a  member  of  the  Cathe- 
dral Chapter  and  Custodian  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Gall,  in  which 
capacity  the  duty  of  preacher  devolved  upon  him.  The  result  of 
a  visit  to  Kome,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Episcopal  Jubilee  of  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  was  the  masterly  character  portrait  of  that  illustrious 
Pontiff  in  his  book,  "  Pius  the  Great."  The  longing  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  glorious  sister  republic  across  the  Atlantic  became 
stronger  as  the  years  rolled  on,  and,  in  1879,  he  carried  out  his 
long-felt  wish.  Returning  home,  after  a  year's  stay  in  this  coun- 
try, he  spent  one  year  more  in  St.  Gall. 

On  August  15,  1881,  he  bade  farewell  to  his  native  soil,  and 
resolved  to  devote  his  life  to  God's  service  in  the  United  States. 
Upon  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  assumed  the  chair  of  Dog- 
matic Theology  in  St.  Francis'  Seminary,  Milwaukee,  and  in  this 
position  employed  his  rare  talents  in  educating  young  men  for 
the  priesthood.  In  1887  his  friend  and  countryman,  Right  Rev. 
Martin  Marty,  Vicar- Apostolic  of  Dakota,  asked  him  to  become 
his  vicar-general,  which  office  he  accepted.  His  efforts  were  un- 
tiring in  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his  responsible  position.  It  is 
astonishing  that  in  spite  of  his  manifold  labors  he  still  found 
time  to  engage  in  literary  work.  Here  it  was  that  he  wrote  his 
first  English  book,  entitled  "  Devotion  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  a 
work  which  merited  for  him  the  warmest  congratulations  of  the 
late  esteemed  Cardinal  Manning. 

The  vicariate  of  northern  Minnesota  was  made  a  diocese  in 
1889  and  the  episcopal  See  was  located  at  St.  Cloud.  Dr.  Zar- 
detti was  chosen  first  Bishop  of  the  newly-created  diocese.  He 
received  his  appointment  whilst  in  Europe,  and  was  consecrated 
on  October  18,  1889,  at  Einsideln,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop 
Gross,  of  Oregon  City. 

Although  the  Diocese, of  St.  Cloud  cannot  be  numbered  among 
the  great  dioceses  of  the  country,  it  is  nevertheless  among  the 
most  prosperous.  There  were  in  1893  in  the  diocese  seventy 
pi'iests,  seventy-nine  churches,  twelve  chapels,  and  thirty-nine 
parochial  schools,  attended  by  nearly  five  thousand  children. 


RIGHT  REV.  A.  VAN  DE  VYVER, 

Si^th  Bishop  of  Richmond. 

(See  page  349.) 

Right  Rev.  A.  Van  de  Vyver  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  by  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Sunday,  October  20, 1889.  He 
was  born  December,  1845,  in  Haesdouck,  East  Flanders,  Belgi- 
um. It  was  in  the  city  of  St.  Nicholas  that  he  pursued  his  classi- 
cal studies. 

He  soon  determined  to  devote  his  whole  life  to  the  altar,  and 
felt  that  America  was  the  proper  field  for  his  labors.  In  1867 
he  entered  the  American  Missionary  College  at  Louvain  and  was 
ordained  priest  July  24,  1870,  at  Brussels,  in  the  private  chapel 
of  the  Nuncio  Apostolic  to  Belgium.  Soon  after  ordination  he 
came  to  America  and  located  in  Virginia,  having  been  appointed 
an  assistant  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Cathedral,  Richmond, 

He  was  sent  by  Bishop  Gibbons  to  Harper's  Ferry,  Va.,  as  a 
successor  of  the  Right  Rev.  John  J.  Keane,  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 
For  six  years  he  labored  at  that  important  position  Im  a  manner 
that  won  for  him  the  friendship  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 
tact. The  pastor  at  Harper's  Ferry  had  a  parish  of  seventy  miles 
in  length  and  several  counties  in  width.  The  stations  were  widely 
scattered,  and  it  required  his  entire  time  to  attend  the  wants  of 
his  people.  Father  Van  de  Vyver  labored  so  successfully  that 
Bishop  Keane  called  him  to  Richmond  to  become  pastor  of  the 
Cathedral  and  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese,  when  the  present 
Archbishop  Janssens  was  made  Bishop  of  Natchez.  He  became 
administrator  of  the  Diocese  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Keane. 

In  Bishop  Van  de  Vyver  a  vigorous  intellect  is  joined  to  a  ro- 
bust physique.  He  is  of  medium  height,  stout,  and  active.  His 
bearing  marks  decisiveness  of  character,  while  his  face  and  head 
indicate  intelligence  and  firmness,  and  his  smile  is  so  kindly  and 


XX  SUPPLEMENT. 

inviting  that  those  who  come  into  his  presence  and  greet  him 
feel  forthwith  that  he  is  their  friend.  In  every  department  of 
priestly  work  that  he  has  been  called  upon  to  perform,  his  duties 
have  been  discharged  with  high-minded  courage  and  fidelity. 
He  has  a  well-balanced  mind,  a  calm  judgment,  the  practical 
sense  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  his  goodness  wins 
their  hearts  as  well.  He  is  a  pleasant  speaker,  and  his  sermons 
mark  the  man  of  culture,  the  thorough  student  of  books  and 
human  nature,  and  the  devoted  pastor.  He  is  often  very  elo- 
quent, but  his  discourses  are  usually  modelled  for  practical  in- 
struction, and  are  intended  to  reach,  and  do  reach  down  into  the 
daily  lives  of  his  people.  His  painstaking  care,  his  orderly  mind 
and  far-sightedness  have  been  seen  and  felt  for  good  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  affairs  of  his  Diocese. 

He  was  too  modest  ever  to  aspire  to  succeed  Bishop  Keane, 
and  when  unexpectedly  the  honor  came,  he  would  have  been 
glad  to  decline  it,  but  the  selection  had  been  made  because  of 
his  fitness,  for  those  in  higher  station  knew  his  goodness  and  his 
abilities,  and  nothing  was  left  for  him  but  to  accept  and  caiTy 
forward  the  work  as  Bishop,  in  which  he  had  shown  such  apt- 
ness as  pastor  and  vicar-general. 

The  diocese  contained  in  1893,  41  churches,  20  chapels,  35 
priests,  2  convents,  5  academies,  2  orphanages,  1  hospital,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  22,000. 


EIGHT  REV.  THEOPHILE  MEERSCHAERT, 

Second  Vicar -Apostolic  of  the  Indian  Territory. 

Theophile  Meerschaert  was  born  in  Russignies,  near  Renaix, 
Flanders  (Belgium),  on  the  24th  of  August,  1847.  He  entered 
the  College  of  Renaix,  where  he  remained  from  1859  to  1864. 
From  1864  to  1868  he  spent  in  Audenarde.  He  then  entered 
the  American  College  of  Louvain,  where  he  remained  until  1872. 
He  received  Minor  Orders  June  10,  1870;  was  ordained  sub- 
deacon  December  17,  1870;  deacon  June  3,  1871,  and  priest 
December  3,  1871. 

Father  Meerschaert  left  Russignies  for  America  September  26, 
1872,  and  arrived  in  New  York  October  13,  and  in  Natchez, 
Miss.,  October  27.  He  was  sent  to  the  missions  of  Jordan  River, 
Wolf  River,  and  Pearl  River  November  16,  1872;  and  was 
changed  to  Autumn  Springs  August  28,  1874.  In  October, 
1875,  Father  Meerschaert  was  stricken  with  yellow  fever,  after 
attending  on  the  sick  for  eight  weeks.  Again,  in  1878,  he  was 
seized  with  the  same  dread  disease,  while  ministering  to  the 
plague-stricken  at  Ocean  Springs  and  Beloxi.  In  1879  he  was 
sent  to  Bay  St.  Louis  to  replace  Rev.  Father  Leduc  for  one  year. 

On  August  30,  1880,  Father  Meerschaert  went  to  Natchez, 
and  became  Vicar-General  April  18,  1887.  Bishop  Janssens  hav- 
ing been  appointed  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of  New  Orleans, 
1888,  Vicar-General  Meerschaert  was  appointed  administrator. 

On  May  7,  1891,  Father  Meerschaert  was  preconized  titular 
Bishop  of  the  see  of  Sidymorum,  and  the  bull  constituting  him 
Bishop  was  issued  June  11.  By  special  indult  he  was  conse- 
crated on  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Sep- 
tember 8th,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Natchez,  by  Most  Rev.  Francis 
Janssens,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans,  assisted  by  Right 
Rev.  Edward  Fitzgerald,  of  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  and  Right  Rev. 
Thomas  Heslin,  of  Natchez,  Miss.  His  Lordship  arrived  in  the 
Indian  Territory  on  Friday,  September  18.  He  celebrated  his 
first  Pontifical  High  Mass  in  the  Indian  Temtory  in  Guthrie, 
on  Sunday,  the  20th.  His  Lordship  had,  in  1893,  in  his  vicariate 
sixteen  priests,  thirteen  regular  of  the  Benedictine  Order  and 
three  secular  priests. 


RIGHT  REV.  PETER  VERDAGUER, 

Second    Vicar- Apostolic  of  Brownsville. 

<,See  page  298.) 

lliGHT  Rev.  Peter  Verdaguer  was  born  at  San  Pedro  de 
Torello,  in  tlie  province  of  Catalonia,  Spain.  He  made  most  of 
his  studies  for  the  priesthood  in  the  Seminary  of  Vick-ana,  Barce- 
lona. In  September,  1S60,  he  left  Barcelona  and  was  sent  to  the 
Seminary  of  Cape  Girardeau,  Missouri,  to  finish  his  studies  and 
to  prepare  for  ordination.  He  was  ordained  by  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Amat  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  on  the  12th  of  December, 
1862.  He  was  sent  as  assistant  priest  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  where 
he  remained  only  four  months.  He  was  then  sent  alone  to  the 
mission  work,  and  was  engaged  in  several  of  the  most  important 
missions  until  1874,  when  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Los  Angeles.  There  he  remained  until  1889,  when,  with 
the  permission  of  his  bishop,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  native  land.  * 
It  was  there  he  was  nominated  titular  Bishop  of  Aulon  and  Vi- 
car-Apostolic of  Brov/nsville.  He  received  the  unexpected  news 
of  his  nomination  in  Bordeaux,  France. 

He  then  went  back  to  Barcelona,  and  on  the  9th  of  November, 
1890,  he  was  consecrated  in  the  Cathedral  of  that  city  by  the 
Bishop  of  Barcelona  and  the  Bishop  of  Vick  and  Lerida. 

Bishop  Verdaguer,  knowing  the  necessities  of  his  vicariate,  and 
the  need  of  priests  there,  went,  with  permission,  from  place  to 
place  to  obtain  young  seminarians  and  means  for  their  trans- 
portation. 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1891,  he  left  Barcelona  with  six  students. 
He  sent  them  for  some  time  to  the  Seminary  of  Cape  Girardeau, 
and  afterward  to  Victoria,  Tex.,  where  they  finished  their  studies 
and  were  ordained  priests. 

On  May  20,  1891,  Bishop  Verdaguer  took  possession  of  his 
vicariate  and  began  at  once  his  missionary  work. 

During  the  first  two  years  in  the  vicariate  he  established  three 
new  parishes  and  two  schools  for  boys.  The  vicariate  of  Browns- 
ville is  one  of  the  poorest,  and,  were  it  not  for  the  aid  he  receives 
from  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith,  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  carry  on  his  work. 


RIGHT   REV.  HENRY    GABRIELS, 

Second  Bishop  of  Ogdenshnrg. 

Henet  Gabriels  was  born  at  Wannegem-Lede,  in  the  diocese 
of  Ghent,  Belgium,  in  1838,  and  was  educated  in  the  Colleges  of 
Audenarde  and  St.  Nicholas.  His  theological  studies  were 
made  in  the  Seminary  of  Ghent  and  the  University  of  Louvain. 
He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1861  at  Ghent  and  in  1864 
received  the  degree  of  Licentiate  in  Theology  with  Bishop  Spal- 
ding, of  Peoria,  from  the  University  of  Louvain.  He  was  one  of 
the  four  Belgian  priests,  who,  at  the  request  of  Archbishop 
Hughes  and  his  successor.  Archbishop,  afterward  Cardinal 
McCloskey,  were  sent  by  their  bishop  in  1864  to  found  with  two 
American  priests  the  Provincial  Seminary  of  St.  Joseph  at  Troy, 
N.  Y.  From  1864  to  1871  he  there  taught  Dogmatic  Theology, 
and  then  became  President  of  the  institution  and  Professor  of 
Church  History  and  Hebrew  in  1882.  In  1882  he  received  from 
the  University  of  Louvain  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  The- 
ology. 

He  was  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Fourth  Provincial  Coun- 
cil of  New  York  in  1863  and  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of 
Baltimore  in  1884.  He  was  also  one  of  the  Vicars- General  of  the 
Dioceses  of  Ogdensburg  and  Burlington,  Diocesan  Examiner  for 
the  Archdiocese  of  New  York  and  the  Diocese  of  Albany,  and 
one  of  the  Diocesan  Consultors  of  the  Diocese  of  Albany. 

For  nearly  thirty  years  Bishop  Gabriels  lived  in  Troy,  doing 
his  important  work  in  a  very  quiet  and  unobtrusive  manner.  So 
modest  has  he  been  in  his  bearing,  so  retiring  in  his  methods, 
that  a  great  many  people  who  know  him  would  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  in  the  highest  and  most  scholastic  circles  of  his 
Church  Bishop  Gabriels  is  regarded  as  a  most  profound  theolo- 
gian, an  authority  on  intricate  problems  of  ecclesiastical  law. 

In  general  knowledge  his  attainments  are  wide  and  varied. 
Master  of  many  languages,  a  writer  with  the  simplicity  of  erudi- 
tion, acquainted  with  most  branches  of  science  and  still  eager  to 
learn,  he  is  regarded  by  those  who  are  privileged  to  know  him  as 
a  marvel  of  knowledge. 

Living  in  retireuient  from  the  ambitions  of  the  world,  seeking 
no  promotions,  Bishop  Gabriels  believed  that  his  life-work  was 


XXIV  SUPPLEMENT. 

at  St.  Joseph's  Seminary.  Through  no  act  of  his  the  work  that 
he  has  done  in  preparing  young  men  for  the  priesthood,  not  only 
as  an  instructor  but  as  an  exemplar  in  simple  living  and  lofty 
faith,  argued  for  his  elevation. 

He  left  the  diocese  of  Albany  followed  by  the  regrets  and  the 
prayers  of  those  who  have  known  him  so  long,  but,  while  they 
regretted  the  loss  of  a  man  so  widely  accomplished,  they  rejoiced 
that  his  priestly  labors  had  brought  forth  such  fruit. 

Bishop  Gabriels  was  appointed  December  21,  1891 ;  was  con- 
secrated in  the  Cathedral  at  Albany  May  5,  1892,  by  Archbishop 
Corrigan,  of  New  York,  assisted  by  Bishops  McNeirny,  of  Al- 
bany, and  Ludden,  of  Syracuse ;  and  was  installed  at  Ogdens- 
burs:  on  the  11th  of  the  same  month.  The  consecration  was 
attended  by  three  archbishops,  more  than  twenty  bishops,  and 
several  hundred  priests.  In  1893  five  missions  had  been  pro- 
vided with  resident  priests,  eight  priests  had  been  added  to  the 
working  clergy,  three  new  churches  built,  and  two  new  schools 
opened. 

The  diocese  of  Ogdensburg  was  created  by  a  division  of  the 
diocese  of  Albany  in  1872,  when  the  Right  Rev.  Edgar  P.  Wad- 
hams,  Yicar-General  of  that  see,  a  convert  from  Protestantism, 
was  made  its  first  Bishop.  The  zeal  and  administrative  talent 
soon  developed  that  rugged  part  of  the  State  of  'New  York  into 
a  well-organized  and  prospering  diocese.  New  parishes  were  erected 
and  missions  founded ;  churches  and  conv^ents  w^ere  built  wherever 
possible,  and  priests  provided  for  the  poor  and  scattered  Catholics 
in  and  around  the  wilderness  of  the  Adirondacks,  and  this  in 
spite  of  a  profound  agricnltural  and  industrial  depression,  which 
has  constantly  diminished  the  general  population  of  northern  New 
York.  The  good  work  he  so  well  commenced  has  been  taken  up 
by  his  successor  in  an  emulating  spirit  of  pushing  it  forward,  so 
that  in  1893  it  was  becoming  materially  poorer,  losing  many  of 
its  members  by  an  emigration  which  checked  its  increase  in  most 
localities  to  a  painful  degree,  yet  the  diocese  of  Ogdensburg,  with 
its  90  priests  and  over  70,000  Catholics  in  a  total  population  of 
300,000,  may  look  hopefully  to  the  time  when  Catholicity  almost 
alone  will  be  wdthin  its  limits  the  religion  of  those  who  wish  to 
be  known  as  Christians. 


EIGHT  REV.  IGNATIUS  R  HORSTMANN, 

Third  Bishop  of  Cleveland. 

(See  page  205.) 

IGNA.TIUS  F.  HoRSTMAWN  was  bom  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  or 
rather  the  part  of  it  that  was  then  the  district  of  South wark,  on 
December  16,  1840.  His  parents  were  nativ^es  of  Germany,  who 
came  to  this  country  in  early  life,  and  his  father  was  a  very 
prominent  and  prosperous  business  man  in  the  city  of  his  adop- 
tion. The  child  of  promise,  and  of  a  promise  that  has  been  so 
gloriously  fulfilled,  began  his  education  in  a  private  academy  con- 
ducted by  Madame  Charrier  and  her  daughter,  Mile.  Clementine, 
which  was  situated  on  German  Street  east  of  Third  Street. 
From  this  institution  he  passed  to  the  Mount  Vernon  Grammar 
School,  and  having  finished  the  regular  course  there  with  distinc- 
tion, was  promoted  to  the  Central  High  School,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1857  with  an  exceptionally  high  average.  He  en- 
tered St.  Joseph's  College,  conducted  by  the  Jesuits,  at  that  time 
situated  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Juniper  and  Filbert  Streets, 
where  was  afterwards  La  Salle  College.  Evincing  a  strong  in- 
clination for  the  office  of  the  priesthood,  he  entered  the  Prepara- 
tory Seminary  at  Glen  Riddle,  being  one  of  the  first  of  its  stu- 
dents. Bishop  Wood  was  so  pleased  with  his  aptitude  for  and 
application  to  study  that  he  chose  him  as  one  of  the  first  whom 
he  sent  to  the  newly-established  American  College  in  Rome. 
There  lie  continued  to  fulfil  the  promise  that  he  had  already  uni- 
formly given,  and  soon  took  foremost  rank  in  the  classes  of  the 
Propaganda,  winning  a  number  of  medals  in  literary  and  oratori- 
cal contests. 

.Completing  the  prescribed  course  of  studies  there,  he  was  ele- 
vated to  the  priesthood  in  the  Eternal  City  on  June  10,  1865,  by 
Cardinal  Patrizi.  Pie  continued  his  studies  in  Rome,  and  a  year 
later  won  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Returning  to  Phila- 
delphia, he  was,  in  the  latter  part  of  1866,  appointed  Professor  of 
Logic,  Metaphysics,  and  Ethics,  as  well  as  of  German  and 
Hebrew,  in  St.  Charles  Borromeo's  Seminary  in  that  city — in  the 
old  building  at  Eighteenth  and  Race  Streets,  until  1871,  and 
afterwards  at  Overbrook.     He  remained  there  until  the  close  of 


XXVI  SUPPLEMENT. 

1877,  when  lie  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  in 
succession  to  the  Rev.  Michael  F.  Martin.  He  managed  this  par- 
ish with  admirable  ability  and  tact,  and  drew  to  the  church  large 
congregations  to  hear  his  learned  and  interesting  discourses;  and 
so  carefully  did  he  manage  the  finances  of  the  parish  that  when 
he  left,  after  having  been  in  charge  considerably  less  than  eight 
years,  there  was  a  balance  of  over  $19,000  to  the  church's  credit. 
Rev.  Daniel  A.  Brennan  having  been  appointed  Rector  of  the 
Assumption  Church  in  September,  1885,  Archbishop  Ryan  asked 
Rev.  Dr.  Horstmann  to  take  his  place  as  Chancellor.  He  reluc- 
tantly accepted,  and  served  with  distinguished  ability  in  that 
capacity.  This  new  office  left  him  more  leisure  for  literary  work, 
and  his  extensive  learning  and  critical  taste  were  afforded  scope 
in  his  valuable  labors  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  American 
Catholic  Quarterly  Review. 

Many  appropriate  demonstrations  in  his  honor  were  held  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  occasion  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  or 
silver  jubilee,  of  his  ordination,  which  was  celebrated  impress- 
ively, with  becoming  pomp  and  solemnity.  Archbishop  Ryau 
preached  the  jubilee  sermon  in  the  Cathedral.  At  a  grand  recep- 
tion at  the  Catholic  Club,  in  behalf  of  his  lay  friends  a  purse  of 
$4,200  was  presented,  which  sum  he  at  once  turned  over  to  St. 
Vincent's  Home.  On  this  occasion  also  Archbishop  Ryan  paid 
another  eloquent  tribute  to  his  able  and  noble-hearted  Chan- 
cellor. 

Almost  the  last  act  he  performed  before  his  consecration  was 
to  ask  His  Grace,  the  Archbishop,  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  St.  Vincent's  Home,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  out  the  contract 
for  the  new  and  large  addition  to  the  Home  on  Darby  Road — an 
addition  which  cost  over  $100,000. 

Bishop  Horstmann  was  consecrated  in  the  Philadelphia  Cathe- 
dral by  Archbishop  Elder,  of  Cincinnati,  on  February  25,  1892, 
and  was  installed  in  his  episcopal  see  on  the  9th  of  March,  1892. 

In  1893  the  number  of  priests  in  the  diocese  of  Cleveland  had 
increased  to  218;  there  were  237  churches,  24  chapels,  and  59 
stations,  and  137  parochial  schools,  attended  by  more  than  34,000 
children,  besides  several  charitable  institutions,  academies,  a  semi- 
nary and  a  college,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  214,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  JAMES  McGOLDRICK, 

First  Bishop  of  Duhdli. 

James  McGoldrick  was  born  in  the  county  of  Tipperary,  Ire- 
land, in  1845.  He  was  sent  at  an  early  age  to  the  College  of  All 
Hallows,  Dublin,  where  he  completed  his  studies.  He  was  or- 
dained a  priest  at  All  Hallows  on  June  11,  1867,  and  shortly 
afterward  came  to  the  United  States.  He  was  made  assistant 
priest  at  the  Cathedral,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  where  he  remained  a 
year,  when  he  was  sent  to  Minneapolis.  Shortly  after  assuming 
his  new  charge,  he  secured  the  grounds  where  the  Church  of  the 
Immaculate  Conception  is  now  located,  and  erected  a  small  frame 
building  in  which  he  held  services  until  the  completion  of  the 
present  magnificent  church. 

Father  McGoldrick  was  foremost  in  all  Minneapolis  Catholic 
enterprises  during  his  pastorate  in  that  city.  He  was  notably  a 
temperance  leader,  and  organized  the  Crusaders,  the  Father 
Mathew  and  Cadet  Societies.  He  also  took  an  active  interest  in 
public  affairs,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Exposition  directoi'ate, 
the  Minnesota  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Associated  Charities,  the 
Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  Board,  and  other  organizations. 

On  December  27,  1889,  Father  McGoldrick  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Duluth,  in  St.  Paul.  Archbishop  Ireland  acted  as  con- 
secrator,  assisted  by  Archbishop  Grace ;  and  among  those  in  at- 
tendance were  Archbishop  Heiss  of  Milwaukee,  and  Bishops 
Marty  of  Sioux  Falls,  Flasch  of  La  Crosse,  Brondel  of  Plelena, 
and  Hennessy  of  Dubuque.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev. 
Walter  Elliot,  of  the  Paulist  Fathers,  New  York. 

Shortly  after  taking  possession  of  his  see,  Bishop  McGoldrick 
vvTote  a  series  of  powerful  letters  in  answer  to  an  attack  on  the 
parochial  schools  by  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  of 
Minnesota. 

The  diocese  of  Duluth  contained,  in  1893,  27  priests,  35 
churches,  24  stations,  1  hospital,  1  academy,  1  orphanage,  7  paro- 
chial schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  about  20,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  HESLIN, 

Fifth  Bishop  of  Natchez. 

Thomas  Hesliist  was  born  April,  1847,  in  the  parish  of  Killoe, 
Co.  Longford,  Ireland,  of  Patrick  Heslin  and  Catherine  Hughes. 
His  father  was  a  small  tenant  farmer.  Thomas  went  to  school 
early — when  about  five  years  of  age.  He  was  confii'med  at  the 
age  of  seven,  and  was  sent  to  study  the  classics  while  quite  young 
at  Granard  and  Moyne.  Archbishop  Odin,  of  New  Orleans, 
having  gone  to  Ireland  in  search  of  students,  Thomas  Heslin  and 
another,  since  dead,  came  with  His  Grace  to  New  Orleans  in  1863, 
and  at  once  entered  the  Seminary  at  Bouligny.  There  he  studied 
philosophy  and  theology  and  other  branches,  and  being  too  young 
for  ordination  when  the  course  was  finished  in  1867,  he  taught  a 
class  at  St.  Mary's,  Jefferson  College,  for  a  short  time,  and  the 
parochial  school  at  Carrollton  for  one  session. 

He  was  ordained  priest  in  September,  1869,  by  Bishop  Quin- 
lan,  of  Mobile,  and  was  appointed  assistant  for  a  short  time  at  the 
Cathedral,  New  Orleans.  He  was  one  year  at  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul's  and  three  and  a  half  years  at  St.  Patrick's.  He  was  next 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  Michael's  Church  at  the  end  of  1873,  and 
remained  there  fifteen  and  a  half  years,  until  nominated  to  the 
see  of  Natchez  in  April,  18S9. 

He  found  it  a  colony  in  a  new  and  large  district.  He  built  it, 
strengthened  his  church  in  every  branch,  eradicated  its  debt, 
purchased  the  adjoining  property,  and  erected  a  convent,  and  a 
large  school  for  white,  and  one  for  colored,  children.  Not  the 
less  did  he  prove  himself  a  scholar.  His  sermons  attracted  wide 
attention,  and  he  has  attained  a  wide  reputation  for  his  classical 
and  literary  accomplishments. 

On  June  18,  1889,  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Natchez,  in 
the  St.  Louis  Cathedral,  New  Orleans,  by  Most  Rev.  F.  Janssens, 


SUPPLEMENT.  XXxi 

D.D.,  assisted  by  Bishop  Fitzgerald,  of  Little  Rock,  and  Bishop 
Durier,  of  Natchitoches.  Since  his  installation  as  Bishop  he  has 
visited  his  large  diocese,  and  made  his  visit  ad  limina. 

The  territory  covered  by  the  diocese  of  Natchez  in  1893  com- 
prised the  whole  State  of  Mississippi,  being  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Archbishop  of  New  Orleans.  It  contained  in  1893,  63 
churches,  attended  by  30  priests;  had  4  academies  and  28  paro- 
chial schools,  attended  by  2,300  scholars;  the  Catholic  popula- 
tion being  17,400,  the  smallest  of  the  southwestern  dioceses.  Little 
Rock  excepted.  Natchez  is  one  of  the  very  few  dioceses  which 
TDntain  no  members  of  the  religious  orders.  Its  priesthood  is 
vvholly  secular,  but  there  are  a  number  of  educational  orders,  male 
and  female,  at  labor  within  its  limits.  Not  an  iusig-nificant  ele- 
ment  in  the  Catholic  population  of  the  Natchez  see  are  the  Choc- 
taw Indians,  among  whom  several  chapels  have  been  established, 
and  for  whose  benefit  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  have  opened  a  number 
of  schools.  It  was  among  these  that  the  late  Rev.  Adrien  Ro- 
quette  brought  the  Cross. 


EIGHT  REV.  P.  L.  CHAPELLE, 

Titular  Bishop  of  Arabissus^  and  Coadjutor  of  Santa  Fe. 

(See  page  174.) 

P.  L.  Chapelle  was  born  in  the  South  of  France  in  1844,  and 
came  to  the  United  States  when  quite  young,  being  but  seventeen 
years  of  age. 

He  accompanied  one  of  his  uncles,  who  was  a  missionary  in 
Hayti.  Shortly  after  Ms  arrival  here  young  Chapelle  entered  St. 
Mary's  Seminary,  Baltiraore,  and  made  his  full  theological  and 
philosophical  course  in  that  famous  old  institution.  While  he 
was  a  seminarian  his  uncle  died,  and  the  young  student  was  affili- 
ated with  the  archdiocese  of  Baltimore.  When  he  had  completed 
his  course  he  was  still  too  young  to  be  ordained,  so  he  taught  for 
two  years  in  St.  Charles'  College.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  in 
1865,  he  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  then  put  in  charge  of  the 
missions  in  Montgomery  County.  While  there  he  passed,  with 
much  success,  his  examination  for  the  degree  of  doctor  in  theology, 
which  was  conferred  upon  him  by  St.  Mary's,  Baltimore,  in  1868. 
In  1870  he  was  made  assistant  to  Monsignor  Bernard  J.  McManus, 
pastor  of  St.  John's  Church,  of  Baltimore,  and  soon  after  became 
pastor  of  St,  Joseph's  Church,  also  of  Baltimore.  At  the  death 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Boyle,  pastor  of  St.  Matthew's  Church,  of  Washing- 
ton, which  occurred  in  1882,  Dr.  Chapelle  was  appointed  to  that 
charge,  where  he  remained  until  his  appointment  as  Bishop. 

In  1872  Dr.  Chapelle  was  appointed  president  of  the  Theologi- 
cal Conferences,  held  every  three  months  in  Baltimore,  and  con- 
tinued in  that  office  until  1885,  when  Bishop  O'Sullivan,  who  was 
presiding  over  the  same  conference  for  the  District  of  Columbia, 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Mobile.  At  that  time  Dr.  Chapelle 
was  elected  president  of  the  Washington  Conference.  In  1884  he 
was  appointed  ecclesiastical  superior  of  the  Visitation  Nuns,  of 


SUPPLE3IEXT.  XXXlll 

Park  Street,  Baltimore.  In  1882  lie  was  appointed  superior  of 
the  Visitation  Nuns,  of  Georgetown,  and  afterward  of  the  same 
Order  in  Washington.  For  many  years  he  had  been  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Indian  Bureau  in  Washington,  and  when  the  Catholic 
University  was  organized  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board, 
composed  of  the  Cardinal,  archbishops,  bishops,  and  prominent 
priests  and  laymen  of  the  Church.  He  has  taken  an  active  pai't 
in  the  success  of  that  institution,  and  at  the  request  of  its  rector. 
Bishop  Keane,  he  gave  a  series  of  public  lectures  in  the  university 
on  "  The  Writings  and  Influence  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church," 
which  were  largely  attended,  and  were  successful.  He  is  regard- 
ed as  one  of  the  foremost  theologians  of  the  Church,  and  was  one 
of  the  board  convened  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  to  prepare  the  de- 
crees of  the  last  Plenary  Council.  He  was  also  secretary  of  one 
of  the  most  important  committees  of  the  council. 

Dr.  Chapelle  was  appointed  by  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  Aug.  2,  1891, 
titular  Bishop  of  Arabissus,  and  coadjutor  to  Archbishop  Sal- 
pointe,  of  Santa  Fe,  with  right  of  succession.  He  was  consecrated 
Nov.  1,  1891,  in  the  cathedral,  Baltimore,  by  His  Eminence  Car- 
dinal Gibbons,  assisted  by  Archbishop  Salpointe,  of  Santa  Fe, 
Bishop  Kain  (then)  of  Wheeling,  Bishop  Keane  of  the  Catholic 
University,  and  a  large  number  of  clergy  were  present. 

The  archdiocese  of  Santa  Fe  formerly  included  the  whole  of  the 
Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  with  a  large  portion  of 
Colorado.  While  nearly  two-thirds  of  this  territory  have  been 
taken  from  it,  the  archdiocese  in  1893  was  still  very  large,  including 
all  of  New  Mexico  with  the  exception  of  a  small  portion — Dona 
Ana  and  Grant  counties,  which  were  attached  to  the  vicariate- 
apostolic  of  Arizona.  The  territory  contained  about  110,000 
Catholics,  mostly  of  Mexican  or  Spanish  origin,  and  about  18,000 
Catholic  Indians,  remnants  of  the  once  powerful  Pueblas,  Avith 
forty-eight  priests,  thirty-four  parish  churches  and  250  chapels. 
The  archdiocese  also  had  eight  convents,  twenty-one  educational 
institutions,  of  which  thirteen  were  schools  for  Indians,  and  two 
hospitals.  At  Las  Vegas  and  Albuquerque  there  were  Jesuit 
communities.  The  secular  clergy  being  French,  with  about  four 
or  five  exceptions. 


EIGHT  REV.  STEPHEN  MICHAUD, 

Coadjutor  JBlshop  of  Turlington. 

(See  page  195.) 

John  Stephen  Michaud,  Titular  Bishop  of  Modra  and  Coad- 
jutor Bishop  of  Burlington,  Vt.,  was  born  in  that  town  on  No- 
vember 24,  1843.  His  father,  Stephen  Michaud,  came  from  the 
parish  of  St.  Andre,  in  the  diocese  of  Quebec,  Province  of  Que- 
bec, Canada,  in  1836.  His  mother — Catherine  Rogan — came  in 
June  of  the  same  year  from  her  native  place,  Manorhamilton, 
county  of  Leitrim,  Ireland.  They  were  married  by  the  Rev. 
Jeremiah  O'Callaghan,  July  11,  1841.  Mr.  Michaud  contracted 
typhus,  the  "ship  fever,"  while  tending  the  Irish  immigrants, 
in  1847,  and  died  three  weeks  afterward. 

The  young  mother  sent  John  to  the  parochial  school,  which 
Father  O'Callaghan  had  established  for  the  few  Catholics  then 
residino-  in  Burlington.  When  the  Rt.  Rev.  Louis  de  Goesbriand 
came  to  take  possession  of  his  diocese,  young  Michaud  was  ten 
years  of  age.  He  soon  became  a  sanctuary  boy ;  and  his  vocation 
was  nurtured  by  the  Christian  training  of  his  pious  mother  and 
his  love  of  the  sanctuary.  He  went  to  Montreal  College,  where 
he  remained  till  1868;  and  then  he  entered  Holy  Cross  College, 
Worcester,  Mass.,  whence  he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1870,  one 
of  his  classmates  being  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  D.  Beaven,  Bishop  of 
Springfield,  Mass. 

He  then  entered  St.  Joseph's  Seminary,  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
was  ordained  June  7,  1873,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Edgar  P.  Wadhams, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Ogdensburg.  In  September,  1873,  he  was  sent 
as  missionary  to  Newport,  Vei-mont  and  to  take  charge  of  all  the 
Catholics  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State.  He  labored  in 
this  section  for  more  than  five  years,  being  the  first  pastor  of 
Newport.     After  securing  land  he  built  a  new  church  and  resi- 


SUPPLEMENT.  XXXV 

dence,  and  left  the  parish  fully  equipped.  He  procured  for  the 
missions  at  Newport,  by  purchase  or  by  building,  neat  and  com- 
modious chapels — such  as  at  Albany,  Barton,  Lowell,  and  Wells 
River — besides  caring  for  the  Catholics  of  Island  Pond  and  Ely, 
Father  Michaud  was  then  called  to  Burlington  to  be  resident 
chaplain  to  the  Sisters  of  Providence.  He  built  the  Providence 
Orphan  Asylum  and  Hospital  of  Burlington,  a  large  and  com- 
manding structure,  where  the  orphans  of  the  diocese  are  cared  for. 

Father  Michaud  was  made  pastor  of  Winooski  in  1883.  Find- 
ing himself  without  a  residence  he  set  to  work  and,  with  his 
characteristic  energy,  built  one.  In  1885  he  was  moved  to  Ben- 
nington, where  a  new  church  was  needed.  Here  he  built  a 
church  which  is  considered  to  be  the  finest  in  the  State. 

The  good  Bishop  de  Goesbriand,  with  the  weight  of  years  and 
the  fatigue  of  most  zealous  labor,  felt  the  need  of  a  coadjutor. 
The  Holy  Father  approved  of  his  request,  and  named  the  Rt. 
Rev.  John  Stephen  Michaud,  with  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Modra. 
The  Bishop  was  consecrated  at  Burlington  June  29,  1892,  by  the 
Most  Rev.  John  T.  Williams,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Boston,  as- 
sisted by  Rt.  Rev.  D.  Bradley,  D.D.,  and  Rt.  Rev.  H.  Gabriels, 
D.D. 

In  1893,  the  diocese  of  Burlington  contained  76  churches,  52 
priests,  125  religious,  15  convents,  1  college,  6  academies,  1  orphan- 
age, 18  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of  50,000. 


BIGHT  REV.  CHARLES  E.  McDONNELL. 

Second  Bishop  of  BrooMyn. 

(See  page  187.) 

Charles  E.  McDonnell  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
1854  of  Irish  parents.  In  his  youth  the  family  removed  to  J 
Brooklyn,  and  young  McDonnell  made  his  first  studies  in  the 
city  and  diocese  of  which  he  is  now  Bishop.  After  studying  for 
a  time  in  old  De  La  Salle  Institute,  New  York  City,  which  was 
conducted  by  the  Christian  Brothers,  he  entered  the  Jesuit  Col- 
lege of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  Sixteenth  Street,  New  York,  where 
several  of  the  priests  of  his  diocese  were  his  college  mates.  Young 
McDonnell  was  from  the  first  proficient  in  his  studies,  and  he 
was  able  to  enter  on  his  theological  course  for  the  priesthood  two 
years  in  advance  of  his  classmates.  Cardinal  McCloskey  accepted 
him  as  a  student  for  the  archdiocese  of  New  York.  In  1871, 
when  not  quite  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  went  to  Rome  and  en- 
tered the  American  College  to  begin  his  theological  studies. 
When  he  completed  his  theological  course,  he  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Cha- 
tard,  of  Vincennes,  lud.,  in  the  chapel  of  the  American  College, 
May  19,  1878.  He  was  the  first  priest  ordained  by  Bishop  Cha- 
tard,  who  had  been  consecrated  Bishop  in  the  same  chapel  on  the 
Sunday  previous. 

In  the  fall  of  1878  Dr.  McDonnell  returned  to  New  York. 
Cardinal  McCloskey  assigned  him  as  assistant  priest  in  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Grand  Street,  New  York.  In  January,  1879,  he  was 
transferred  to  St.  Stephen's  Church,  East  28th  Street.  He  remained 
there  until  the  opening  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  on  Fifth  Ave. 
in  the  following  May.  The  young  priest  was  well  versed  in  lit- 
urgy, having  been  trained  in  Rome  by  Mgr.  Cataldi,  the  prefect 
of  Papal  ceremonies.  For  this  reason  Cardinal  McCloskey  took 
him  to  the  Cathedral  to  direct  the  elaborate  ceremonies  to  be 
held  there. 


SUPPLEMETiTT.  XXXvii 

In  1S84,  when  Mgr.  Farley,  who  had  been  the  Cardinal's  sec- 
retary, was  made  pastor  of  St.  Gabriel's  Church,  East  37th 
Street,  Dr.  McDonnell  was  selected  to  succeed  him.  On  the 
death  of  the  Cardinal  he  became  the  secretary  of  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbisliop  Corrigan.  When  Vicar-General  Quinn  died,  the  late 
Mgr.  Preston  had  been  Chancellor  of  the  diocese,  and,  when  he 
became  Vicar-General,  Archbishop  Corrigan,  to  relieve  him  of  some 
of  the  burden,  made  Dr.  McDonnell  Chancellor  while  continuino^ 
him  as  secretary.  At  Pope  Leo's  Golden  Jubilee  Dr.  McDonnell 
represented  his  Grace  Archbishop  Corrigan.  On  June  27,  1890, 
while  he  was  abroad  witb  Archbishop  Corrigan,  the  Pope  made 
him  Private  Chamberlain  with  the  title  of  Monsignore.  The  Arch- 
bishop appointed  him  spiritual  director  of  the  Catholic  Club, 
New  York  City,  October  23,  1890,  to  succeed  the  late  Vicar-Gen- 
eral Donnelly. 

Dr.  McDonnell  was  consecrated  Bishop  by  his  Grace  Arch- 
bishop Corrigan  in  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  New  York,  April  25, 
1 892,  and  shortly  after  'took  possession  of  his  see.  Bishop  Mc- 
Donnell is  progressive  and  energetic,  and  will  doubtless  so  ad- 
minister the  Brooklyn  diocese  that  it  will  retain  the  position  it 
held  among  the  other  dioceses  of  the  country  under  the  lamented 
Bishop  Loughlin. 

In  1893,  there  were  in  the  diocese  of  Brooklyn  218  priests, 
137  churches,  1  seminary,  60  ecclesiastical  students,  3  industrial 
schools,  12  asylums,  5  hospitals,  2  homes  for  the  aged,  2  colleges, 
114  parochial  schools  attended  by  nearly  30,000  children,  and  a 
Catholic  population  of  280,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  JOSEPH  B.  GOITER, 

First  Bishop  of  Winona. 

Joseph  B.  Cotter  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England,  on  Novem- 
ber 19,  1844.  He  came  to  New  York  with  his  parents  when 
three  years  of  age.  In  1855  the  family  removed  to  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota.  Joseph  was  educated  at  St.  Vincent's  Seminary,  St. 
John's,  Minn.,  and  was  ordained  a  priest  on  May  23,  1871. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  appointed  pastor  at  Winona,  where  he 
organized  a  Father  Mathew  Society,  and  worked  zealously  in  the 
cause  of  temperance.  In  1877  he  accompanied  Bishop  Ireland  to 
the  Total  Abstinence  National  Convention  in  New  York.  He 
has  ever  since  advocated  total  abstinence,  and  has  acquired  a  na- 
tional reputation  on  account  of  his  labor  in  that  direction.  He 
was  elected  three  times  President  of  the  National  Total  Absti- 
nence Union. 

Father  Cotter  was  consecrated  a  Bishop  on  December  27, 1889, 
in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  by  Archbishop  Ireland,  as- 
sisted by  Archbishop  Grace.  Archbishop  Heiss  of  Milwaukee, 
and  Bishops  Marty  of  Sioux  Falls,  Flasch  of  La  Crosse,  Brondel 
of  Helena,  and  Hennessy  of  Dubuque  were  in  the  sanctuary. 

The  ceremonies  received  an  added  interest  from  the  fact  that 
Bishop  Cotter  was  one  of  three  bishops  consecrated  at  the  same 
time — the  others  being  BishojD  McGoldrick,  of  Duluth,  and 
Bishop  Shanley,  of  Jamestown.  Once  only  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  the  United  States  was  a  similar  event  witnessed, 
namely,  on  October  30,  1853,  when  Bishop  Loughlin,  of  Brook- 
lyn ;  Bishop  Bayley,  of  Newark ;  and  Bishop  de  Goesbriand,  of 
Burlington,  were  consecrated  in  the  old  cathedral  of  St.  Patrick, 
New  York,  by  Cardinal  Bedin. 

The  diocese  of  Winona  contained,  in  1893,  52  priests,  44 
churches,  and  50  churches  without  resident  priest,  9  academies,  2 
hospitals,  3  asylums,  7  orders  of  religious  women,  1  order  of  re- 
ligious men,  19  parochial  schools,  and  a  Catholic  population  of 
about  40,000. 


RIGHT  REV.  THOMAS  M.  A.  BURKE,  D.D. 

Fourth  Bhliop  of  Albany. 

Thomas  Martin  Aloysius  Burke  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1840, 
He  was  the  son  of  the  late  Dr.  Ulic  Burke,  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and 
in  tliat  city  his  earlier  years  were  spent. 

His  aspirations  seemed  to  be  in  the  direction  of  the  holy 
ministry  from  the  beginning,  and  in  1855  he  entered  St. 
Michael's  College,  Toronto,  and  commenced  his  classical  studies. 
His  health  failing,  he  was  obliged  to  return  home.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1850,  he    entered   St.  Charles   College,  Maryland. 

In  St.  Charles  College  he  was  contemporary  with  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  Archbishop  Kain  of  St.  Louis,  Bishop  Keane  of  the 
Catholic  University,  and  many  other  iUustrious  ecclesiastics. 

Having  completed  his  studies,  he  was  invited  by  the  faculty 
of  St.  Charles'  to  teach  for  a  year.  In  this  capacity  he  labored 
with  fidelity  and  success,  as  well  as  completing  his  study  of 
philosophy,.  Entering  St.  Mary's  Seminary,  Baltimore,  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  pursued  his  theological  studies  and  graduated 
from  that  institution  in  1864,  having;  received  the  deirree  of 
Master  of  Arts  and  Bachelor  of  Theology,  cum  maxima  laude. 

On  June  30,  1864,  he  was  ordained  Priest  by  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Francis  P.  McFarland,  Bishop  of  Hartford,  his  pastor  in  St. 
John's  Church,  Utica,  from  whom,  in  his  boyhood,  he  had  re- 
ceived his  first  communion.  After  his  ordination  he  was  assigned 
to  St.  John's  Church,  Albany,  where  he  remained  for  seven 
months.  In  April,  1865,  the  Very  Rev.  John  J.  Conroy,  then  the 
administrator  of  the  diocese,  brought  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
to  St.  Joseph's,  Albany,  and  appointed  him  his  own  assistant 
with  the  Rev.  Ambrose  M.  O'Neil.  Father  Burke  was  immedi- 
ately placed  in  charge  of  the  Young  Men's  Sodality  which  had 
.just  been  established  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  Damen  and  Smarius, 
who  were  at  that  time  conducting  a  great  mission  in  St.  Joseph's. 
The  Sodality  under  his  care  continued  to  flourish,  and^  the  suc- 
cess which  attended  it  encouraged  other  pastors  of  the  city  and 
diocese  to  establish  similar  societies.  Besides  the  Young  Men's 
Sodality  he  took  charge  of  many  other  societies  in  the  congrega- 
tion, as  the  Young  Ladies',  Children,  Rosary,  and  others.  To  the 
day  of  his  consecration.  Father  Burke  continued  to  give   his  at- 


xl  SUPPLEMENT. 

teution  to  the  Young  Men's  Sodality  as  their  Spiritual  Director. 
He  took  a  particular  interest  in  the  children  of  the  parish,  by 
whom  he  was  dearly  loved,  and  this  interest  was  especially  mani- 
fested by  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  flourishing 
schools,  and  St.  Joseph's  male  and  female  Academy. 

In  1884,  Father  Burke  was  appointed  by  the  Most  E,ev.  Apos- 
tolic Delegate  a  Theologian  in  the  Third  Plenary  Council  at  Balti- 
more. During  the  Council  he  took  a  most  active  part,  and  his 
numerous  speeches  in  the  public  conference  are  well  remembered. 

When  Very  Rev.  P.  A.  Ludden  was  nominated  by  the  Holy 
See  to  the  new  diocese  of  Syracuse,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  McNeirny 
appointed  Father  Burke  his  successor  in  the  office  of  Vicar- 
General.  During  the  seven  years  of  his  Vicar-Generalship  be 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  both  the  Bishop  and  clergy.  Upon 
the  unexpected  demise  of  Bishop  McNeirny,  Jan.  2,  1894,  the 
Most  Rev.  Archbishop  of  New  York  appointed  him  administrator 
of  the  diocese,  which  appointment  was  afterward  confirmed  by 
the  Holy  See.  The  term  of  his  administration  was  marked  with 
the  same  success  as  distinguished  his  former  career  as  priest  and 
Vicar-General.  In  1889,  he  was  created  Knight  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  and  since  his  consecration  he  has  been  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  Knight  of  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  highest  order. 

The  nomination  of  Father  Burke  to  the  vacant  See  of  Albany, 
by  the  consultors  and  irremovable  Rectors  of  the  Diocese,  was 
approved  of  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Province  and  afterward  con- 
firmed by  our  Holy  Father  Leo  XIII.,  who  issued  an  Apostolic 
Brief,  on  May  11th,  appointing  him  Fourth  Bishop  of  Albany. 

The  ceremony  of  Consecration  took  place  Sunday,  July  1st,  at 
the  Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Albany,  the  30th 
anniversary  of  the  celebration  of  his  first  Mass.  The  Consecrator 
was  His  Grace,  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Corrigan  of  New  York, 
and  the  assisting  consecrating  Prelates  being  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
McQuaid  of  Rochester,  and  Ludden  of  Syracuse.  There  were 
present  a  large  number  of  Bishops,  all  the  Priests  of  the 
Diocese  and  a  large  number  of  Priests  from  almost  every  Diocese 
in  the  Union,  besides  many  of  the  State,  City,  and  County  officials. 
That  his  years  in  the  Episcopate  may  be  long  and  happy  is  the 
wish  of  all. 


Picl'DPial   Represeni'al'ions 


OF 


Grsat  Defenders 


OF   THE 


Faitl]  ii^  Every  M^- 


Christ  Givirg  the  Keys  to  Peter.  In  this  engraving  we  find 
represented  the  commission  of  the  keys  to  St.  Peter  by  Christ. 
Christ  here  shows  that  He  meant  to  found  o?ie  Church,  because 
He  compares  it  to  a  house,  the  keys  of  which  He  put  into 
Peter's  hands.  He  gave  St.  Peter,  who  was  His  representative 
on  earth,  and  first  Pope  and  Bishop  of  Kome,  power  to  open  and 
shut  the  doors — that  is,  to  admit  some  to  membership  and  to  ex- 
clude others,  according  to  the  statutes  Christ  Himself  had  framed. 
The  truth  depicted  in  this  illustration  lies  at  the  very  foundation 
of  the  Catholic  Church. 

St.  Paul  Preaching  at  Tphesus.  Though  St.  Paul  was  not 
one  of  the  twelve  Apostles,  yet  on  account  of  his  miraculous 
conversion,  and  his  vocation  by  the  immediate  voice  of  Christ 
from  heaven,  and  his  great  work  in  establishing  the  Faith,  he  has 
been  considered  entitled  to  hold  a  place  among  the  Apostles.  He 
preached  at  Ephesus  almost  three  years.  For  the  first  three 
months  he  addressed  himself  to  the  Jews ;  but  seeing  their  stiff- 
necked  obstinacy,  he  turned  to  the  Gentiles — hence  his  title  of 
the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 

St.  John  Chrysostom.  St.  John  Chrysostom,  one  of  the  great- 
est of  the  doctors  of  the  Church,  was  Archbishop  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  was  born  about  the  year  344.  His  name,  Chrys- 
ostom^ means  golden-mouthed,  which  was  conferred  on  him  on 


ii   PICTORIAL  EEPRESENTATIONS  OF  GEEAT  DEFENDERS  IN  EVERY  AGB. 

account  of  his  marvellous  gift  of  eloquence.  It  is  said  that  while 
an  infant  in  the  cradle,  a  swarm  of  bees  flew  in  one  day,  and, 
much  to  the  consternation  of  his  mother,  settled  round  his  mouth. 
This  was  afterward  regarded  as  a  presage  of  the  sweetness  of  his 
eloquence,  which  has  so  charmed  all  the  succeeding  ages.  His 
writings  are  said  to  breathe  the  fervor  of  St.  Peter,  the  zeal  of  St. 
Paul,  and  the  charity  of  Moses.  Having  offended  the  court  party 
by  his  denunciation  of  the  vices  of  the  day,  he  was  banished  from 
his  diocese,  and  died  of  hardship  and  ill  treatment  on  his  way  to 
exile. 

St.  Augustine  and  his  Mother,  St.  Monica.  St.  Augustine 
is  universally  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  Among  them  he  stands  apart  and  alone.  Popes, 
councils,  aud  the  whole  Church  have  heaped  more  honors  and 
praises  on  his  memory  than  on  any  other  doctor  of  the  Church  or 
Defender  of  the  Faith.  St.  Augustine's  name  cannot  be  considered 
without  reference  to  his  pious  mother,  St.  Monica,  to  whom  he 
owed  his  conversion  to  the  Catholic  faith.  How  this  model  of 
good  mothers  wrought  to  rescue  her  sou  from  evil  and  gain  him 
to  God,  is  known  to  all  pious  readers. 

St.  Bruno  lived  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  was  the  founder 
of  the  famous  order  of  Carthusian  monks.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  learning  and  piety,  and  so  niany  miracles  were  wrought 
through  him  that,  after  his  death,  he  was  canonized  without  going 
through  the  formalities  of  a  scrutiny. 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  is  the  greatest  of  Catholic  theological 
and  philosophical  writers,  and  one  of  the  most  wonderful  prod- 
igies of  human  learning  that  ever  lived.  His  writings  are  the 
bulwark  of  Catholic  doctrine,  and  will  so  remain  till  the  end 
of  time.  He  was  accustomed  to  say  that  he  learned  more  in 
prayer  at  the  foot  of  the  crucifix  than  in  all  the  books  he  ever 
read.  It  is  told  of  him  that  being  in  prayer  one  day,  shortly  be- 
fore his  death,  a  voice  from  the  crucifix  said  to  him :  "  Thou  hast 
written  well  of  me,  Thomas ;  what  recompense  dost  thou  desire  ?  " 
to  which  he  answered  :  "  No  other  than  thyself,  O  Lord."  Pope 
Leo  XHI.  has  zealously  worked  to  have  the  writings  of  St.  Thomas 
more  and  more  studied  in  Catholic  institutions  of  learning. 


PICTORIAL  REPRESENTATIONS  OF  GREAT  DEFENDERS  IN  EVERY  AGE.  Ul 

St.  Francis  of  Assisium  stands  pre-eminent,  even  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Saints,  for  his  perfection  in  holiness.  So  ardent  was 
his  love  of  his  Saviour,  whose  crucifix  he  carried  about  in  his 
hand  continually,  that  he  was  honored  with  the  extraordinary 
favor  of  the  stigmata,  or  having  the  marks  of  the  five  wounds  of 
our  Saviour  imprinted  on  his  body.  St,  Francis  was  the  founder 
of  the  order  of  Franciscan  friars,  whose  churches  are  spread  all 
over  the  world.  He  also  founded  the  Poor  Clare  nuns,  and  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  the  well-known  archconfraternity  for 
people  living  in  the  world  who  wish  to  lead  pure.  Christian  lives. 

St.  Ignatius  Loyola.  The  present  is  an  authentic  portrait 
of  a  man  who  is  more  widely  known  outside  of  the  Catholic 
Church  than  any  Saint  in  her  calendar  since  the  days  of  the 
Apostles, — St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  the  founder  of  the  great  order 
of  Jesuits.  The  Jesuits,  in  modern  times,  have  been  the  great 
bulwark  of  the  Church,  in  resisting  the  attacks  of  her  enemies. 
They  are  more  esteemed  by  Catholics,  and  more  hated  by  the 
enemies  of  Catholicity,  than  any  body  of  religious  men  that  ever 
existed.  St.  Ignatius  was  a  soldier,  and  it  was  while  recovering 
from  a  wound  received  in  battle  that  he  resolved  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  defence  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  He  chanced  to  take 
up  a  volume  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  no  other  book  being  at 
hand,  and  before  he  laid  it  down  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
become  a  soldier  of  the  Cross. 

St.  Francis  Xavier,  the  Apostle  of  the  Indies,  was  one  of  the 
greatest  missionaries  since  the  Apostles  themselves  went  out, 
in  obedience  to  Christ's  command,  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  all 
nations.  In  his  zeal  to  preach  the  religion  of  Christ  to  infidel 
nations,  he  has  been  compared  to  St.  Paul.  He  planted  the  Gos- 
pel in  India,  Japan,  and  the  Spice  Islands,  converting  immense 
numbers,  among  them  kings  and  royal  personages,  and  died  when 
about  to  penetrate  China.  He  was  one  of  the  little  band  who 
first  formed  the  Jesuit  order. 

St..  Francis  of  Sales  is  known  to  Catholics  everywhere  as  the 
founder  of  the  order  of  the  Nuns  of  the  Visitation,  and  as  the 
author  of  many  of  the  most  excellent  devotional  books  in  ex- 
istence.    He  was  Bishop  of  Geneva,  and  died  in  1622.     He  con- 


iv  PICTORIAL  KEPRESENTATIOXS  OF  GREAT  DEFENDERS  IN  EVERY  AGE. 

verted  more  than  seventy  thousand  Calvinists  by  his  preaching, 
and  he  stopped  the  spread  of  that  heresy  at  a  time  when  it  was 
rapidly  extending.  He  was  honored  and  sought  after  by  kings, 
princes,  and  the  great  and  good  of  many  countries.  Many  well- 
authenticated  miracles  were  wrought  by  him  while  living,  and 
by  his  relics  and  through  his  intercession  after  his  death. 

St.  Charles  Borromeo  is  called  the  model  of  pastors  and 
bishops.  He  was  born  in  1538  and  died  in  1584.  So  extra- 
ordinary were  his  piety,  zeal,  and  learning  that  he  was  nomi- 
nated  Archbishop  of  Milan  by  the  Pope,  when  only  in  the  twenty- 
third  year  of  his  age.  St.  Charles  was  the  founder  of  the  system 
of  Sunday-schools,  v/hich  are  so  widely  diffused  throughout  the 
Christian  world  to-day.  He  brought  the  Council  of  Trent  to  a 
successful  conclusion  amid  great  difficulties,  and  by  enforcing  its 
decrees  effected  a  lasting  reformation  of  discipline. 

St.  Alphonsus  Liguori  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the 
last  man  who  lias  been  pronounced  a  Doctor  of  the  Church. 
This  declaration  was  made  by  Pope  Pius  IX,,  March  11,  1871. 
St.  Lisfuori  was  born  in  1696  and  died  in  1787.  The  Church  has 
endorsed  all  his  writings.  Many  of  his  writings  read  as  if  they 
were  inspired ;  and  it  is  told  of  him  that  the  figure  of  a  white 
dove  was  sometimes  seen  at  his  ear,  when  engaged  in  their  com- 
position. Many  of  his  books  of  devotion  are  found  in  Catholic 
households  in  all  civilized  languages. 


Saint  Peter  and  the  Keys. 

■•  And  I  will  give  to  thee  tne  keys  of  tne  Kingdom  of   heaven.       And  what- 
soever thou  Shalt  bind  upon  earth,  it  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven  ;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  upon  earth,  it  shall  be  loosed  also  in  heaven. 
—Matt.  x:i.  19. 


ST.  PAUL  PREACHING  AT  EPHESUS. 


Saint  Iohn  Chrysostom. 


Saint  Augustine  and  his  Mother,  Saint  Monica. 


Sain  I    Bkuno. 


Saint  Thomas  of  Aquino. 


Saint  Francis  of  Ajssisium. 


Saint  Icnatius  I^oyola. 


Sai{,'t  Francis  Xavier. 


Saint  Francis  of  Sales. 


Saint  Charles  Borromeo 


Saint  Alphonsu!?  Lujuori. 


GREAT 

DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH 


IN 


EVERY  AGE 


SAINT    PETER,    PRINCE    OF    THE    APOSTLES 
And  First  Defender  of  the  Faith, 

St.  Peter,  the  most  glorious  prince  of  the  apostles,  and  the  most 
ardent  lover  of  his  divine  Master,  before' his  vocation  to  the  apos- 
tleship,  was  called  Simon.  He  was  son  of  Jonas  and  brother  of  St. 
Andrew.  St.  Peter  and  St.  Andrew  were  religious,  docile,  and 
humble,  in  the  midst  of  a  perverse  and  worldly-minded  people. 
They  were  educated  in  the  laborious  trade  of  fishing,  which  was 
probably  their  father's  calling.  With  their  worldly  employment 
they  retained  a  due  sense  of  religion,  and  did  not  suffer  the 
thoughts  of  temporal  concerns  or  gain  to  devour  their  more  neces- 
sary attention  to  spiritual  things,  and  the  care  of  their  souls. 
They  lived  in  the  earnest  expectation  of  the  Messiah.  St.  An- 
drew became  a  disciple  of  St.  John  the  Baptist ;  and  most  are  of 
opinion  that  St.  Peter  was  so  too.  Simon  believed  in  Christ 
before  he  saw  him  ;  and  being  impatient  to  behold  him  with  his 
eyes,  and  to  hear  the  words  of  eternal  life  from  his  divine  mouth, 
he  without  delay  went  with  his  brother  to  Jesus,  who,  looking 
upon  him,  in  order  to  give  him  a  proof  of  his  omniscience,  told 
him  not  only  his  own  but  also  his  father's  name.  He  on  that 
occasion  gave  him  the  new  name  of  Cephas,  which  in  the  Syro- 
Chaldaic  tongue,  then  used  in  Judcea,  signifies  a  rock,  and  is  by 
us  changed  into  Peter,  from  the  Greek  word  of  the  same  im- 
port.    St.  Peter  and  St.  Andrew,  after  having  passed  sometime 


a  SAINT   PETER,    PRINCE   OF   THE   APOSTLES 

in  the  company  of  our  divine  Redeemer,  returned  to  their  fish- 
ing t/ade  ;  yet  often  resorted  to  him  to  hear  his  holy  instruc- 
tions. Towards  the  end  of  the  same  year,  which  was  the  first 
of  Christ's  preaching,  Jesus  saw  Simon  Peter  and  Andrew 
washing  their  nets  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  and  going  into  Si- 
mon's boat  to  shun  the  press,  he  preached  to  the  people  who 
stood  on  the  shore.  After  his  discourse,  as  an  earnest  of  his 
blessing  to  his  entertainer,  he  bade  Peter  cast  his  nets  into  the 
sea.  Our  apostle  had  toiled  all  the  foregoing  night  to  no  pur- 
pose, and  had  drawn  his  boat  into  the  harbor,  despairing  of  any 
success  at  present.  However,  in  obedience  to  Christ,  he  again 
launched  out  into  deep  water,  and  let  down  his  net.  He  had 
scarce  done  this,  when  such  a  shoal  of  fishes  was  caught  by  the 
first  draught  as  filled  not  only  their  own  boat,  but  also  that  of 
James  and  John,  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  were  fishing  near 
them,  and  were  forced  to  come  and  help  them  to  drag  in  the  net, 
which  was  ready  to  break  with  the  load — yet  the  boats  were  not 
sunk.  At  the  sight  of  this  miracle,  Peter,  struck  with  amaze- 
ment, fell  on  his  knees,  and  cried  out,  "  Depart  from  me,  O 
Lord,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man."  The  apostle  by  this  humility, 
whilst  he  sincerely  professed  himself  unworthy  to  appear  in  the 
presence  of  his  Lord,  or  to  be  in  his  company,  deserved  to  re- 
ceive the  greatest  graces.  By  this  miracle  Christ  gave  the  apos- 
tles a  type  of  their  wonderful  success  in  the  new  employment 
to  which  he  called  them,  when  he  made  them  fishers  of  men. 
Upon  this  occasion,  he  bade  Peter  and  Andrew  follow  him. 
This  invitation  they  instantly  obeyed,  and  with  such  perfect  dis- 
positions of  heart  that  St.  Peter  could  afterwards  say  to  Christ 
with  confidence,  "  Behold,  O  Lord,  we  have  left  all  things,,  and 
have  followed  thee." 

After  the  feast  of  the  passover,  in  the  year  31,  Christ  chose 
his  twelve  apostles,  in  which  sacred  college  the  chief  place  was 
from  the  beo^inninor  assiofned  to  St.  Peter.  Mr.  Laurence 
Clarke  takes  notice,  that  "  in  the  enumeration  of  the  twelve,  all 
the  evangelists  constantly  place  Peter  in  the  front.  Our  Lord 
usually  directs  his  discourse  to  him,  and  he  replies  as  the  mouth 
of  his  fellows.  Christ  appeared  to  him  after  his  resurrection 
before  the   rest  of  the  apostles.      He  gave    him  a  special  com- 


AND    FIRST   DEFENDER   OF   THE   FAITH.  Ill 

mand  to  feed  his  sheep.  He  was  the  first  whom  God  chose  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  From  these  and  other  passa- 
ges of  the  holy  scripture,  it  is  evident  that  St.  Peter  acted  as 
chief  of  the  college  of  the  apostles ;  and  so  he  is  constantly  de- 
scribed by  the  primitive  writers  of  the  church,  who  call  him  the 
head,  the  president,  the  prolocutor,  the  chief,  the  foreman  of  the 
apostles,  with  several  other  titles  of  distinction."  Christ,  who 
had  always  distinguished  St.  Peter  above  the  rest  of  the  apos- 
tles, promised  to  commit  his  whole  church  to  his  care,  above  a 
year  before  his  sacred  death,  and  confirmed  to  him  that  charge 
after  his  resurrection,  having  exacted  of  him  a  testimony  of  his 
strong  faith  on  the  first  occasion,  and  on  the  second,  a  proof  of 
his  ardent  love  of  God,  and  zeal  for  souls. 

After  the  resurrection  of  our  Divine  Saviour,  Mary  Magdalene 
and  the  other  devout  women  that  went  early  on  the  Sunday 
morning  to  the  sepulchre,  were  ordered  by  an  angel  to  go  and 
inform  Peter  and  the  rest,  that  Christ  was  risen.  Our  apostle 
no  sooner  heard  this,  but  he  ran  in  haste  with  St.  John  to  the 
sepulchre.  Love  gave  wings  to  both  these  disciples  ;  but  St. 
John,  running  faster,  arrived  first  at  the  place,  though  he  waited 
there,  doubtless  out  of  respect ;  and  St.  Peter  first  entered  the 
sepulchre,  and  saw  the  place  where  the  sacred  body  had  been 
laid.  After  their  departure,  Christ  appeared  to  Mary  Magda- 
lene ;  and  afterward  on  the  same  day  to  St.  Peter,  the  first 
among  the  apostles.  This  favor  was  an  effect  of  his  tender 
mercy,  in  which  he  would  not  defer  to  satisfy  this  apostle's 
extreme  desire  of  seeing  him,  and  to  afford  him  comfort  in  the 
grief  of  his  bitter  compunction,  by  this  pledge  of  his  grace,  and 
this  assurance  of  his  pardon.  The  angel  that  appeared  to  St. 
Mary  Magdalene,  had  ordered  that  the  apostles  should  go  from 
Jerusalem  into  Galilee,  where  they  should  see  their  divine 
Master,  as  he  had  foretold  them  before  his  sacred  death. 
Accordingly,  some  days  after,  St.  Peter,  whilst  he  was  fishing  in 
the  lake  of  Tiberias,  saw  Christ  on  the  shore  ;  and  not  being 
able  to  contain  himself,  in  the  transport  of  his  love  and  joy,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  water,  and  swam  to  land,  the  sooner  to 
meet  his  Lord.  St.  John  and  the  rest  followed  him  in  the  boat, 
dragging  the  net  loaded  with  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  great 


IV  SAINT   PETER,    PRINCE   OF   THE   APOSTLES 

fishes,  which  they  had  taken  by  casting  on  the  right  side  of  the 
boat,  by  Christ's  direction.  When  they  were  landed,  they  saw 
upon  shore  some  Hve  coals,  and  a  fish  broiling  upon  them,  with 
bread  lying  near  it.  This  repast  Jesus  had  prepared  for  them. 
After  it  was  over,  he  thrice  asked  St.  Peter,  whether  he  loved 
him  more  than  the  rest  of  his  disciples  :  St.  Peter  told  him 
that  He  knew  his  love  to  be  most  sincere  ;  and  he  was  troubled 
in  mind  at  the  repetition  of  his  question,  fearing  lest  Christ 
discerned  in  his  heart  some  secret  imperfection  or  defect  in  his 
love.  St.  Peter's  greater  love  for  Christ,  and  zeal  for  the  inter- 
est of  his  glory,  raised  him  to  the  high  charge  with  which  he 
was  entrusted  by  his  Divine  Master.  Upon  this  passage,  St. 
Chrysostom  writes  as  followeth,  *'  Why  does  Christ,  passing  by 
the  rest,  now  speak  to  Peter  alone?"  He  was  eminent  above 
the  rest,  the  mouth  of  the  disciples,  and  the  head  of  that  college. 
Therefore  Paul  came  to  see  him  above  the  rest.  Christ  says  to 
him  :  If  thou  lovest  me,  take  upon  thee  the  government  or 
charge  of  thy  brethren.  And  now  give  the  proof  of  that  fer- 
vent love  which  thou  hast  always  professed,  and  in  which  thou 
didst  exult.  Give  for  my  sheep  that  life  which  thou  professedst 
thyself  to  lay  down  for  me," 

Christ  appeared  to  the  apostles,  assembled  together  on  a 
certain  mountain  in  Galilee,  where  he  had  appointed  to  meet 
them,  and  gave  them  a  commission  to  preach  the  gospel  through- 
out all  nations,  promising  to  remain  with  his  church  all  days  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  He  manifested  himself  also  to  five  hun- 
dred disciples  at  once.  When  the  apostles  had  spent  some 
time  in  Galilee,  they  returned  to  Jerusalem,  where,  ten  days 
before  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  Christ  favored  them  with  his  last 
appearance,  and  commanded  them  to  preach  baptism  and  pen 
ance,  and  to  confirm  their  doctrine  by  miracles. 

The  extraordinary  gifts  and  graces  by  which  the  apostles 
were  qualified  for  this  great  function,  were  the  fruit  of  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  shed  his  beams  upon  them  on 
Whitsunday.  After  the  ascension  of  Christ,  they  waited  the 
coming  of  that  Divine  Spirit  in  retirement  and  prayer.  In  the 
meantime,  St.  Peter  proposed  to  the  assembly  the  election  of  a 
new  apostle,  whereupon  St.   Matthias  was  chosen. 


AND   FIRST    DEFENDER   OF   THE    FAITH.  V 

The  preaching  of  the  apostles  received  a  sanction  from  his 
wonderful  miracle,  by  which  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  raised  the 
admiration  of  the  people.  These  two  apostles,  going  to  the 
temple  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  which  was  one  of  the 
hours  for  public  prayers  among  the  Jews,  they  saw  a  man  who 
was  lame  from  his  birth,  and  was  begging  alms  at  the  gate  of 
the  temple,  which  was  called  the  Beautiful  ;  and  being  moved 
with  compassion,  St.  Peter  commanded  him,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  to  arise  and  walk.  These  words  were  no  sooner 
spoken,  but  the  cripple  found  himself  perfectly  whole,  and  St. 
Peter  lifting  him  up,  he  entered  into  the  temple  walking,  leap- 
ing, and  praising  God.  After  this  miracle  St.  Peter  made  a 
second  sermon  to  the  people,  the  effect  of  which  was  the  con- 
version of  five  thousand  persons.  Upon  this,  the  priests  and 
Sadducees,  moved  with  envy  and  jealousy,  prevailed  upon  the 
captain  of  the  guard  of  the  temple  to  come  up  with  a  troop  of 
soldiers  under  his  command,  and  seize  the  two  apostles,  and 
put  them  into  prison,  upon  pretense  of  a  sedition.  Next  morn- 
ing they  were  summoned  before  the  great  court  of  the  Sanhe- 
drim, in  which  Annas,  Caiaphas,  John,  and  Alexander  appeared 
busiest  in  carrying  on  the  prosecution  against  them.  The 
point  of  the  sedition  was  waived,  because  groundless  ;  and  St. 
Peter  boldly  declared,  that  it  was  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  in 
which  all  men  must  be  saved,  that  the  cripple  had  been  made 
sound.  The  judges  not  being  able  to  contest  or  stifle  the  evi- 
dence of  the  miracle,  contented  themselves  with  giving  the 
apostles  a  severe  charge  not  to  preach  any  more  the  name  of 
Jesus.  But  to  their  threats  St.  Peter  resolutely  replied  : 
"  Whether  it  be  just  to  obey  you  rather  than  God,  be  you  your- 
selves judges."  The  two  apostles  being  discharged,  returned 
to  the  other  disciples,  and  after  they  had  prayed  together,  the 
house  was  shaken,  for  a  miraculous  sign  of  the  divine  protec- 
tion ;  and  the  whole  company  found  themselves  replenished 
with  a  new  spirit  of  courage. 

The  apostles  confirmed  their  doctrine  by  many  miracles,  cur- 
ing the  sick,  and  casting  out  devils.  The  people  laid  their  sick 
on  beds  and  couches  in  the  streets,  "  that  when  Peter  came,  his 
shadow  at  the  least  might  overshadow  any   of    them,    and   they 


vi  SAINT   PETER,    PRINCE   OF   THE   APOSTLES 

might  be  delivered  from  their  infirmities."  The  high  priest 
Caiaphas,  and  the  other  heads  of  the  Sanhedrim  were  much 
incensed  to  see  their  prohibition  sHghted,  and  the  gospel  daily 
gaining  ground  ;  and  having  apprehended  the  apostles,  they  put 
them  into  the  common  prison  ;  but  God  sent  his  angel  in  the 
night,  who,  opening  the  doors  of  the  prison,  set  them  at  liberty, 
and  early  the  next  morning  they  appeared  again  preaching  pub- 
licly in  the  temple.  The  judges  of  the  Sanhedrim  again  took 
them  up,  and  examined  them.  The  apostles  made  no  other 
defence  but  that  they  ought  rather  to  obey  God  than  men. 
The  high  priest  and  his  faction  deliberated  by  what  means  they 
might  put  them  to  death  ;  but  their  sanguinary  intentions  were 
overruled  by  the  mild  counsel  of  Gamaliel,  a  famous  doctor  of 
the  law,  who  advised  them  to  wait  the  issue,  and  to  consider 
whether  this  doctrine,  confirmed  by  miracles,  came  not  from 
God,  against  whom  their  power  would  be  vain.  However,  they 
condemned  the  servants  of  God  to  be  scourged.  Many  Jewish 
priests  embraced  the  faith  of  Christ  ;  but  the  daily  triumphs  of 
the  word  of  God  raised  a  persecution  in  Jerusalem  which 
crowned  St.  Stephen  with  martyrdom,  and  dispersed  the  faith- 
ful, who  fled,  some  to  Damascus,  others  to  Antioch,  and  many 
into  Phoenicia,  Cyprus,  and  other  places. 

St.  Peter,  who  had  stayed  at  Jerusalem  during  the  heat  of 
the  persecution,  after  the  storm  was  blown  over  made  a  prog- 
ress through  the  adjacent  country,  to  visit  the  faithful,  as  a  gen- 
eral makes  his  rounds,  says  St.  Chrysostom,  to  see  if  all  things 
are  everywhere  in  good  order.  At  Lydda,  in  the  tribe  of  Eph- 
raim,  he  cured  a  man  named  ^neas,  who  had  kept  his  bed 
eight  years,  being  sick  of  a  palsy  ;  and  at  Joppe,  being  moved 
by  the  tears  of  the  poor,  he  raised  to  life  the  virtuous  and  char- 
itable widow  Tabitha.  The  apostle  lodged  some  time  in  that 
town,  at  the  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner  ;  which  he  left  iDy  the 
order  of  an  angel  to  go  to  baptize  Cornelius  the  centurion,  a 
Gentile.  Upon  that  occasion  God  manifested  to  the  prince  of 
the  apostles,  both  by  this  order,  and  by  a  distinct  vision,  the 
great  mystery  of  the  vocation  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  faith.  It 
seems  to  have  been  after  this  that  the  apostles  dispersed  them- 
selves into  other  countries  to   preach  the  gospel,  beginnini;"  in 


AND   FIRST   DEFENDER   OF   THE   FAITH.  vii 

the  adjoining  provinces.  In  the  partition  of  nations  which 
they  made  among  themselves,  St.  Peter  was  destined  to  carry 
the  gospel  to  the  capital  city  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  of  the 
world,  says  St.  Leo.  But  the  apostles  stopped  some  time  to 
preach  in  Syria  and  other  countries  near  Judea  before  they 
proceeded  further  ;  and  St.  Peter  founded  the  church  of  Anti- 
och,  which  was  the  metropolis  not  only  of  Syria,  but  of  all  the 
East.  St.  Jerom,  Eusebius,  and  other  ancient  writers  assure 
us  that  Antioch  was  his  first  see.  It  was  fitting,  says  St, 
Chrysostom,  that  the  city  which  first  gave  to  the  faithful  the 
name  of  Christians,  should  have  for  its  first  pastor  the  prince  of 
the  apostles.  Origen  and  Eusebius  call  St.  Ignatius  the  second 
Bishop  of  Antioch  from  St.  Peter.  St.  Chrysostom  says  St. 
Peter  resided  there  a  long  time  ;  the  common  opinion  is,  seven 
years,  from  the  year  thirty-three  to  forty.  During  this  interval 
he  made  frequent  excursions  to  carry  the  faith  into  other  coun- 
tries. St.  Peter  was  at  Jerusalem  in  2)1  ^  when  St.  Paul  paid 
him  a  visit,  and  stayed  with  him  fifteen  days.  Our  great  apos- 
tle preached  to  the  Jews  dispersed  through  all  the  East,  in 
Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia,  Cappadocia,  and  the  Lesser  Asia, 
before  he  went  to  Rome,  as  Eusebius  testifies.  He  announced 
the  faith  also  to  the  Gentiles,  as  occasions  were  offered, 
throughout  these  and  other  countries,  as  appears  by  many 
instances. 

Peter  planted  the  faith  in  many  countries  near  Judaea  before 
the  dispersion  of  the  apostles,  which  happened  twelve  years 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  the  Christian 
era.  In  the  partition  of  nations  among  the  apostles,  St.  Peter 
chose  Rome  for  the  seat  of  his  labors,  and  having  preached 
through  several  provinces  of  the  East,  by  a  particular  order  of 
Divine  providence  he  at  length  arrived  there,  that  he  might 
encounter  the  devil  in  that  city,  which  was  then  the  chief  seat  of 
superstition,  and  the  mistress  of  error.  Divine  providence, 
which  had  raised  the  Roman  empire  for  the  more  easy  prop- 
agation of  the  gospel  in  many  countries,  was  pleased  to  fix  the 
fortress  of  faith  in  that  great  metropolis,  that  it  might  be  more 
easily  diffused  from  the  head  into  all  parts  of  the  universe.  St. 
Peter  foresaw,  that  by  triumphing  over    the   devil   in   the  very 


riii  SAINT    PETER,    PRINCE    OF   THE   APOSTLES 

seat  of  his  tyranny,  he  opened  a  way  to  the  conquest  of  the  rest 
of  the  world  to  Christ.  Eusebius,  St.  Jerom,  and  the  old 
Roman  Calendar,  published  by  Bucherius,  say  that  St.  Peter 
held  the  see  of  Rome  twenty-five  years  ;  though  he  was  often 
absent  upon  his  apostolic  functions  in  other  countries.  Accord- 
ing to  this  chronology,  many  place  his  first  arrival  at  Rome  in 
the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Claudius,  of  Christ,  42  ;  but  all 
circumstances  prove  it  to  have  been  in  the  year  40,  the  twelfth 
after  the  death  of  Christ,  in  39.  Lactantius  mentions  only  his 
last  coming  to  Rome  under  Nero,  a  few  years  before  his  martyr- 
dom. If  he  stayed  at  Rome  from  the  year  40  to  42,  he 
returried  speedily  into  the  East  ;  for  in  44  he  was  thrown  into 
prison  at  Jerusalem  by  King  Agrippa  ;  and  being  miraculously 
delivered  by  an  angel,  he  again  left  the  city,  and  travelling 
through  many  countries  in  the  East  he  established  in  them 
bishops,  as  St.  Agapetus  assures  us.  He  was  at  Rome  soon 
after,  but  was  banished  from  that  city  when,  on  account  of  the 
tumults  W'hich  the  Jews  there  raised  against  the  Christians,  as 
Suetonius  relates,  the  emperor  Claudius  expelled  them  both,  in 
the  vear  49.  But  they  were  soon  allowed  to  return.  St.  Peter 
went  again  into  the  East,  and  in  51  was  present  in  the  general 
council  held  by  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem,  in  which  he  made  a 
discourse  to  show  that  the  obligation  of  the  Jewish  ceremonies 
was  not  to  be  laid  on  the  Gentile  converts.  His  determination 
was  seconded  by  St.  James,  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  and  formed 
by  the  council  into  a  decree.  The  same  synod  confirmed  to  St. 
Paul,  in  a  special  manner,  the  apostleship  of  the  Gentiles, 
though  he  announced  the  faith  also  to  the  Jews  when  occasion 
served.  St.  Peter,  whilst  he  preached  in  Judea,  chiefly  labored 
in  converting  the  Jews. 

St.  Peter  wrote  two  canonical  epistles.  The  first  he  dates 
from  Babylon,  by  which,  St.  Jerom  and  Eusebius  tell  us,  he 
meant  Rome,  at  that  time  the  centre  of  idolatry  and  vice.  This 
epistle  seems  to  have  been  written  between  the  years  forty-five 
and  fifty-five.  It  is  chiefly  addressed  to  the  converted  Jews, 
though  the  apostle  also  speaks  to  the  Gentile  converts,  as  St. 
Austin  observes.  His  principal  view  in  it  was  to  confirm  them 
in  faith  under  their  sufferings  and  persecutions.-  and  to  confute 


AND    FIRST   DEFENDER   OF   THE   FAITH.  IX 

the  errors  of  Simon  and  of  the  Nicolaits.  His  second  epistle 
was  written  from  Rome  a  little  before  his  death,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  his  spiritual  testament..  In  it  he  strongly  exhorts 
the  faithful  to  labor  earnestly  in  the  great  work  of  their  sancti- 
^cation,  and  cautions  them  to  stand  upon  their  guard  against 
the  snares  of  heresy.  We  cannot  doubt  but  St.  Peter  preached 
the  gospel  over  all  Italy,  as  Eusebius,  Rufinus,  and  others 
assure  us ;  and  also  in  other  provinces  of  the  West,  according 
to  the  commission  which  the  apostles  received  to  carry  the  gos- 
pel over  the  whole  earth.  Whence  they  did  not  confine  them- 
selves to  single  cities,  except  that  St.  James  fixed  his  residence 
at  Jerusalem  for  the  sake  of  the  Jews.  St.  Athanasius  men- 
tions that  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  had  often  fled  from  persecutors  in 
times  of  danger,  till,  being  assured  of  their  martyrdom  by  a  rev- 
elation, they  courageously  went  to  meet  it.  Our  Saviour, 
immediately  after  his  resurrection,  had  foretold  St.  Peter  in 
what  manner  he  should  glorify  him  in  his  old  age,  and  that  he 
should  follow  him  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross.  He  after- 
wards revealed  to  him  the  time  of  his  death.  Several  triumphs 
over  the  devil  prepared  him  for  that  crown. 

The  great  progress  which  the  faith  made  in  Rome,  by  the 
r.i.acles  and  preaching  of  the  apostles,  was  the  cause  of  the 
persecution  which  Nero  raised  against  the  Church,  as  Lactan- 
tius  mentions.  Other  fathers  say,  the  resentment  of  the  tyrant 
against  the  apostles  was  much  inflamed  by  the  misfortune  of 
Simon  Magus  ;  and  he  was  unreasonable  enough  to  make  this 
credible.  But  he  had  already  begun  to  persecute  the  Christians 
from  the  time  of  the  conflagration  of  the  city,  in  64.  St. 
Ambrose  tells  us,  that  the  Christians  entreated  St,  Peter  to 
withdraw  for  a  while.  The  apostle,  though  unwillingly,  yielded 
to  their  importunity,  and  made  his  escape  by  night  ;  but  going 
out  of  the  gate  of  the  city,  he  met  Jesus  Christ,  or  what  in  a 
vision  appeared  in  his  form,  and  asked  him,  "  Lord,  whither  art 
thou  eoine?"  Christ  answered,  "I  am  o^oine  to  Rome,  to  be 
crucified  again."  St.  Peter  readily  understood  this  vision  to  be 
meant  of  himself,  and  taking  it  for  a  reproof  of  his  cowardice, 
and  a  token  that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  suffer, 
returned    into    the   city,    and,    being    taken,  was    put    into  the 


X  SAINT   PETER,    PRIN'CE   OF   THE   APOSTLES 

Mamertine  prison  with  St.  Paul.  The  two  apostles  are  said  to 
have  remained  there  eight  months,  during  which  time  they  con- 
verted SS.  Processus  and  Martinian,  the  captains  of  their 
guards,  with  forty-seven  others.  It  is  generally  asseried  that 
when  they  were  condemmed,  they  were  both  scourged  before 
they  were  put  to  death.  If  St.  Paul  might  have  been  exempted 
on  account  of  his  dignity  as  a  Roman  citizen,  it  is  certain  St. 
Peter  must  have  undergone  that  punishment,  which  according 
to  the  Roman  laws,  was  always  inflicted  before  crucifixion.  It 
is  an  ancient  tradition  in  Rome  that  they  were  both  led 
together  out  of  the  city  by  the  Ostian  gate.  St.  Prudentius 
says,  that  they  suffered  both  together  in  the  same  field,  near  a 
swampy  ground,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  Some  say  St. 
Peter  suffered  on  the  same  day  of  the  month,  but  a  year  before 
St.  Paul.  But  Eusebius,  St.  Epiphanius,  and  most  others  affirm, 
that  they  suffere'd  the  same  year,  and  on  the  29th  of  June,  St. 
Peter,  when  he  was  come  to  the  place  of  execution,  requested 
of  the  officers  that  he  might  be  crucified  with  his  head  down- 
wards, alleging  that  he  was  not  worthy  to  suffer  in  the  same 
manner  as  his  divine  Master  had  died  before  him.  The  execu- 
tioners easily  granted  the  apostle  his  extraordinary  request 
St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Austin,  and  St.  Asterius  say  he  was  nailed 
to  the  cross.  Tertullian  mentions  that  he  was  tied  with  cords. 
He  was  probably  both  nailed  and  bound  with  ropes.  F.  Pagi 
places  the  martyrdom  of  these  two  apostles  in  the  year  65,  on 
the  29th  of  June. 

St.  Gregory  writes  that  the  bodies  of  the  two  apostles  were 
buried  in  the  catacombs,  two  miles  out  of  Rome.  The  most 
ancient  Roman  Calendar,  published  by  Bucherius,  marks  their 
festival  at  the  catacombs  on  the  29th  of  June.  At  present  the 
heads  of  the  two  apostles  are  kept  in  silver  bustoes  in  the 
Church  of  St.  John  Lateran.  But  one  half  of  the  body  of  each 
apostle  is  deposited  together  in  a  rich  vault  in  the  great  Church 
of  St.  Paul,  on  the  Ostian  road  ;  and  the  other  half  of  both 
bodies  in  a  more  stately  vault  in  the  Vatican  church,  which 
sacred  place  is  called  from  primitive  antiquity,  "The  Confession 
of  St.  Peter,  and  Limina  Apostolorum,"  and  is  resorted  to  by 
pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  Christendom. 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH, 


FROM  THE  TIME  OF 


ST.  PETER  TO  THE  PRESENT  AGE. 


ST.    PAUL,    THE    APOSTLE. 

This  great  apostle  was  a  Jew,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  At 
his  circumcision,  on  the  eighth  day  after  his  birth,  he  received 
the  name  of  Saul.  St.  Paul,  being  born  at  Tarsus,  was  by  priv- 
ilege a  Roman  citizen,  to  which  quality  a  great  distinction  and 
several  exemptions  were  granted  by  the  laws  of  the  empire. 
His  parents  sent  him  young  to  Jerusalem,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated and  instructed  in  the  strictest  observance  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  by  Gamaliel,  a  learned  and  noble  Jew,  and  probably  a 
member  of  the  Sanhedrim  ;  and  was  a  most  scrupulous  observer 
of  it  in  every  point.  He  appeals  even  to  his  enemies  to  bear 
evidence  how  conformable  to  it  his  life  had  been  in  every  re- 
spect. He  embraced  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  which  was  of 
all  others  the  most  severe,  though  by  its  pride  the  most  oppo- 
site to  the  humility  of  the  gospel.  It  was  a  rule  among  the 
Jews  that  all  their  children  were  to  learn  some  trade  with  their 
studies,  were  it  but  to  avoid  idleness,  and  to  exercise  the  body, 
as  well  as  the  mind,  in  something  serious.  It  is  therefore  prob- 
able that  Saul  learned  in  his  youth  the  trade  which  he  exercised 
even. after  his  apostleship,  of  making  tents. 

Saul,  surpassing  all  his  equals  in  zeal  for  the  Jewish  law  and 
their  traditions,  which  he  thought  the  cause  of  God,  became 
thereby  a  blasphemer,  a  persecutor,  and  the  most  outrageous 
enemy  of  Christ.      He  was  one  of  those  who  combined  to  mur- 


2  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

der  St.  Stephen,  and  by  keeping  the  garments  of  all  who  stoned 
that  holy  martyr,  he  is  said  by  St.  Austin  to  have  stoned  him  by 
the  hands  of  all  the  rest ;  to  whose  prayers  for  his  enemies  he 
ascribes  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul.  "  If  Stephen,"  said  he, 
"  had  not  prayed,  the  church  would  never  have  had  St.  Paul." 

After  the  martyrdom  of  the  holy  deacon,  the  priests  and  mag- 
istrates of  the  Jews  raised  a  violent  persecution  against  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  in  which  Saul  signalized  himself  above 
others.  By  virtue  of  the  power  he  had  received  from  the  high 
priest,  he  dragged  the  Christians  out  of  their  houses,  loaded 
them  with  chains,  and  thrust  them  into  prison.  He  procured 
them  to  be  scourged  in  the  synagogues,  and  endeavored  by  tor- 
ments to  compel  them  to  blaspheme  the  name  of  Christ.  By 
the  violences  he  committed,  his  name  became  everywhere  a  ter- 
ror to  the  faithful.  The  persecutors  not  only  raged  against 
their  persons,  but  also  seized  their  estates  and  what  they  pos- 
sessed in  common,  and  left  them  in  such  extreme  necessity 
that  the  remotest  churches  afterwards  thought  it  incumbent  on 
them  to  join  in  charitable  contributions  to  their  relief.  All  this 
could  not  satisfy  the  fury  of  Saul ;  he  breathed  nothing  but 
threats  and  the  slaughter  of  the  other  disciples.  Wherefore, 
in  the  fury  of  his  zeal  he  applied  to  the  high  priest  and  Sanhe- 
drim for  a  commission  to  take  up  all  Jews  at  Damascus  who 
confessed  Jesus  Christ,  and  bring  them  bound  to  Jerusalem,  that 
they  might  serve  as  public  examples  for  the  terror  of  others. 
But  God  was  pleased  to  show  forth  in  him  his  patience  and 
mercy ;  and,  moved  by  the  prayers  of  St.  Stephen  and  his  other 
persecuted  servants,  for  their  enemies,  changed  him,  in  the  very 
heat  of  his  fury,  Into  a  vessel  of  election,  and  made  him  a  greater 
man  in  his  church,  by  the  grace  of  the  apostleship,  than  St.  Ste- 
phen had  ever  been,  and  a  more  illustrious  instrument  of  his 
glory.  He  was  almost  at  the  end  of  his  journey  to  Damascus 
when,  about  noon,  he  and  his  company  were  on  a  sudden  sur- 
rounded by  a  great  light  from  heaven,  brighter  than  the  sun. 
They  all  saw  the  light,  and,  being  struck  with  amazement,  fell  to 
the  ground.  Then  Saul  heard  a  voice  which  to  him  was  articu- 
late and  distinct,  but  not  understood,  though  heard,  by  the  rest; 
"Saul,  Saul,  why  dost  thou  persecute   me?"     Christ   said   not, 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  3 

Why  dost  thou   persecute  my  disciples,  but  me  :   for  it   is  he, 
their  head,  who  is   chiefly  persecuted  in  his  servants.     Saul  an- 
swered, "Who  art  thou.  Lord?"     Christ  said,  "Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, whom  thou  persecutest.      It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against 
the  goad  :  to  contend  with  one   so  much  mightier  than  thyself. 
By  persecuting  my  church  you  make  it  flourish,  and  only  prick 
and  hurt  yourself."     This  mild  expostulation  of  our  Redeemer, 
accompanied  with  a  powerful  interior  grace,  strongly  afl"ecting  his 
soul,  cured  his  pride,  assuaged  his  rage,  and  wrought   at  once  a 
total  change  in  him.      Wherefore,  trembling  and  astonished,  he 
cried  out,    "  Lord,  what  wilt   thou   have  me  to  do?"     What   to 
repair  the  past  ?     What  to  promote  your  glory  ?     I  make  a  joy- 
ful oblation  of  myself  to  execute  your  will  in.  everything,  and  to 
suffer  for  your  sake  afflictions,  disgraces,  persecutions,  torments, 
and  every  sort  of   death.      The  true  convert  expressed  this,  not 
in  a  bare  form  of  words,  nor  with  faint,  languid  desires,  nor  with 
any  exception  lurking   in   the  secret  recesses  of   his  heart ;  but 
with  an  entire  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  an  heroic  victory  over  the 
world  with    its  frowns  and    charrns,  over   the    devils  with  their 
snares  and  threats,  and  over  himself  and  all  inclinations  of  self- 
love  ;    devoting  himself  totally  to   God.     A  perfect  model  of  a 
true  conversion,  the  greatest  work  of  Almighty  grace  !     Christ 
ordered  him   to   arise  and  proceed   on  his  journey  to    the    city, 
where   he  should  be  informed  of  what   he  expected  from  him. 
Christ  would  not  instruct  him   immediately  by  himself,  but,  St. 
Austin  observes,  sent  him   to   the  ministry  which  he  had  estab- 
lished in  his  church,  to  be  directed   in   the  way  of  salvation   by 
those  whom  he  had  appointed  for  that  purpose.      He  would  not 
finish  the  conversion  and  instruction  of  this  great  apostle,  whom 
he  was  pleased   to  call  in  so  wonderful  a  manner,  but  by  remit- 
ting him  to  the  guidance  of  his  ministers  ;  showing   us  thereby 
that  his  holy  providence  has  so  ordered  it,  that  all  who  desire  to 
serve  him  should  seek  his  will  by  listening  to  those  whom  he  has 
commanded  us  to  hear  and  whom   he  has  sent  in  his  own  name 
and  appointed  to  be  our  guides  :  so  perfectly  would  he  abolish  in 
his  servants  all  self-confidence  and  presumption — the  source  of 
error  and  illusion.      The  convert,  rising  from  the  ground,  found 
that  though  his  eyes  were  open  he  saw  nothing.      Providence  sent 


4  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

this  corporal  blindness  to  be  an  emblem  of  the  spiritual  blind- 
ness in  which  he  had  lived,  and  to  signify  to  him  that  he  was 
henceforward  to  die  to  the  world,  and  learn  to  apply  his  mind 
totally  to  the  contemplation  of  heavenly  things.  He  was  led  by 
the  hand  into  Damascus,  whither  Christ  seemed  to  conduct  him 
in  triumph.  He  was  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  Jew  named  Judas, 
where  he  remained  three  days  blind,  and  without  eating  and 
drinking.  He  doubtless  spent  his  time  in  great  bitterness  of 
soul,  not  yet  knowing  what  God  required  of  him.  With  what 
anguish  he  bewailed  his  past  blindness  and  false  zeal  against  the 
church,  we  may  conjecture  both  from  his  taking  no  nourishment 
during  those  three  days,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  he  ever 
after  remembered  and  spoke  of  his  having  been  a  blasphemer 
and  a  persecutor.  Though  the  entire  reformation  of  his  heart 
was  not  gradual,  as  in  ordinary  conversions,  but  miraculous  in 
the  order  of  grace,  and  perfect  in  a  moment ;  yet  a  time  of  proba- 
tion and  a  severe  interior  trial  (for  such  we  cannot  doubt  but  he 
went  through  on  this  occasion)  was  necessary  to  crucify  the  old 
man  and  all  other  earthly  sentiments  in  his  heart,  and  to  prepare 
it  to  receive  the  extraordinary  graces  which  God  designed  him. 
There  was  a  Christian  of  distinction  in  Damascus,  much  re- 
spected by  the  Jews  for  his  irreproachable  life  and  great  virtue  ; 
his  name  was  Ananias.  Christ  appeared  to  this  holy  disciple, 
and  commanded  him  to  go  to  Saul,  who  was  then  in  the  house 
of  Judas,  at  prayer:  Ananias  trembled  at  the  name  of  Saul,  be- 
ing no  stranger  to  the  mischief  he  had  done  in  Jerusalem,  or  to 
the  errand  on  which  he  was  set  out  to  Damascus.  But  our  Re- 
deemer overruled  his  fears,  and  charged  him  a  second  time  to  go 
to  him,  saying,  "  Go,  for  he  is  a  vessel  of  election  to  carry  my 
name  before  Gentiles  and  kings,  and  the  children  of  Israel  :  and 
I  will  show  him  how  much  he  has  to  suffer  for  my  name."  For 
tribulation  is  the  test  and  portion  of  all  the  true  servants  of 
Christ.  Saul  in  the  meantime  saw  in  a  vision  a  man  entering, 
and  laying  his  hand  upon  him,  to  restore  his  sight.  Ananias, 
obeying  the  divine  order,  arose,  and  went  to  Saul,  and,  laying 
his  hand  upon  him,  said  :  "  Brother  Saul,  the  Xord  Jesus  who 
appeared  to  thee  on  thy  journey  hath  sent  me  that  thou  mayst 
receive  thy  sight  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy   Ghost."     Immedi- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  5 

ately  something  like  scales  fell  from  his  eyes,  and  he  recovered 
his  eyesight.  Ananias  added:  "The  God  of  our  fathers  hath 
chosen  thee  that  thou  shouldst  know  his  will  and  see  the  just 
one,  and  shouldst  hear  the  voice  from  his  mouth  :  and  thou  shalt 
be  his  witness  unto  all  men  to  publish  what  thou  hast  seen  and 
heard.  Arise,  therefore  ;  be  baptized  and  washed  from  thy 
sins,  invoking  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Saul  then  arose,  was 
baptized,  and  took  some  refreshment.  He  stayed  some  few 
days  with  the  disciples  at  Damascus,  and  began  immediately  to 
preach  in  the  synagagues  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  to  the 
Sfreat  astonishment  of  all  that  heard  him,  who  said  :  "  Is  not  this 
he  who  persecuted  at  Jerusalem  those  who  invoked  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  who  is  come  hither  to  carry  them  away  prisoners?" 
Thus  a  blasphemer  and  a  persecutor  was  made  an  apostle,  and 
chosen  to  be  one  of  the  principal  instruments  of  God  in  the  con- 
version of  the  world.  St.  Paul  never  recalled  to  mind  this  his 
wonderful  conversion  without  raptures  of  gratitude  and  praise  to 
the  divine  mercy. 

'  Though  St.  Paul  was  not  one  of  the  twelve,  yet  so  miraculous  was 
his  vocation  by  the  immediate  voice  of  Christ  from  heaven,  so 
wonderful  the  manner  in  which  he  was  sent  by  the  express  com- 
mand of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  instruct  all  nations;  so  extraordi- 
nary was  his  rapt  to  the  third  heaven,  by  which  (to  use  the  words 
of   St.   Maximus)    he   was    authorized    and  consecrated  to    the 

'  apostleship  in  heaven  itself,  and  learned  among  angels  what  he 
was  to  teach  among  men  ;  so  eminent  was  his  gift  of  inspiration, 
and  his   spirit  of   prophecy ;  and  lastly,  so  many  and  so  great 

.  were  the  things  which  he  suffered  and  did  for  the  'honor  of  God, 
and  for  the  conversion  of  nations,  that  he  has  been  justly  enti- 
tled to  bold  a  place  among  the  apostles.  His  miraculous  con- 
version the  church  commemorates  on  the  25th  of  January. 
After  he  was  baptized,  he  stayed  some  days  at  Damascus,  and 
there  preached  Christ  openly  in  the  synagogue.  But  he  soon 
retired  into  Arabia,  probably  Into  the  country  near  Damascus, 
which  city  was  in  the  power  of  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia,  and 
father-in-law  to  Herod  Antipas.  It  Is  not  mentioned  how  long 
he  lived  in  this  retirement  ;  but  coming  back  to  Damascus,  he 
began  again  to    preach  the  faith,  and   confuted   the    Jews    with 


6  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

wonderful  force.  That  obstinate  race  seeing  themselves  unable 
to  enter  the  lists  against  him,  laid  a  plot  to  take  away  his  life, 
and  prevailed  with  the  governor  of  Damascus,  under  Aretas,  to 
promise  them  his  concurrence.  They  therefore  kept  continual 
watch,  searched  many  houses,  and  obtained  a  guard  of  this 
governor  to  be  placed  at  the  gates  to  apprehend  him  ;  but  the 
holy  convert  was  let  down  by  the  brethren  in  a  basket  over  the 
wall  by  night.  He  had  then  continued  three  years  partly  at 
Damascus,  and  partly  in  his  retirement  in  Arabia,  and  took  this 
occasion  to  go  to  Jerusalem  to  see  St.  Peter.  St.  Barnabas,  who 
knew  him,  introduced  him  to  SS.  Peter  and  James,  and  satisfied 
them  and  the  church  of  the  sincerity  of  his  conversion  :  for  many 
of  the  Christians  at  first  shunned  his  company,  fearing  some 
design  in  one  who  had  been  their  most  furious  enemy. 

In  this  and  in  every  other  circumstance  of  the  establishment 
of  our  holy  religion,  it  is  observable  how  impossible  it  is  for  the 
most  obstinate  infidel  to  harbor  the  least  suspicion  of  human 
contrivance.  If  the  revelations,  miracles,  and  mysteries  which 
the  apostles  preached,  had  not  been  true,  they  never  would  have 
led  St.  Paul  into  the  secret  ;  one  who  was  before  their  greatest 
persecutor.  The  authors  of  an  imposture  are  extremely  cautious, 
and  infinitely  suspicious  and  jealous.  How  opposite  to  this  are 
the  candor  and  sincerity  of  the  apostles  !  So  great  a  number 
maintained  their  testimony,  though  it  cost  them  the  sacrifice  of 
their  lives,  and  every  temporal  advantage,  whilst  any  one  of 
them  who  could  have  discovered  a  cheat,  had  every  advantage 
to  expect  both  from  Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  evidence  of  their 
miracles,  the  humility  of  their  hearts,  the  heroic  sanctity  of  their 
lives,  their  constancy  under  torments  even  to  death,  in  so  great 
a  cloud  of  witnesses,  and  innumerable  other  circumstances,  put 
their  doctrine  and  testimony  beyond  the  reach  of  the  least  sus- 
picion or  possibility  of  error  or  imposture.  But  had  we  no  other 
motive,  the  manifest  sincerity  of  the  apostles  in  the  whole  tenor 
of  their  conduct,  and  in  particular  ^with  regard  to  St.  Paul,  as 
well  as  that  of  this  illustrious  convert  towards  them,  and  in  the 
testimony  which  he  gave  through  all  persecutions  to  the  same 
truth,  gives  the  utmost  degree  of  evidence  to  the  history  of  his 
miraculous  call,  and  to  the  whole  Christian  religion,  in  which  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  / 

demonstration  of  one  miraculous  and  supernatural  fact  evinces 
the  divine  original,  and  truth  of  the  whole  gospel  dispensation. 

St.  Paul  stayed  fifteen  days  at  Jerusalem,  during  which  time 
he  enjoyed  the  conversation  of  St.  Peter,  and  was  very  active  in 
disputing  against  the  Jews  in  their  synagogue  ;  but  such  was 
their  obstinacy  that  they  shut  their  ears  to  the  truths  of  ^salva- 
tion  ;  and  not  being  able  to  withstand  the  force  of  his  discourses, 
and  the  evidence  in  which  he  placed  the  divine  revelation,  they 
had  recourse  to  rage  and  violence,  the  impotent  weapon  of  dis- 
appointed malice  ;  and  they  sought  to  take  away  his  life.  The 
disciples,  therefore,  that  he  might  escape  their  snares,  conducted 
him  to  Csesarea,  and  thence  sent  him  by  sea  to  Tarsus,  his 
native  city.  He  remained  there  upwards  of  three  years,  and 
preached  in  the  neighboring  countries  of  Cilicia  and  Syria  with 
ofreat  success. 

It  seems  to  have  been  about  this  time  that  St.  Paul  was 
favored  with  his  most  extraordinary  ecstacy,  in  which  he  was 
taken  up  into  the  third  heaven  or  paradise,  and  heard  and  saw 
most  sublime  mysteries,  which  man  could  not  utter,  of  which  he 
speaks  fourteen  years  after. 

He  gloried  and  pleased  himself  in  persecutions  and  humilia- 
tions ;  in  his  own  nothingness,  weakness,  and  insufficiency, 
that  God,  his  only  strength  and  great  All,  might  alone  be  con- 
sidered and  glorified  in  all  things.  In  the  fullest  conviction 
and  most  sincere  and  feeling  sentiment  that  he  was  the  very 
abstract  of  miseries,  poverty,  and  nakedness,  and  in  a  total 
forgetfulness  and  contempt  of  himself,  he  never  ceased,  with 
his  whole  heart,  to  give  all  honor  and  glory  to  God,  and  to 
excite  his  tongue,  his  soul,  all  his  powers,  and  all  created  beings 
to  praise  his  holy  name,  and  thank  his  goodness  and  mercy  with- 
out intermission.  He  feared  no  dangers,  was  deterred  by  no 
difficulties,  nor  daunted  by  any  torments,  or  death  in  any  form, 
in  so  noble  a  cause;  but  rejoiced  in  the  greatest  sufferings, 
fatigues,  and  labors  that  he  might  make  God  everywhere 
known,  and  might  endeavor  with  his  whole  strength  to  bring  all 
men  to  his  most  sweet  and  holy  love.  He  esteemed  himself  for 
this  a  debtor  to  the  whole  world,  Greeks  and  barbarians,  the 
wise  and  the  unwise,  learned  and  unlearned,  Jews  and  Gentiles, 


8  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

This  pure  love  of  God  and  ardent  zeal  for  his  glory,  could  not 
have  kindled  this  holy  flame  and  consumed  in  him  all  earthly 
affections,  had  he  not  been  crucified  to  the  world,  and  dead  to 
himself.  In  this  disposition  he  so  studied  Christ  crucified  as  to 
put  on  his  sentiments,  and  to  animate  himself  with  the  perfect 
spirit  of  his  divine  meekness,  patience,  charity,  and  humility. 
He  could  say  with  confidence,  that  he  carried  the  marks  of  the 
precious  wounds  of  Christ  in  his  own  body,  that  with  him  he 
was  nailed  to  the  cross,  that  he  would  glory  in  no  other  things 
save  in  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  he  no  longer 
lived  himself,  but  that  Christ  lived  in  him.  Can  we  wonder  that 
a  man  so  spiritual  and  divine,  armed  with  the  power  of  grace, 
commanding  nature  by  the  gifts  of  miracles,  often  seeing  into 
futurity  by  an  eminent  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  raised  above  all 
things  human,  should  trample  under  his  feet  the  united  legions 
of  hell  and  the  world  banded  against  him  ?  Can  we  be  sur- 
prised that  he  should  become  the  instrument  of  God  to  beat 
down,  by  the  humility  of  the  cross,  the  pride  of  the  world,  and 
subject  so  many  nations  to  the  humble  law  of  the  gospel  ?  God 
was  pleased  to  call  his  servant  to  this  great  work,  at  a  time 
when  the  doctors  at  Antioch  were  employed  in  preaching,  and 
were  joined  by  the  faithful  in  fasting  and  prayer,  which  pious 
public  exercises  have  always  attended  the  election  of  new  minis- 
ters in  the  church.  The  Holy  Ghost  commanded,  by  some  of 
the  prophets,  that  Saul  and  Barnabas  should  be  set  apart  for  a 
special  office  of  preaching.  By  this  we  are  to  understand  the 
function  of  the  apostleship,  that  they  might  propagate  the  faith 
over  all  nations  with  full  authority.  Thus  was  St.  Paul 
assumed  to  the  apostleship.  Though  the  other  apostles  lived 
by  the  gospel,  he  chose  not  to  make  use  of  that  liberty,  but  to 
gain  his  subsistence  by  making  tents,  such  as  were  used  by 
soldiers  and  mariners.  Nevertheless,  this  apostle  received 
sometimes  the  voluntary  alms  of  the  Christians,  rejoicing  in 
their  charity,  not  for  himself,  but  for  their  sake.  For  as  to 
himself,  having  tried  all  things,  he  was  prepared  for  all,  ever 
content  with  his  condition  wherever  he  was.  He  knew  how  to 
live  in  want  and  in  hunger,  as  well  as  in  plenty.  To  defend  the 
dignity  of  his  apostleship,  upon  which  the  success  of  his   preach- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  9 

ino^  depended,  he  mentioned  once  his  revelations  and  privileges ; 
but  compelled  by  necessity  for  the  salvation  of  many  souls  and 
conversion  of  nations  :  and  he  speaks  of  them  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  show  that  he  gave  all  the  glory  to  God  alone,  and  made  no 
account  of  them  himself,  but  trembled  and  humbled  himself  more 
under  such  favors.  In  things  which  seemed  to  his  advantage  it 
is  visibly  his  tongue  only  that  mentions  them,  without  the  heart, 
when  solicitude  for  the  souls  of  his  brethren  betrayed  the  secret 
of  his  humility.  But  he  glories  in  his  infirmities;  his  heart 
speaks  by  the  instrument  of  his  tongue  when  he  recounts  what- 
ever was  a  subject  of  confusion  to  him,  and  he  styles  himseli. 
from  the  sincere  sentiment  of  his  heart,  a  blasphemer,  a  perseci^ 
tor,  an  abortive,  the  last  of  the  apostles,  and  unworthy  to  bej 
that  name.  We  have,  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  a  summary 
account  of  the  missions  of  St.  Paul,  after  he"  had  received  the 
imposition  of  hands. 

No  distance  of  nations  could  confine  the  ardor  of  this  apostle's 
zeal.  From  the  East  he  returned  ao-ain  to  Rome.  St.  Athan- 
asius  assures  us,  that  God  had  made  known  to  him  by  a  revela. 
tion,  that  he  should  suffer  martyrdom  in  that  city;  whereupon, 
instead  of  flying,  he  with  joy  hastened  thither.  St,  Austin  and 
other  fathers  testify  the  same ;  and  this  foresight  of  his  death 
may  also  be  gathered  from  the  assurance  with  which  he  speaks 
of  it  in  his  second  Epistle  to  Timothy.  He  came  this  second 
time  to  Rome  about  the  year  64.  St.  Dionysius  of  Corinth 
insinuates,  that  it  was  in  company  with  St.  Peter.  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  tells  us  that  St.  Paul  converted,  among  others,  a  beloved 
concubine  of  Nero,  and  that  she  thereupon  changed  her  course 
of  life,  forsook  the  court,  and  served  God  in  great  sob/iety  and 
virtue,  which  provoked  the  tyrant,  and  was  the  first  occasion  of 
St.  Paul's  imprisonment. 

At  length  the  happy  term  of  his  labors  and  dangers  ap- 
proached, and  he  beheld  with  joy  the  great  moment,  in  which 
Christ  called  him  to  his  glory.  The  Holy  Ghost  had  discovered 
to  him  the  day  and  the  hour  long  before,  as  St.  Prudentius 
assures  us.  His  martyrdom  happened  in  the  year  65,  on  the 
29th  of  June.  St.  Sulpicius  Severus  says  that  it  fell  out  before 
the  war  in  Judaea,  which  broke  out  in    May,  in  the  twelfth  year 


lO  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

of  Nero,  of  Christ,  66.  St.  Paul  was  beheaded,  as  St.  Peter  of 
Alexandria,  Eusebius,  St.  Jerom,  St.  Chrysostom,  Prudentius, 
and  other  ancient  writers  testify  ;  and  his  dignity  of  a  Roman 
citizen  did  not  allow  him  to  be  crucified.  He  suffered  at  the 
Salvian  waters,  which  piece  of  ground  St.  Gregory  the  Great, 
part  of  whose  estate  it  was,  gave,  on  that  account,  to  the  church 
where  his  body  rested. 

SAINT    AMBROSE. 
Doctor  of  the  Church. 

An  invincible  courage  and  constancy  in  resisting  evil  is  a 
necessary  ingredient  of  virtue,  especially  in  the  episcopal  charac- 
ter. Gentleness,  meekness,  humility,  and  obedience,  make  the 
servant  of  God  ready  to  yield  and  conform  himself  to  everyone 
in  things  indifferent  ;  but  in  those  of  duty  he  is  inflexible,  not 
with  wilfulness  or  obstinacy,  but  with  modesty,  yet  invincible 
firmness.  Of  this  virtue  St.  Ambrose,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
learned  Hermant,  was  the  most  admirable  model  among  all  the 
great  pastors  of  God's  Church  since  the  Af)ostles.  His  father, 
whose  name  was  also  Ambrose,  was  prefect  of  the  preetorium  in 
Gaul,  where  the  saint  was  born  in  the  year  340,  The  father  of 
St.  Ambrose  dying  whilst  he  was  yet  an  infant,  his  mother  left 
Gaul  and  returned  to  Rome,  her  own  country.  She  took 
special  care  of  the  education  of  her  children,  and  Ambrose  prof- 
ited much  by  her  instructions,  and  by  the  domestic  examples 
which  she,  his  sister,  and  other  holy  virgins  that  were  with 
them,  set  him. 

While  governor  of  Milan,  the  city  was  distracted  by  furious 
parties  and  tumults,  about  the  election  of  a  new  bishop — some 
of  the  clergy  and  people  demanding  an  Arian,  others  a  Catholic, 
for  their  pastor.  To  prevent  an  open  sedition,  St.  Ambrose 
thought  it  the  duty  of  his  ofifice  to  go  to  the  church  in  which 
the  assembly  was  held  ;  there  he  made  an  oration  to  the  people 
with  much  discretion  and  mildness,  exhorting  them  to  proceed 
in  their  choice  with  the  spirit  of  peace,  and  without  tumult. 
While  he  was  yet  speaking,  a  child  cried  out,  "  Ambrose 
Bishop."     This  the  whole  assembly  took  up,  and  both  Catholics 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  II 

and  Arians  unanimously  proclaimed  him  Bishop  of  Milan. 
This  unexpected  choice  surprised  him  ;  he  presently  withdrew, 
and  made  use  of  all  the  artifices  he  could  to  shun  this  charge. 
Ambrose  finding  it  in  vain  to  resist  any  longer,  yielded  himself 
up  ;  but  insisted  that  the  canons  forbade  anyone  who  was  only 
a  catechumen  to  be  promoted  to  the  priesthood.  He  was 
answered,  that  such  ecclesiastical  canons  may  be  dispensed  with 
on  extraordinary  occasions.  Ambrose,  therefore,  was  first  bapt- 
ized, and  after  due  preparation,  received  the  episcopal  consecra- 
tion on  the  7th  of  December,  in  374.  St.  Ambrose  was  about 
thirty-four  years  old  when  he  was  ordained  bishop. 

He  was  no  sooner  placed  in  the  episcopal  chair  but,  consider- 
ing that  he  was  no  longer  a  man  of  this  world,  and  resolving  to 
break  all  ties  which  could  hold  him  to  it,  he  gave  to  the  church 
and  the  poor  all  the  gold  and  silver  of  which  he  was  possessed. 
His  lands  and  estates  he  gave  also  to  the  church,  reserving  only 
an  income  for  the  use  of  his  sister  Marcellina,  during  her  life. 
The  care  of  his  family  and  temporalities  he  committed  to  his 
brother  Satyrus,  that,  being  disengaged  from  all  temporal  con- 
cerns, he  might  give  himself  up  wholly  to  his  ministry  and 
prayer.  So  perfectly  did  he  renounce  the  world,  and  his  mind 
dwelt  so  much  above  it,  that  temptations  to  riches  and  honors 
never  had  any  weight  with  him.  He  purged  the  diocese  of 
Milan  of  the  leaven  of  the  Arian  heresy  with  such  wonderful 
success,  that,  in  the  year  385,  there  remained  not  one  citizen 
of  Milan  infected  with  it,  except  a  few  Goths,  and  some  persons 
belonging  to  the  imperial  family,  as  he  assures  us.  He  had  a 
soul  exquisitely  tender  and  compassionate,  and  he  often  em- 
ployed his  interest  to  save  the  lives  of  condemned  persons.  He 
wept  with  those  that  wept,  and  he  rejoiced  with  those  that  re- 
joiced. His  charity  was  as  extensive  as  the  necessities  of  human 
nature,  and  he  styled  the  poor  his  stewards  and  treasurers,  in 
whose  hands  he  deposited  his  revenues.  It  was  his  constant 
care  and  practice  to  do  good  for  evil,  and  to  requite  affronts  and 
injuries  by  offices  of  kindness.  His  chamber  was  for  the  great- 
est part  of  the  day  filled  with  persons  who  came  to  consult  him, 
and  to  ask  his  private  advice. 

The  Goths  had  extended  their  ravages  from  Thrace  into  Illy- 


12  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

ricum,  and  as  far  as  the  Alps.  St.  Ambrose,  not  content  to  lay 
out  all  the  money  he  could  raise  in  redeeming  the  captives,  em- 
ployed for  that  use  the  gold  vessels  belonging  to  the  Church, 
which  he  caused  to  be  broken  and  melted  down  ;  but  such  only 
as  were  not  yet  consecrated,  reserving  those  which  were  for  a 
more  pressing  necessity.  Many  Arians  who,  upon  that  occa- 
sion, fled  from  Illyricum  into  Italy,  were  converted  to  the  faith 
by  the  care  of  St.  Ambrose,  who  was  indefatigable  in  every 
branch  of  his  pastoral  charge.  Every  Lent  he  bestowed  so 
much  pains  and  labor  in  instructing  the  catechumens,  that,  when 
he  died,  five  bishops  could  hardly  go  through  with  that  which 
he  used  himself  to  perform. 

In  381  St.  Ambrose  held  a  council  at  Milan,  against  the  her 
esy  of  Apollinaris  ;  and  assisted  at  another  at  Aquileia,  in  which 
he  procured  the  deposition  of  two  Arian  bishops  named  Palla- 
dius  and  Secundianus.  In  a  journey  which  he  made  to  Sirmich, 
he  compassed  the  election  of  a  Catholic  bishop  to  occupy  that 
see,  nothwithstanding  the  intrigues  of  the  Empress  Justina  in 
favor  of  an  Arian  candidate.  In  382  our  saint  assisted  at  a 
council  which  Pope  Damasus  held  at  Rome,  in  order  to  apply  a 
remedy  to  the  divisions  which  reigned  in  the  oriental  church 
about  the  see  of  Antioch. 

When  Maximus  usurped  the  supreme  power  in  Gaul,  and  was 
meditating  a  descent  upon  Italy,  Valentinian  and  his  mother  the 
Empress  Justina  sent  Ambrose  to  dissuade  him  from  the  under- 
taking; and  the  embassy  was  successful.  In  these  times  of  con- 
fusion the  Gentiles  at  Rome  attempted  to  restore  the  abolished 
rites  of  their  superstition.  At  their  head  appeared  Ouintus 
Aurelius  Symmachus,  a  senator  of  great  eminence  an  admirable 
scholar,  statesman,  and  orator,  at  that  time  prefect  of  Rome. 
In  autumn,  in  the  year  384,  this  man  presented  a  request  to 
Valentinian,  in  the  name  of  the  senate,  begging  that  the  altar  of 
victory  might  be  re-established  in  the  senate  house,  and  the  sal* 
aries  restored  to  the  priests  and  vestal  virgins  ;  to  which  he  as- 
cribed the  victories  and  prosperity  of  ancient  Rome.  This  pe- 
tition St.  Ambrose  opposed  in  two  epistles  to  the  Emperor,  and 
was  successful. 

The  Empress  Justina,    though    an    Arian,    durst  not    openly 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  1 3 

espouse  the  interest  of  her  sect  during  the  Hves  of  her  husband, 
Valentinian  I.,  and  of  Gratian.  But  the  peace  which  St.  Am- 
brose had  procured  between  Maximus  and  her  son  gave  her  an 
opportunity  to  persecute  the  Catholics,  especially  the  holy  bishop 
- — for  she  ungratefully  forgot  the  obligations  which  she  and  her 
son  had  to  him.  When  Easter  was  near  at  hand,  in  385,  she 
sent  to  him  certain  ministers  of  state  to  demand  of  him  the  Por- 
tian  basilic,  now  called  St.  Victor's,  without  the  city,  for  the  use 
of  the  Arians,  for  herself,  her  son,  and  many  officers  of  the  court. 
The  saint  replied,  that  he  could  never  give  up  the  temple  of  God. 

The  empress,  therefore,  in  the  following  Lent,  in  386,  again 
demanded  of  St.  Ambrose  the  Portian  basilic.  The  holy  pre- 
late answered,  "  Naboth  would  not  give  up  the  inheritance  of  his 
ancestors,  and  shall  I  give  up  that  of  Jesus  Christ?  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  abandon  that  of  my  fathers,  of  St.  Dionysius, 
who  died  in  exile  for  the  defence  of  the  faith  ;  of  St.  Eustorgius, 
the  confessor ;  of  St.  Miroclus,  and  of  all  of  the  other  holy 
bishops,  my  predecessors."  Dalmatius,  a  tribune  and  notary, 
came  to  St.  Ambrose  from  the  emperor,  with  an  order  that  he 
should  choose  his  judges  at  court,  as  Auxentius  had  done  on 
his  side,  that  his  and  Auxentius's  cause  might  be  tried  before 
them  and  the  emperor,  which,  if  he  refused  to  do,  he  was  forth- 
with to  retire,  and  yield  up  his  see  to  Auxentius.  The  saint 
took  the  advice  of  his  clergy,  and  of  some  Catholic  bishops  who 
were  then  at  Milan ;  then  wrote  his  answer  to  the  emperor, 
wherein,  amongst  other  things,  he  says,  ''Who  can  deny  that, 
in  causes  of  faith,  the  bishops  judge  Christian  emperors  ;  so  far 
are  they  from  being  judged  by  them.  Would  you  have  me 
choose  lay  judges,  that  if  they  maintain  the  true  faith,  they  may 
be  banished  or  put  to  death  ?  Would  you  have  me  expose  them 
either  to  a  prevarication  or  to  torments  ?  Ambrose  is  not  of 
that  consequence,  for  the  priesthood  to  be  debased  and  dishon- 
ored for  his  sake.  The  life  of  one  man  is  not  to  be  compared 
with  the  dignity  of  all  the  bishops.  If  a  conference  is  to  be 
held  about  the  faith,  it  belongs  to  the  bishops  to  hold  it,  as  was 
done  under  Constantine,  who  left  them  the  liberty  of  beintr 
judges." 

After  sending   this  remonstrance  to  the  emperor,  signed  by 


14  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

his  own  hand,  St.  Ambrose  retired  into  the  Church,  where  he 
was  for  some  time  guarded  by  the  people,  who  stood  within 
doors  night  and  day,  lest  he  should  be  carried  away  by  violence; 
and  the  church  was  soon  surrounded  by  soldiers  sent  from  court, 
who  suffered  people  to  go  in,  but  no  one  to  come  out.  St. 
Ambrose  being  thus  shut  up  with  the  people,  preached  often  to 
them.  One  of  those  sermons,  which  he  made  on  Palm  Sunday, 
is  extant,  under  this  title  :  "  On  not  delivering  up  the  Basilics." 
In  it  he  says,  "  Are  you  afraid  that  I  would  forsake  you,  to 
secure  my  own  life  ?  But  you  might  have  observed  by  my 
answer,  that  I  could  not  possibly  forsake  the  Church,  because  I 
fear  the  Lord  of  the  whole  world  more  than  the  emperor  ;  that 
if  they  carry  me  by  force  from  the  Church,  they  may  draw  away 
my  body,  but  they  can  never  separate  my  mind  from  it  :  that  if 
he  proceeds  against  me  as  a  prince,  I  will  suffer  as  a  bishop. 
Why  then  are  you  troubled  ?  I  shall  never  quit  you  voluntar- 
ily ;  but  I  can  never  resist  or  oppose  violence.  I  can  sigh  and 
lament  :  I  can  weep  and  groan.  But  tears  are  my  only  arms 
against  swords,  soldiers,  and  Goths.  Bishops  have  no  other 
defence.  I  cannot,  I  ought  not  to  resist  any  other  ways.  But 
as  to  flying  away  and  forsaking  my  Church,  that  I  will  never  do. 
The  respect  which  I  have  for  the  emperor  does  not  make  me 
yield  cowardly  :  I  offer  myself  willingly  to  torments,  and  fear 
not  the  mischiefs  they  threaten  me  with.  It  was  proposed  to  me 
to  deliver  up  the  vessels  belonging  to  the  church.  I  answered, 
that  if  they  asked  me  for  my  land,  my  gold,  or  my  silver,  I  wil- 
lingly offered  them  :  but  I  can  take  nothing  out  of  the  Church 
of  God.  If  they  aim  at  my  body  and  my  life,  you  ought  only 
to  be  spectators  of  the  combat ;  if  it  is  appointed  by  God,  all 
your  precautions  will  be  vain.  He  that  loveth  me  cannot  give 
a  better  testimony  thereof  than  by  suffering  me  to  become  the 
victim  of  Jesus  Christ. — I  expected  something  extraordinary, 
either  to  be  killed  by  the  sword,  or  to  be  burnt  for  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ.  They  offer  me  pleasures  instead  of  sufferings. 
Let  none  therefore  disturb  you  by  saying,  that  a  chariot  is  pre- 
pared, or  that  Auxentius  hath  spoken  severe  things. — It  was 
generally  said,  that  murderers  were  sent,  and  that  I  was  con- 
demned   to  die.      I    fear  it  not,    and  will    not    leave  this  place. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IX   EVERY   AGE,  1 5 

Whither  should  I  go  ?  is  not  every  place  full  of  groans  and 
tears,  since  orders  are  everywhere  to  drive  away  Catholic 
bishops,  to  put  those  to  death  who  resist,  and  to  proscribe  all 
the  officers  of  cities  who  put  not  these  orders  in  execution. — 
What  have  we  said  in  our  answers  to  the  emperor  which  is  not 
agreeable  to  duty  and  humility?"  The  saint  spoke,  with  an 
astonishing  intrepidity,  of  the  sword,  fire,  or  banishment, 
detected,  boldly  the  impiety  of  Auxentius,  and  other  Arian  per- 
secutors, and  called  their  new  law  a  flying  sword  sent  over  the 
empire  to  kill  some  by  corporal  death,  others  in  their  souls  by 
the  oruilt  of  sacrileofe.  What  he  mentioned  of  the  chariot  is 
explained  by  Paulinus,  who  relates  that  one  Euthymius  had 
placed  a  chariot  at  a  house  near  the  Church,  that  he  might  take 
away  St.  Ambrose  with  greater  ease,  and  carry  him  into  banish- 
ment. But  a  year  after,  he  was  himself  put  into  the  same  char- 
iot, and  carried  from  that  very  house  into  banishment  :  under 
which  misfortune  St.  Ambrose  furnished  him  with  money  and 
other  necessaries  for  his  journey.  When  St.  Ambrose  had 
remained  several  days  in  the  Church  and  adjacent  buildings 
within  its  inclosure,  with  the  people  who  kept  the  doors  shut, 
■and  guarded  the  passes,  the  guards  were  removed,  and  he 
returned  to  his  house. 

In  the  year  387,  news  daily  came  to  Milan  of  the  prepara 
tions  Maximus  was  making  to  invade  Italy.  Maximus  thought 
Britain,  Gaul,  and  Spain,  which  he  possessed  in  peace,  and 
without  danger  of  being  molested,  as  nothing,  so  long  as  he 
was  not  master  of  Italy:  and  the  astonishing  success  of  his 
usurpation  made  him  only  enlarge  his  views  further,  and  think 
more  due  to  him.  Valentinian  and  his  weak  mother  were  in  no 
condition  to  oppose  him,  and  in  this  distress  they  had  again 
recourse  to  St.  Ambrose,  whom  they  besought  to  stand  in  the 
gap,  and  venture  on  a  second  embassy  to  stop  the  march  of  a 
prosperous  usurper.  The  good  bishop,  burying  the  memory, 
both  of  public  and  private  injuries,  readily  undertook  the 
journey,  and  arriving  at  Triers,  the  next  day  went  to  court 
He  returned  to  Milan,  and  wrote  to  Valentinian  an  account  ol 
his  unsuccessful  embassy,  advising  him  to  be  cautious  how  he 
treated  with  Maximus,  a  concealed  enemy,  who  pretended  peace, 


lO  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

but  intended  war.  The  event  showed  the  truth  of  this  con- 
jecture.  For  Valentinian  sent  Domninus,  a  favorite  courtier, 
to  succeed  St.  Ambrose  in  this  embassy.  Maximus  entertained 
him  with  all  the  obliging  caresses  and  demonstrations  of  honor, 
amused  him  with  assurances,  and,  as  an  instance  of  his  friend- 
ship toward  Valentinian,  sent  back  with  him  a  considerable 
part  of  his  army,  as  he  gave  out,  to  assist  the  emperor  against 
the  barbarians  who  were  than  falling  upon  Pannonia.  But 
these  soldiers,  coming  to  the  Alps,  seized  all  the  narrow  pass- 
ages ;  which  was  no  sooner  done,  but  Maximus  followed  with 
his  whole  army,  and  marched  without  the  least  opposition  into 
Italy,  where  he  took  up  his  quarters  at  Aquileia. 

The  news  of  this  unexpected  surprise  carried  terror  into  every 
place.  Valentinian  and  his  mother,  in  the  utmost  consternation, 
took  ship,  and  fled  to  Thessalonica,  whence  they  sent  to  the  Em- 
peror Theodosius,  to  beg  his  speedy  assistance  before  all  was  lost. 
That  great  prince  had  been  employed  in  quelling  the  barbarians 
on  different  sides,  and.  settling  the  peace  of  the  Church  and 
state  in  the  East,  which  had  hindered  him  from  revenging  the 
death  of  Gratian.  Upon  receiving  the  message  of  the  fugitive 
young  emperor,  he  left  Constantinople,  and  went  to  Thessa- 
lonica, where,  in  the  most  tender  and  paternal  manner,  he 
comforted  the  distressed  remains  of  the  family  of  the  great 
Valentinian  I.  He  represented  to  the  young  prince  that,  by 
favoring  the  Arian  impiety,  and  persecuting  the  Catholic 
Church,  he  had  provoked  heaven  ;  and  he  effaced  out  of  his 
mind  all  the  impressions  of  heresy  ;  for  it  was  a  fundamental 
maxim  with  Theodosius  to  undertake  no  enterprise  without  first 
doing  everything  by  which  he  might  engage  God  on  his  side. 
Theodosius  being  then  a  widower,  and  meeting  at  Thessalonica 
the  Princess  Galla,  a  sister  to  Valentinian  II.,  to  give  him  a 
pledge  of  his  friendship,  married  her,  and  in  spring  388,  de- 
clared war  against  Maximus,  and  dismissed  the  ambassador  the 
tyrant  had  sent  to  court  his  favor.  He  entirely  defeated  Max- 
imus upon  the  banks  of  the  Save,  near  Siscia,  now  Peisseg,  in 
Pannonia;  and  was  inclined  to  spare  his  life;  but  at  last  suf- 
fered him  to  be  beheaded  on  the  28th  of  July,  388,  after  he  had 
reigned  almost  five  years. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  1 7. 

Theodosius  returned  to  Milan  on  the  ist  of  September,  and 
restored  the  whole  v/estern  empire  to  Valentinian,  in  whose 
mind,  by  repeated  instructions,  he  imprinted  so  deeply  the 
Catholic  Faith,  that  the  young  prince  put  himself  entirely  under 
the  discipline  of  St.  Ambrose,  and  honored  him  as  his  father  to 
his  death.  His  mother,  Justina,  was  dead  before  the  end  of  the 
war.  The  heresiarch  Jovinian,  having  been  condemned  by 
Pope  Siricius,  at  Rome,  retired  to  Milan  ;  but  was  there  re- 
jected by  Theodosius,  and  anathematized  by  St.  Ambrose,  in  a 
council  which  he  held  in  390. 

This  council  was  yet  sitting,  when  the  news  of  a  dreadful 
massacre  committed  at  Thessalonica,  was  brought  to  Milan, 
Botheric,  one  of  the  imperial  officers  had  been  slain  in  a  tumult, 
which  so  enraged  Theodosius  that  he  issued  a  mandate  for  a 
promiscuous  massacre  of  the  inhabitants  and  about  7,000  per- 
sons were  butchered  by  the  soldiery.  The  horror  with  which 
the  news  of  this  tragical  scene  filled  the  breast  of  St.  Ambrose 
and  his  colleagues  is  not  to  be  expressed.  Soon  after,  the  em- 
peror, according  to  his  custom,  went  to  church.  But  St. 
Ambrose  went  out  and  met  him  at  the  church-porch,  and  for- 
bade him  any  further  entrance,  until  he  should  have  done  pen- 
ance. Theodosius  submitted,  accepted  the  penance  which  the 
Church  prescribed,  and  retired  to  his  palace,  where  he  passed 
eight  months  in  mourning,  without  ever  going  into  the  church, 
and  clad  with  penitential  or  mourning  weeds.  St.  Ambrose 
ordered  him  to  place  himself  amongst  the  public  penitents  in 
the  Church.  Sozomen  assures  us  that  the  emperor  made  a  pub- 
lic confession  of  his  sin  ;  and  St.  Ambrose,  in  his  funeral  ora- 
tion, describes  how  he  knelt  at  the  church  door,  and  lay  long 
prostrate  in  the  rank  of  the  penitents,  repeating  with  David, 
*'  My  soul  hath  cleaved  to  the  pavement :  O  Lord,  restore  my 
life,  according  to  thy  word."  Theodosius,  after  his  absolution, 
passed  no  day  to  his  death  on  which  he  did  not  bewail  afresh  this 
offence,  into  which  he  was  drawn  by  surprise,  and  through  the 
instigation  of  others,  as  St.  Ambrose  remarks. 

Theodosius,  after  staying  almost  three  years  in  the  West,  left 
Valentinian  in  peaceable  possession  of  that  empire,  and  would 
carry    home    no  other  recompense  of  his  labors    and   victories 


l8  GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

than  the  glory  of  having  restored  that  prince,  and  afforded  so 
many  nations  a  disinterested  protection.  The  young  Valentin- 
ian  followed  in  everything  the  advice  and  instructions  of  St 
Ambrose,  honoring  and  loving  him  with  as  much  ardor  as  his 
mother  had  formerly  persecuted  him  with  fury.  Never  was 
prince  more  ready  to  correct  his  faults.  In  order  to  regulate 
the  manner's  of  the  clergy,  that  they  might  be  the  light  of  the 
world,  he  composed,  in  386,  three  books  "  On  the  Offices  of  the 
Ministers;"  in  which,  however,  he  often  descends  to  general 
precepts  of  morality  adapted  to  Christians  of  all  denominations. 
One  of  St.  Ambrose's  last  actions  was  the  ordination  of  St. 
Honoratus,  Bishop  of  Vercelli.  A  few  days  before  he  fell  sick, 
he  foretold  his  death,  but  said  he  should  live  till-Easter.  Before 
he  took  his  bed  he  continued  his  usual  studies,  and  expounded 
the  forty-third  psalm.  After  having  ordained  a  bishop  of  Pavia, 
he  was  taken  so  ill  that  he  kept  his  bed  a  long  time.  Upon  this 
news.  Count  Stilico,  the  guardian  and  prime-minister  of  Hono- 
rius,  who  governed  the  western  empire,  was  much  troubled,  and 
said  publicly,  "  The  day  that  this  great  man  dies,  destruction 
hangs  over  Italy."  And,  therefore,  sending  for  as  many  of  the 
nobility  and  magistrates  of  the  city  as  he  knew  had  the  greatest 
interest  and  sway  with  the  bishop,  he  persuaded  them  to  go  to 
him,  and  by  all  means  prevail  with  him  to  beg  of  God  a  longer 
life.  They  went,  and  standing  about  his  bed  with  tears,  en- 
treated him  to  intercede  with  heaven  for  his  own  life,  for  the 
sake  of  others  ;  to  whom  he  answered,  "  I  have  not  so  behaved 
myself  among  you  that  I  should  be  ashamed  to  live  longer;  nor 
am  I  afraid  to  die,  because  we  have  a  good  master."  The  day 
on  which  he  expired,  he  lay  with  his  hands  extended  in  form  of 
a  cross  for  several  hours,  moving  his  lips  in  constant  prayer, 
thoueh  it  could  not  be  understood  what  he  said.  St.  Honoratus, 
bishop  of  Vercelli,  was  there,  and  being  gone  into  an  upper  cham- 
ber to  take  a  little  rest,  heard  a  voice  crying  three  times  to  him  : 
"  Arise,  and  make  haste  ;  for  he  is  going  to  depart."  He  went 
down,  and  gave  him  the  body  of  our  Lord,  which  the  saint  had 
no  sooner  swallowed,  but  he  gave  up  the  ghost,  St.  Ambrose 
died  about  midnight  before  Holy  Saturday,  the  4th  of  April,  in 
397.      He  was  about  fifty-seven  years  old,  and  had  been   bishop 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  I9 

twenty-two  years  and  four  months.  The  common  suffrage  of 
all  antiquity  has  ranked  him  among  the  four  great  doctors  of  the 
Latin  Church. 


SAINT   JOHN    CHRYSOSTOM. 
Archbishop  0)  Constanii?iople,  and  Doctor  of  the  Church. 

This  incomparable  doctor,  on  account  of  the  fluency  and 
sweetness  of  his  eloquence,  obtained  soon  after  his  death  the 
surname  of  Chrysostom  or  Golden  Mouth,  which  we  find  given 
him  by  St.  Ephrem  of  Antioch,  Theodoret,  and  Cassiodorus. 
But  his  tender  piety,  and  his  undaunted  courage  and  zeal  in  the 
cause  of  virtue,  are  titles  far  more  glorious,  by  which  he  holds 
an  eminent  place  among  the  greatest  pastors  and  saints  of  the 
church.  About  the  year  344,  according  to  F.  Stilting,  Antioch, 
the  capital  city  of  the  East,  was  ennobled  by  his  illustrious  birth. 
He  had  one  elder  sister,  and  was  the  only  son  and  heir  of 
Secundus,  master  of  the  horse,  that  is,  chief  commander  of  the 
imperial  troops  in  Syria.  His  mother  Anthusa,  left  a  widow  at 
twenty  years  of  age,  continued  such  the  remainder  of  her  life, 
dividing  her  time  between  the  care  of  her  family  and  the  exer-. 
cises  of  devotion.  Her  example  in  this  respect  made  such  an 
impression  on  our  saint's  master,  a  celebrated  pagan  sophist,  that 
he  could  not  forbear  crying  out,  "What  wonderful  women  have 
the  Christians  !  "  She  manao-ed  the  estate  of  her  children  with 
great  prudence  and  frugality,  knowing  this  to  be  part  of  her 
duty  to  God,  but  she  was  sensible  that  their  spiritual  instruction 
in  virtue  was  of  infinitely  greater  importance.  From  their 
cradle  she  instilled  into  them  the  most  perfect  maxims  of  piety, 
and  contempt  of  the  world.  The  ancient  Romans  dreaded  noth- 
ing more  in  the  education  of  youth,  than  their  being  ill-taught 
the  first  principles  of  the  sciences;  it  being  more  difficult  to 
unlearn  the  errors  then  imbibed,  than  to  begin  on  a  mere  tabula 
rasa,  or  blank  paper.  Wherefore  Anthusa  provided  her  son  the 
ablest  masters  in  every  branch  of  literature,  which  the  empire  at 
that  time  afforded.  Eloquence  was  esteemed  the  highest  ac- 
complishment, especially  among  the  nobility,  and  was  the  surest 
means  of  raising  men    to  the    first  dignities  in  the  state.     John 


20  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

Studied  that  art  under  Libanius,  the  most  famous  orator  of  that 
age  ;  and  such  was  his  proficiency,  that  even  in  his  youth  he 
excelled  his  masters.  Libanius  being  asked  by  his  pagan  friends 
on  his  death-bed,  about  the  year  390,  who  should  succeed  him  in 
his'  school:  "John,"  said  he,  "  had  not  the  Christians  stolen 
him  from  us."     Our  saint  was  then  priest. 

The  first  dignities  of  the  empire  were  open  to  John  ;  but  his 
principal  desire  was  to  dedicate  himself  to  God,  without  reserve, 
in  holy  solitude.  Christ  crucified  was  the  only  object  of  his 
heart,  and  nothing  could  make  him  look  back  after  he  had  put 
his  hand  to  the  plough.  And  his  progr  >ss  in  virtue  was  answer- 
able to  his  zealous  endeavors. 

St.  Meletius,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  called  the  young  ascetic 
to  the  service  of  the  church,  gave  him  suitable  instructions, 
during  three  years,  in  his  own  palace,  and  ordained  him 
Reader. 

Four  years  after,  in  374,  he  retired  into  the  mountains  near 
Antioch,  among  certain  holy  anchorets  who  peopled  them, 
where  he  remained  six  years.  St.  Chrysostom  passed  four  years 
under  the  conduct  of  a  veteran  Syrian  monk,  and  afterwards 
two  years  in  a  cave  as  a  hermit.  The  dampness  of  this  abode 
brought  on  him  a  dangerous  distemper,  and  for  the  recovery  of 
his  health  he  was  obliged  to  return  into  the  city.  He  was 
ordained  deacon  by  St.  Meletius,  in  381,  and  priest  by  Flavian 
in  386,  who  at  the  same  time  constituted  him  his  vicar  and 
preacher,  our  saint  being  then  in  the  forty-third  year  of  his  age. 
He  discharged  all  the  duties  of  that  arduous  station  during 
twelve  years,  being  the  hand  and  the  eye  of  his  bishop,  and  his 
mouth  to  his  flock.  The  instruction  and  care  of  the  poor  he 
regarded  as  his  first  obligation  ;  this  he  always  made  his  favorite 
employment  and  his  delight.  He  never  ceased  in  his  sermons 
to  recommend  their  cause  and  the  precept  of  almsdeeds  to  the 
people.  Antioch,  he  supposes,  contained  at  that  time  one  hun- 
dred thousand  Christian  souls;  all  these  he  fed  with  the  word  of 
God,  preaching  several  days  in  the  week,  and  frequently  several 
times  on  the  same  day.  He  confounded  the  Jews  and  Pagans, 
also  the  Anomaeans,  and  other  heretics.  He  abolished  the  most 
inveterate  abuses,  repressed  vice,  and  changed  the  whole  face  of 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE    FAITH    IX    EVERY   AGE.  21 

that  great  city.  It  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  withstand  the 
united  power  of  his  eloquence,  zeal,  and  piety^ 

St.  Chrysostom  had  been  five  years  deacon,  and  twelve  years 
priest,  when  Nectarius,  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  dying  in  397, 
the  emperor  Arcadius,  at  the  suggestion  of  Eutropius  the 
eunuch,  his  chamberlain,  resolved  to  procure  the  election  of  our 
saint  to  the  patriarchate  of  that  city,  and  thus  John  was  conse« 
crated  on  the  26th  of  February,  in  39S.  In  regulating  his  own 
conduct  and  his  domestic  concerns,  he  retrenched  all  the  orreat 
expenses  which  his  predecessors  had  entailed  on  their  dignity, 
which  he  looked  upon  as  superfluous,  and  an  excessive  prodigal- 
ity ;  and  these  sums  he  applied  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  espe- 
cially of  the  sick.  For  this  purpose  he  erected  and  maintained 
numerous  hospitals,  under  the  government  of  holy  and  char- 
itable priests,  and  was  very  careful  that  all  the  servants  and 
attendants  were  persons  of  great  virtue,  tenderness,  compassion, 
and  prudence.  His  own  family  being  settled  in  good  order,  the 
next  thing  he  took  in  hand  after  his  promotion  was  the  refor- 
mation of  his  clergy.  This  he  forwarded  by  zealous  exhorta- 
tions and  proper  rules  for  their  conduct,  tending  both  to  their 
sanctification  and  exemplarity.  And  to  give  these  his  endeav- 
ors their  due  force,  he  lived  an  exact  model  of  what  he  incul- 
cated to  others.  By  the  invincible  power  of  his  eloquence  and 
zeal  he  tamed  the  fiercest  sinners,  and  changed  them  into  meek 
lambs :  he  converted  an  incredible  number  of  idolaters  and 
heretics.  His  mildness  towards  sinners  was  censured  by  the 
Novatians:  he  invited  them  to  repentance  with  the  compassion 
of  the  most  tender  father,  and  was  accustomed  to  cry  out  :  "  If 
you  are  fallen  a  second  time,  or  even  a  thousand  times  into 
sin,  come  to  me  and  you  shall  be  healed."  But  he  was  firm 
and  severe  in  maintaining  discipline,  though  without  harshness; 
to  impenitent  sinners  he  was  inflexible. 

Neither  was  this  pastoral  care  confined  to  his  own  flock  or  na- 
tion :  he  extended  it  to  the  remotest  countries.  He  sent  a 
bishop  to  instruct  the  Nomades  or  wandering  Scythians  ;  another, 
an  admirable  man,  to  the  Goths.  Palestine,  Persia,  and  many 
other  distant  provinces  felt  the  most  beneficent  influence  of  his 
zeal. 


22  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

In  the  year  400,  St.  Chrysostom  held  a  council  of  bishops  at 
Constantinople,  one  of  whom  had  preferred  a  complaint  against 
his  metropolitan,  Antoninus,  the  Archbishop  of  Ephesus,  which 
consisted  of  several  heads,  but  that  chiefly  insisted  on  was  sim- 
ony. All  our  saint's  endeavors  to  discuss  this  affair  being  frus- 
trated by  the  distance  of  places,  he  found  it  necessary,  at  the  so- 
licitation of  the  .clergy  and  people  of  Ephesus,  to  go  in  person 
to  that  city,  though  the  severity  of  the  winter  season,  and  the  ill 
state  of  health  he  was  then  in,  might  be  sufficient  motives  for  re- 
tarding this  journey.  In  this  and  the  neighboring  cities  several 
councils  were  held,  in  which  the  Archbishop  of  Ephesus,  and 
several,  other  bishops  in  Asia,  Lycia,  and  Phrygia,  were  de 
posed  for  simony. 

It  remained  that  our  saint  should  glorify  God  by  his  sufferings, 
as  he  had  already  done  by  his  labors;  and  if  we  contemplate 
the  mystery  of  the  cross  with  the  eyes  of  faith,  we  shall  find  him 
greater  in  the  persecutions  he  sustained  than  in  all  the  other  oc- 
currences of  his  life. 

The  first  open  adversary  of  our  saint  was  Severianus,  Bishop 
of  Gabala,  in  Syria,  to  whom  the  saint  had  left  the  care  of  his 
church  during  his  absence.  This  man  had  acquired  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  preacher,  was  a  favorite  of  the  empress  Eudoxia,  and 
had  employed  all  his  talents  and  dexterity  to  establish  himself 
in  the  good  opinion  of  the  court  and  people,  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  saint,  against  whom  he  had  preached  in  his  own  city.  Se- 
verianus being  obliged  to  leave  Constantinople  at  the  saint's  re- 
turn, he  made  an  excellent  discourse  to  his  flock  on  the  peace 
Christ  came  to  establish  on  earth,  and  begged  they  would  re- 
ceive again  Severianus,  whom  they  had  expelled  the  city. 

Another  enemy  of  the  saint  was  Theophilus,  Patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  whom  Sozomen,  Socrates,  Palladius,  St.  Isidore  of 
Pelusium,  and  Synesius,  accuse  of  avarice  and  oppression  to 
gratify  his  vanity  in  building  stately  churches  ;  of  pride,  envy, 
revenge,  dissimulation,  and  an  uncontrollable  love  of  power  and 
rule,  by  which  he  treated  other  bishops  as  his  slaves,  and  made 
his  will  the  rule  of  justice.  His  three  paschal  letters,  which 
have  reached  us,  show  that  he  wrote  without  method,  and  that 
his   reflections  and    reasonings   were  neither  just  nor  apposite, 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  PAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        23 

whence  the  loss  of  his  other  writincrs  is  not  much  to  be  regretted. 
These  spiritual  vices  sullied  his  zeal  against  the  Anthropo- 
morphites,  and  his  other  virtues.  He  died  in  412,  wishing  that 
he  had  lived  always  in  a  desert,  honoring  the  name  of  the  holy 
Chrysostom,  whose  picture  he  caused  to  be  brought  to  his  bed- 
side, and,  by  reverencing  it,  showed  his  desire  to  make  atone^ 
ment  for  his  past  ill  conduct  towards  our  saint.  This  turbulent 
man  had  driven  from  their  retreat  four  abbots  of  Nitria,  called 
the  tall  brothers,  on  a  groundless  suspicion  of  Origenism,  as 
appears  from  Palladius,  though  it  was  believed  by  St.  Jerom, 
which  is  maintained  by  Baronius.  St.  Chrysostom  admitted 
them  to  communion,  but  not  till  they  had  juridically  cleared 
themselves  of  it  in  an  ample  manner.  This,  however,  was 
grievously  resented  by  Theophilus  ;  but  the  empress  Eudoxia, 
who,  after  the  disgrace  of  Eutropius,  governed  her  husband  and 
the  empire,  was  the  main  spring  which  moved  the  whole  con- 
spiracy against  the  saint.  Zozimus,  a  heathen  historian,  says 
that  her  flagrant  avarice,  her  extortions  and  injustices,  knew  no 
bounds,  and  that  the  court  was  filled  with  informers,  calumnia- 
tors, and  harpies,  who,  being  always  on  the  watch  for  prey,  found 
means  to  seize  the  estates  of  such  as  died  rich,  and  to  disinherit 
their  children  or  other  heirs. 

No  wonder  that  a  saint  should  displease  such  a  court  whilst 
he  discharged  his  duty  to  God.  He  had  preached  a  sermon 
against  the  extravagance  and  vanity  of  women  in  dress  and 
pomp.  This  was  pretended  by  some  to  have  been  levelled  at 
the  empress ;  and  Severianus  was  not  wanting  to  blow  the 
coals.  Knowing  Theophilus  was  no  friend  to  the  Saint,  the 
empress,  to  be  revenged  of  the  supposed  affront,  sent  to  desire 
his  presence  at  Constantinople,  in  order  to  depose  him.  He 
obeyed  the  summons  with  pleasure,  and  landed  at  Constanti- 
nople, in  June,  433,  with  several  Egyptian  bishops  his  creatures, 
refused  to  see  or  lodge  with  John,  and  got  together  a  packed 
cabal  of  thirty-six  bishops,  the  saint's  enemies,  in  a  church  at 
Chalcedon,  calling  themselves  the  synod  at  the  Oak,  from  a 
great  tree  which  gave  name  to  that  quarter  of  the  town.  The 
heads  of  the  impeachment  drawn  up  against  the  holy  bishop 
were,  that  he  had  deposed  a  deacon  for  beating  a  servant;   that 


24  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

he  had  called  several  of  his  clergy  base  men  ;  had  deposed 
bishops  out  of  his  province ;  had  ordained  priests  in  his  domes- 
tic chapel,  instead  of  the  cathedral  ;  had  sold  things  belonging 
to  the  church  ;  that  nobody  knew  what  became  of  his  revenues; 
that  he  eat  alone  ;  and  that  he  gave  the  holy  communion  to 
persons  who  were  not  fasting  :  all  which  were  false  or  frivolous. 
The  saint  held  a  legal  council  of  forty  bishops  in  the  city  at  the 
same  time  ;  and  refused  to  appear  before  that  at  the  Oak,  alleg- 
ing most  notorious  infractions  of  the  canons  in  their  pretended 
council.  The  cabal  proceeded  to  a  sentence  of  deposition, 
which  they  sent  to  the  city  and  to  the  emperor,  to  whom  they 
also  accused  him  of  treason,  for  having  called  the  empress  Jeze- 
bel, a  false  assertion,  as  Palladius  testifies.  The  emperor  here- 
upon issued  out  an  order  for  his  banishment,  but  the  execution 
of  it  was  opposed  by  the  people,  who  assembled  about  the 
great  church  to  guard  their  pastor.  He  declared  that  he  was 
ready  to  lay  down  a  thousand  lives  for  them,  if  at  his  disposal, 
and  that  he  suffered  only  because  he  had  neglected  nothing  to 
save  their  souls. 

On  the  third  day  after  the  unjust  sentence  given  against  him, 
having  received  repeated  orders  from  the  emperor  to  go  into 
banishment,  and  taking  all  possible  care  to  prevent  a  sedition, 
he  surrendered  himself,  unknown  to  the  people,  to  the  Count, 
who  conducted  him  to  Prsenetum,  in  Bithynia.  After  his  depar- 
ture his  enemies  entered  the  city  with  guards,  and  Severianus 
mounted  the  pulpit,  and  began  to  preach,  pretending  to  show 
the  deposition  of  the  saint  to  have  been  legal  and  just.  But 
the  people  would  not  suffer  him  to  proceed,  and  ran  about  as  if 
distracted,  loudly  demanding  in  a  body  the  restoration  of  their 
holy  pastor.  The  next  night  the  city  was  shook  with  an  earth, 
quake.  This  brought  the  empress  to  reflect  with  remorse  on 
what  she  had  done  against  the  holy  bishop.  She  applied  imme- 
diately to  the  emperor,  under  the  greatest  consternation,  for  his 
being  recalled;  crying  out,  "Unless  John  be  recalled,  our 
empire  is  undone  :"  and  with  his  consent  she  despatched  letters 
the  same  night,  inviting  him  home  with  tender  expressions  of 
affection  and  esteem,  and  protesting  her  ignorance  of  his  ban- 
ishment.     Almost  all  the  city  went  out  to  meet  him,  and  great 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IX    EVERY   AGE.  2$ 

numbers  of  lighted  torches  were  carried  before  him.  He  stop- 
ped in  the  suburbs,  refusing  to  enter  the  city  till  he  had  been 
declared  innocent  by  a  more  numerous  assembly  of  bishops. 
But  the  people  would  suffer  no  delay  :  the  enemies  of  the  saint 
fleJ,  and  he  resumed  his  functions,  and  preached  to  his  flock. 
He  pressed  the  emperor  to  call  Theophilus  to  a  legal  synod  ; 
but  that  obstinate  persecutor  alleged  that  he  could  not  return 
without  danger  of  his  life.  However,  Sozomen  relates,  that 
three  score  bishops  ratified  his  return.  But  the  fair  weather 
did  not  last  long.  A  silver  statue  of  the  empress  having  been 
erected  on  a  pillar  before  the  great  church  of  St.  Sophia,  the 
dedication  of  it  was  celebrated  with  public  games,  which, 
besides  disturbing  the  divine  service,  engaged  the  spectators  in 
extravagances  and  superstition.  St.  Chrysostom  had  often 
preached  against  licentious  shows  ;  and  the  very  place  rendered 
these  the  more  criminal.  On  this  occasion,  fearing  lest  his 
silence  should  be  construed  as  an  approbation  of  the  thing,  he 
with  his  usual  freedom  and  courage,  spoke  loudly  against  it. 
Though  this  could  only  affect  the  Manichaean  overseer  of  these 
games,  the  vanity  of  the  empress  made  her  take  the  affront  to 
herself,  and  her  desires  of  revenge  were  implacable.  His  ene- 
mies were  invited  back  :  Theophilus  durst  not  come,  but  sent 
three  deputies.  Though  St.  John  had  forty-two  bishops  with 
him,  this  second  cabal  urged  to  the  emperor  certain  canons  of 
an  Arian  council  of  Antioch,  made  only  to  exclude  St.  Athana- 
sius,  by  which  it  was  ordained  that  no  bishop  who  had  been 
deposed  by  a  synod,  should  return  to  his  see  till  he  was  restored 
by  another  synod.  This  false  plea  overruled  the  justice  of  the 
saint's  cause,  and  Arcadius  sent  him  an  order  to  withdraw. 
He  refused  to  forsake  a  church  committed  to  him  by  God, 
unless  forcibly  compelled  to  leave  it.  The  emperor  sent  troops 
to  drive  the  people  out  of  the  churches  on  Holy  Saturday,  and 
the  holy  places  were  polluted  with  blood  and  all  manner  of  out- 
rages. The  saint  wrote  to  Pope  Innocent,  begging  him  to 
declare  void  all  that  had  been  done  ;  for  no  injustice  could  be 
more  notorious.  He  also  wrote  to  beg  the  concurrence  of  cer- 
tain other  holy  bishops  of  the  West.  The  pope  having  received 
from  Theophilus  the  acts  of  the  false  council  at  the  Oak,  even 


26  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

by  them  saw  the  glaring  injustice  of  its  proceedings,  and  wiote 
to  him,  exhorting  him  to  appear  in  another  council,  where  sen- 
tence should  be  given  according  to  the  canons  of  Nice,  meaning 
by  those  words  to  condemn  the  Arian  canons  of  Antioch.  He 
also  wrote  to  St.  Chrysostom,  to  his  flock,  and  several  of  his 
friends  ;  and  endeavored  to  redress  these  evils  by  a  new  council, 
as  did  also  the  emperor  Honorius.  But  Arcadius  and  Eudoxia 
found  means  to  prevent  its  assembling,  the  very  dread  of  which 
made  Theophilus,  Severianus,  and  other  ringleaders  of  the  fac- 
tion to  tremble. 

St.  Chrysostom  was  suffered  to  remain  at  Constantinople  two 
months  after  Easter.  On  Thursday  in  Whitsun  week  the  em- 
peror sent  him  an  order  for  his  banishment.  The  holy  man,  who 
received  it  in  the  church,  said  to  those  about  him,  "  Come,  let  us 
pray,  and  take  leave  of  the  angel  of  the  church."  He  took  leave 
of  the  bishops,  and,  stepping  into  the  baptistry,  also  of  St.  Olym- 
pias  and  the  other  deaconesses,  who  were  overwhelmed  with  grief 
and  bathed  in  tears.  He  then  retired  privately  out  of  the  church, 
to  prevent  a  sedition,  and  was  conducted'by  Lucius,  a  brutish 
captain,  into  Bithynia,  and  arrived  at  Nice  on  the  20th  of  June, 
404.  The  saint  enjoyed  himself  comfortably  at  Nice  ;  but  Cucu- 
sus  was  pitched  upon  by  Eudoxia  for  the  place  of  his  banish- 
ment, a  poor  town  in  Armenia,  in  the  deserts  of  Mount  Taurus. 
The  pope  refused  to  hold  communion  with  Theophilus  or  any 
of  the  abettors  of  the  persecution  of  our  saint.  He  and  the  em- 
peror Honorius  sent  five  bishops  to  Constantinople  to  insist  on 
a  council,  and  that  in  the  meantime  St.  Chrysostom  should  be 
restored  to  his  see,  his  deposition  having  been  notoriously  un- 
just. But  the  deputies  were  cast  into  prison  in  Thrace.  His 
impious  enemies,  seeing  the  whole  Christian  world  both  honor 
and  defend  him,  resolved  to  rid  the  world  of  him.  With  this 
view  they  procured  an  order  from  the  emperor  that  he  should 
be  removed  to  Arabissus,  and  thence  to  Pytius,  a  town  situated 
on  the  Euxine  Sea,  near  Colchis,  at  the  extremity  of  the  empire 
on  the  frontiers  of  the  Sarmatians,  the  most  barbarous  of  the 
Scythians.  Two  officers  were  ordered  to  convey  him  thither  in 
a  limited  number  of  days,  through  very  rough  roads,  with  a 
promise  of  promotion  if,  by  hard  usage,  he  should  die  in  their 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  Oi    THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        27 

hands.  They  so  faithfully  obeyed  their  cruel  instructions  that 
before  he  reached  the  sea  coast  of  Euxine,  he  expired  at  Comana 
in  Pontus  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age.  His  ashes  were  after- 
wards  carried  to  Rome,  and  rest  under  an  altar  which  bears  his 
name  in  the  Vatican  church.  The  saint  was  low  in  stature : 
and  his  thin,  mortified  countenance  bespoke  the  severity  of  his 
life.  The  austerities  of  his  youth,  his  cold  solitary  abode  in  the 
mountains,  and  the  fatigues  of  continual  preaching,  had  weak- 
ened his  breast,  which  occasioned  his  frequent  distempers.  But 
the  hardships  of  his  exile  were  such  as  must  have  destroyed  a 
person  of  the  most  robust  constitution.  Pope  Celestine,  St. 
Austin,  St.  Nilus,  St.  Isidore  of  Pelusium,  and  others,  call  him 
the  illustrious  doctor  of  churches,  whose  glory  shines  on  every 
side,  who  fills  the  earth  with  the  light  of  his  profound  sacred 
learning,  and  who  instructs  by  his  works  the  remotest  corners 
of  the  world,  preaching  everywhere,  even  where  his  voice  could 
not  reach.  They  style  him  the  wise  interpreter  of  the  secrets 
of  God,  the  sun  of  the  whole  universe,  the  lamp  of  virtue,  and 
the  most  shining  star  of  the  earth.  The  Incomparable  writings 
of  this  glorious  saint,  make  his  standing  and  most  authentic 
eulogium. 

SAINT   JEROM. 
Doctor  of  the  Church. 

St.  Jerom,  who  is  allowed  to  have  been,  in  many  respects,  the 
most  learned  of  all  the  Latin  fathers,  was  born  at  Stridonium, 
now  Sdrigni,  a  small  town  upon  the  confines  of  Pannonia,  Dal- 
matia,  and  Italy,  near  Aquileia.  He  had  a  brother  much  youn- 
ger than  himself,  whose  name  was  Paulinian.  His  father,  called 
Eusebius,  was  descended  from  a  good  family,  and  had  a  compe- 
tent estate  ;  but,  being  persuaded  that  a  good  education  is  the 
most  precious  inheritance  that  a  parent  can  leave  to  his  children, 
took  great  care  to  have  his  son  instructed  in  piety,  and  in  the 
first  principles  of  literature  at  home,  and  afterwards  sent  him  to 
Rome. 

Being  arrived  at  man's  estate,  and  very  desirous  of  improv- 
ing his  studies,  he  resolved  upon   travelling,  in  order  to  further 


28  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

this  design.  A  vehement  thirst  after  learning  put  him  upon 
making  a  tour  through  Gaul,  where  the  Romans  had  erected 
several  famous  schools,  especially  at  Marseilles,  Toulouse, 
Bourdeaux,  Autun,  Lyons,  and  Triers.  It  had  been  St.  Jerom's 
greatest  pleasure  at  Rome  to  collect  a  good  library,  and  to 
read  all  the  best  authors :  in  this  such  was  his  passion,  that  it 
made  him  sometimes  forget  to  eat  or  drink.  Cicero  and  Plau- 
tus  were  his  chief  delight.  He  purchased  a  great  many  books, 
copied  several,  and  procured  many  to  be  transcribed  by  his 
friends. 

St.  Jerom  shut  himself  up  in  a  monastery  at  Aquileia  for 
some  time,  that  he  might  with  greater  leisure  and  freedom  pur. 
sue  his  studies,  and  then  returned  to  Rome,  resolving  to  betake 
himself  wholly  to  his  studies  and  retirement.  Experience  soon 
convinced  him  that  neither  his  own  country  nor  Rome  were  fit 
places  for  a  life  of  perfect  solitude,  at  which  he  aimed,  where- 
fore he  resolved  to  withdraw  into  some  distant  country. 

The  saint  having  spent  some  time  at  Antioch,  went  into  a 
hideous  desert,  lying  between  Syria  and  Arabia,  in  the  country 
of  the  Saracens,  where  the  holy  abbot,  Theodosius,  received  him 
with  great  joy,  and  spent  there  four  years  in  studies,  and  the  fer- 
vent exercises  of  piety.  Jerom  now  began  the  study  of  Hebrew 
and  devoted  his  scholarship  to  the  Holy  Scripture.  He  re- 
ceived at  Antioch  the  holy  order  of  priesthood  before  the  end 
of  the  year  Zll  \  ^^  which  promotion  he  only  consented  on  this 
condition,  that  he  should  not  be  obliged  to  serve  that  or  any 
other  church  in  the  functions  of  his  ministry.  Soon  after  his 
ordination  he  went  into  Palestine,  and  visited  the  principal  holy 
places  situated  in  different  parts  of  that  country,  but  made 
Bethlehem  his  most  usual  residence.  He  had  recourse  to  the 
ablest  Jewish  doctors  to  inform  himself  of  all  particulars  relating 
to  all  the  remarkable  places  mentioned  in  the  sacred  history, 
and  he  neglected  no  means  to  perfect  himself  In  the  knowledge 
of  the  Hebrew  tonorue.  For  this  he  addressed  himself  to  the 
most  skilful  among  the  Jews :  one  of  his  masters,  by  whose  in- 
structions he  exceedingly  improved  himself,  spoke  Hebrew  with 
such  gracefulness,  true  accent,  and  propriety  of  expression,  that 
he  passed  among  the  Jewish  doctors  for  a  true  Chaldean. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  29 

About  the  year  380,  our  saint  went  to  Constantinople,  there 
to  study  the  holy  scriptures  under  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  who 
was  then  bishop  of  that  city.  In  several  parts  of  his  works  he 
mentions  this  with  singular  satisfaction,  and  gratitude  for  the 
honor  and  happiness  of  having  had  so  great  a  master  in 
expounding  the  divine  oracles,  as  that  most  eloquent  and 
learned  doctor.  Upon  St.  Gregory's  leaving  Constantinople,  in 
381,  he  returned  into  Palestine.  Not  long  after,  he  was  called 
to  Rome,  as  he  testifies.  He  went  thither  in  the  same  year, 
381,  with  St.  Paulinus  of  Antioch  and  St.  Epiphanius,  who 
undertook  that  journey  to  attend  a  council  which  Damasus 
held  about  the  schism  of  Antioch.  The  two  bishops  stayed 
the  winter  in  Rome,  and  then  returned  into  the  East  ;  but  Pope 
Damasus  detained  St.  Jerom  with  him,  and  employed  him  as  his 
secretary  in  writing  his  letters,  in  answering  the  consultations  of 
bishops,  and  in  other  important  affairs  of  the  church. 

Our  holy  doctor  soon  gained  at  Rome  a  universal  love  and 
esteem,  on  account  of  his  religious  life,  his  humility,  eloquence, 
and  learning.  Many  among  the  chief  nobility,  clergy,  and 
monks  sought  to  be  instructed  by  him  in  the  holy  scriptures, 
and  in  the  rules  of  Christian  perfection.  He  was  charged  like- 
wise with  the  conduct  of  many  devout  ladies,  as  St.  Marcella, 
her  sister  Asella,  and  their  mother  Albina  ;  Melania  the  elder, 
Marcellina,  Felicitas,  Lea,  Fabiola,  Laeta,  Paula,  and  her 
daughters,  with  many  others. 

The  instruction  of  these  and  many  other  devout  persons  did 
not  so  engross  our  saint's  time  and  attention,  but  he  was  always 
ready  to  acquit  himself  of  all  that  Pope  Damasus  recommended 
to  his  care,  and,  by  other  labors,  to  render  important  services 
to  the  Catholic  Church.  After  having  stayed  about  three  years 
at  Rome,  St.  Jerom  resolved  to  return  into  the  East,  there  to 
seek  a  quiet  retreat.  He  arrived  at  Jerusalem  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  near  the  close  of  the  year  385,  and  in  the  following 
spring  went  into  Egypt,  to  improve  himself  in  sacred  learning, 
and  in  the  most  perfect  practices  of  the  monastic  institute.  At 
Alexandria,  he,  for  a  month,  received  the  lessons  of  the  famous 
Didymus,  and  profited  very  much  by  his  conversation  in  386. 
He  visited  the  chief  monasteries   of  Egypt  ;  after  which  he  re- 


30  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

turned  into  Palestine,  and  retired  to  Bethlehem.  It  was  thought 
that  he  could  not  be  further  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  language  ;  but  this  was  not  his  own  judgment  of  the 
matter ;  and  he  applied  again  to  a  famous  Jewish  master,  called 
Bar-Ananias,  who,  for  a  sum  of  money,  came  to  teach  him  in  the 
night-time,  lest  the  Jews  should  know  it.  Church  history,  which 
is  called  one  of  the  eyes  of  theology,  became  a  favorite  study  of 
our  holy  doctor'.  All  the  heresies  which  were  broached  in  the 
church  in  his  time,  found  him  a  warm  and  indefatigable  adver- 
sary. 

Whilst  he  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  desert  of  Chalcis,  he  drew 
his  pen  against  the  Luciferian  schismatics.  After  the  unhappy 
council  of  Rimini,  in  which  many  orthodox  bishops  had  been  be- 
trayed, contrary  to  their  meaning,  into  a  subscription  favorable 
to  the  Arians,  St.  Athanasius,  in  his  council  of  Alexandria,  in 
362,  and  other  Catholic  prelates,  came  to  a  resolution  to  admit 
those  prelates  to  communion,  upon  their  repentance.  This  in- 
dulgence displeased  Lucifer,  Bishop  of  Cagliari,  a  person  famous 
for  his  zeal  and  writings  against  the  Arians,  in  the  reign  of  Con- 
stantius.  St.  Jerom  composed  a  dialogue  against  the  Lucifer- 
ians,  in  which  he  plainly  demonstrates,  by  the  acts  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Rimini,  that  in  it  the  bishops  were  imposed  upon.  In  the 
same  work  he  confutes  the  private  heresy  of  Hilary,  a  Lucifer- 
ian deacon  at  Rome,  that  the  Arians,  and  all  other  heretics 
and  schismatics,  were  to  be  rebaptized ;  on  which  account  St. 
Jerom  calls  him  the  Deucalion  of  the  world. 

Our  holy  doctor,  whilst  he  resided  at  Rome,  in  the  time  of 
Pope  Damasus,  in  384,  composed  his  book  against  Helvidius, 
"  On  the  Perpetual  Virginity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary." 
Two  years  after  this,  St.  Jerom  wrote  two  books  against  Jo- 
vinian. 

Our  saint  was  also  engaged  in  a  long  war  against  Origenism. 
St.  Jerom  could  suffer  no  heresy  to  pass  without  his  censure. 
Being  informed  by  one  Ctesiphon,  that  the  errors  of  Pelagius 
made  great  progress  in  the  East,  and  that  many  were  seduced 
by  them,  he  wrote  him  a  short  confutation  thereof  in  414.  He 
again  handled  the  same  questions  in  his  Dialogue  against  the 
Pelagians,  which  he  published  in  416. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  3 1 

Nothing  has  rendered  the  name  of  St.  Jerom  so  famous  as 
his  critical  labors  on  the  holy  scriptures.  For  this  the  church 
acknowledges  him  to  have  been  raised  by  God  through  a  special 
providence,  particularly  assisted  from  above,  and  she  styles  him 
the  greatest  of  all  her  doctors  in  expounding  the  divine  oracles. 
Pope  Clement  VIII.  scruples  not  to  call  him  a  man,  in  translat- 
ing the  holy  scriptures,  divinely  assisted  and  inspired.  He  was 
furnished  with  the  greatest  helps  for  such  an  undertaking:  liv- 
ing many  years  upon  the  spot,  whilst  the  remains  of  ancient 
places,  names,  customs  which  were  still  recent,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, set  before  his  eyes  a  clearer  representation  of  many 
things  recorded  in  holy  writ  than  it  is  possible  to  have  at  a  great 
distance  of  place  and  time.  The  Greek  and  Chaldaicwere  then 
living  languages,  and  the  Hebrew,  though  it  had  ceased  to  be 
such  from  the  time  of  the  captivity,  was  not  less  perfectly  under- 
stood and  spoken  among  the  doctors  of  the  law  in  its  full  extent, 
and  with  the  true  pronunciation.  It  was  carefully  cultivated  in 
the  Jewish  academy,  or  great  school  of  Tiberias,  out  of  which 
St.  Jerom  had  a  master. 

A  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made  from  the  Greek  in 
the  time  of  the  apostles,  and  probably  approved  or  recommended 
by  some  of  them,  especially,  according  to  Rufinus,  by  St.  Peter, 
who,  as  he  says,  sat  twenty-five  years  at  Rome.  In  the  fourth 
century  great  variations  had  crept  into  the  copies,  as  St.  Jerom 
mentions,  so  that  almost  every  one  differed.  For  many  that 
understood  Greek  undertook  to  translate  anew  some  part,  or  to 
make  some  alterations  from  the  original.  However,  as  Blan- 
chini  observes,  these  alterations  seem  to  have  been  all  grafted 
upon,  or  inserted  in,  the  first  translation  ;  for  they  seem  all  to 
have  gone  under  the  name  of  the  Latin  Vulgate,  or  Common 
Translation.  Amongst  them  one  obtained  the  name  of  the 
Italic,  perhaps  because  it  was  chiefly  used  in  Italy  and  Rome  ; 
and  this  was  far  preferable  to  all  the  other  Latin  editions,  as  St. 
Austin  testifies.  To  remedy  the  inconvenience  of  this  variety 
of  editions,  and  to  correct  the  faults  of  bold  or  careless  copiers, 
Pope  Damasus  commissioned  St.  Jerom  to  revise  and  correct 
the  Latin  version  of  the  gospels  by  the  original  Greek,  which 
this  holy  doctor  executed  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  whole 


32  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

church.  He  afterwards  did  the  same  with  the  rest  of  the  New 
Testament.  This  work  of  St.  Jerom's  differs  very  much  in  the 
words  from  the  ancient  Itahc.  It  insensibly  took  place  in  all 
the  Western  churches,  and  is  the  Latin  Vulgate  of  the  New 
Testament,  which  is  now  everywhere  in  use.  The  edition  of 
the  Greek  Septuagint  which  was  inserted  in  Origen's  Hexapla, 
being  the  most  exact  extant,  St.  Jerom  corrected  by  it  the 
ancient  Italic  of  many  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  twice 
the  Psalter:  first,  by  order  of  Pope  Damascus,  at  Rome,  about 
the  year  382  ;  and  a  second  time  at   Bethlehem,  about  the  year 

389.  ^ 

His  new  translation  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  writ- 
ten in  Hebrew,  made  from  that  original  text,  was  a  more  noble 
and  a  more  difficult  undertaking.  Many  motives  concurred  to 
engage  him  in  this  work;  as,  the  earnest  entreaties  of  many 
devout  and  illustrious  friends,  the  preference  of  the  original  to 
any  version  how  venerable  soever,  and  the  necessity  of  answer- 
ing the  Jews,  who  in  all  disputations  would  allow  no  other. 
Having  triumphed  over  all  vices,  subdued  the  infernal  monsters 
of  heresies,  and  made  his  life  a  martydom  of  penance  and  labors, 
at  length  by  a  fever,  in  a  good  old  age,  he  was  released  from 
the  prison  of  his  body,  in  the  year  420,  on  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber. His  festival  is  mentioned  in  the  Sacramentary  of  St. 
Gregory,  and  in  the  Martyrologies  of  Bede,  Usuard,  etc.  He 
was  buried  in  a  vault  at  the  ruins  of  his  monastery,  at  Bethle- 
hem ;  but  his  remains  lie  at  present  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary 
Major  at  Rome. 

SAINT   AUGUSTINE,    BISHOP. 
And  Doctor  of  the  Church. 

So  great  is  the  veneration  which  popes,  councils,  and  the 
whole  church  have  paid  to  the  memory  of  this  glorious  saint, 
through  every  succeeding  age  since  his  time,  that  to  load  this 
sketch  with  a  list  of  his  illustrious  panegyrists  would  be  a  super- 
fluous labor,  and  barely  to  copy  the  sober  praises  which  the 
most  judicious  Christian  critics  have  bestowed  on  his  extraordi- 
nary learning  and  sanctity,  would  be  like  carrying  water  to  the 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        33 

aca ;  for  the  name  of  the  great  St.  Austin  is  alone  the  highest 
eulogium  and  panegyric,  raises  in  all  persons  the  most  exalted 
idea,  and  commands  the  most  profound  respect.  This  perfect 
model  of  true  penitents,  this  triumphing  champion  of  our  holy 
faith  and  confounder  of  heresies,  this  bright  light  and  most 
o-lorious  doctor  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  was  born  on  the  i  ^th  of 
November,  in  the  year  354,  at  Tagaste,  a  small  town  of  Nu- 
midia,  in  Africa,  not  far  from  Hippo,  but  at  some  distance  from 
the  sea,  which  the  saint  had  never  seen  till  he  was  grown  up. 
His  parents  were  of  good  condition,  yet  not  very  rich  ;  his  father, 
Patricius,  was  an  idolater,  and  of  a  hasty  choleric  disposition  ; 
but  by  the  holy  example  and  prudent  conduct  of  St.  Monica, 
his  wife,  he  at  length  learned  the  humility  and  meekness  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  was  baptized  a  little  before  his  death. 
She  bore  him  several  children.  Our  saint  had  the  misfortune 
to  fall,  in  his  youth,  like  the  prodigal  son,  into  the  most  fright- 
ful gulf  of  vice  and  spiritual  miseries,  of  which  himself  has  drawn 
a  lively  portraiture  in  the  first  books  of  his  Confessions,  both  for 
his  own  greater  humiliation,  and  to  deplore  his  blindness  and 
ingratitude  towards  God,  to  set  forth  the  infinite  riches  of  the 
divine  mercy,  and  to  propose  the  example  of  his  own  fall  as  a 
warninor  to  others. 

By  the  care  of  his  pious  mother  he  was  instructed  in  the 
Christian  religion,  and  taught  to  pray.  He  was  made  a  cate- 
chumen by  being  marked  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  by 
blessed  salt  being  put  in  his  mouth  ;  and  whilst  he  went  to 
school  in  his  own  town,  falling  dangerously  ill,  he  desired  bap- 
tism, and  his  mother  got  everything  ready  for  it ;  but  he  on  a 
sudden  grew  better,  and  it  was  deferred. 

Patricius,  who  was  a  worldly  man,  and  continued  still  an  idola- 
ter, perceived  that  his  son  Austin  had  an  excellent  genius,  and 
a  wonderful  disposition  for  learning,  and  with  a  view  to  his  fu- 
ture preferment,  spared  nothing  to  breed  him  up  a  scholar. 

Austin  went  to  Carthage  towards  the  end  of  the  year  370,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  3^ear  of  his  age.  There  he 
easily  held  the  foremost  place  in  the  school  of  rhetoric,  and  ap- 
plied himself  to  his  studies,  with  so  much  eagerness  and  pleasure, 
that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  was  drawn  from  them. 


34  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

His  father,  Patricius,  died  soon  after  he  had  been  baptized, 
in  371  ;  but  Austin  still  continued  his  studies  at  Carthage. 
Soon  after  this  he  fell  into  the  sect  of  the  Manichees,  in  which 
he  continued  between  eight  and  nine  years,  from  the  nineteenth 
to  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  vanity  was  soothed 
and  flattered  by  the  Manichees,  who  pretended  to  try  everything 
by  the  test  of  bare  reason,  and  scoffing  at  all  those  who  paid  a 
due  deference  to  the  authority  of  the  Catholic  Church,  as  if 
they  shackled  reason,  and  walked  in  trammels.  It  was  by  this 
artifice  that  he  was  seduced  and  caught  in  their  nets;  they 
promised  to  show  him  everything  by  demonstration,  banishing 
all  mystery,  and  calling  faith  weakness,  credulity,  and  ignorance. 
"They  said  that,  setting  aside  dreadful  authority,  they  would 
lead  men  to  God,  and  free  them  from  all  error  by  reason  alone." 

However,  soon  perceiving  that  these  heretics  were  more  dex- 
trous in  disputing  against  others,  than  in  defending  or  proving 
their  own  tenets,  on  this  account  he  remained  rather  a  seeker 
than  a  perfect  Manichee,  and  continuing  among  them  only  in 
the  rank  of  a  hearer,  he  would  never  be  initiated  amonof  their 
Elect.  He  had  attained  to  a  perfect  understanding  of  most  of 
the  liberal  sciences  at  scarce  t\Venty  years  of  age,  but  says  of  his 
learning  at  that  time,  because  he  did  not  apply  himself  with  it 
to  the  true  knowledge  of  God  :  "  What  did  this  profit  me,  when 
indeed  it  did  me  harm  ?  " 

In  the  twentieth  year,  to  ease  his  mother  or  the  charge  of  his 
education,  he  left  Carthage,  and  returning  to  her,  set  up  a  school 
of  grammar  and  rhetoric  at  Tagaste  ;  but  she,  who  was  a  good 
Catholic,  and  never  ceased  to  weep  and  pray  for  his  conversion, 
forbore  to  sit  at  the  same  table,  or  to  eat  with  him,  hoping  by 
this  severity  and  abhorrence  of  his  heresy,  to  make  him  enter 
into  himself.  Some  time  after,  finding  her  own  endeavors  to 
reclaim  him  unsuccessful,  she  repaired  to  a  certain  bishop,  and 
with  tears  besought  him  to  discourse  with  her  son  upon  his  er- 
rors. The  prelate  excused  himself  for  the  present,  alleging  that 
her  son  was  yet  unfit  for  instruction,  being  intoxicated  with  the 
novelty  of  his  heresy,  and  bloated  with  conceit,  having  often 
puzzled  several  Catholics  who  had  entered  the  lists  with  him, 
and  were  more  zealous  than  learned.      "  Only  pray  to  our  Lord 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  35 

for  him,"  said  he,  "your  son  will  at  length  discover  his  error  and 
impiety."  She  still  persisted,  with  many  tears,  importuning 
him  that  he  would  see  her  unhappy  son ;  but  he  dismissed  her, 
saying,  "  Go  your  way ;  God  bless  you  ;  it  cannot  be  that  a 
child  of  those  tears  should  perish."  Which  words  she  received 
as  an  oracle  from  heaven.  She  was  also  comforted  by  a  dream, 
in  which  she  seemed  to  see  a  young  man,  who  having  asked  the 
cause  of  her  sorrow  and  daily  tears,  bid  her  be  of  good  courage, 
for  where  she  was,  there  her  son  also  was.  Upon  which  she, 
looking  about,  saw  Austin  standing  upon  the  same  plank  with 
herself.  This  assurance,  and  her  confidence  in  the  divine  mercy, 
gave  her  present  comfort ;  but  she  was  yet  to  wait  several  years 
for  the  accomplishment  of  her  earnest  desires,  and  to  obtain  it 
by  many  importunate  prayers  and  tears,  which  she  could  not  but 
put  forth  in  abundance,  while  she  saw  her  beloved  son  an  en- 
emy to  that  God  whom  she  loved  far  more  than  her  son  or  her- 
self. 

Not  being  able  any  longer  to  bear  his  native  country,  he  re- 
moved to  Carthage  where  he  opened  a  school  of  rhetoric,  gained 
great  applause  in  the  public  disputations,  and  carried  away  the 
principal  prizes  in  the  theatre  for  the  best  performances  in 
poesy  and  oratory. 

Austin,  being  disgusted  at  the  disorderly  behavior  of  the  stu- 
dents at  Carthage,  resolved  to  go  to  Rome,  where  scholars  were 
kept  under  stricter  discipline.  There  he  also  soon  became  dis- 
satisfied, and  accepted  an  invitation  to  proceed  to  Milan,  where 
the  people  were  in  search  of  a  teacher  of  rhetoric. 

At  Milan  he  was  received  with  great  applause,  and  the  most 
ingenious  persons  of  that  city  were  soon  convinced  that  he  de- 
served the  high  opinion  they  had  entertained  of  him.  The  holy 
bishop,  St.  Ambrose,  gave  him  particular  marks  of  his  respect. 
St.  Austin  was  very  desirous  of  being  acquainted  with  him,  not 
as  with  a  teacher  of  the  truth,  which  he  thought  impossible  to 
be  found  among  the  Catholics,  but  only  as  a  person  of  great 
learning  and  reputation,  and  one  who  was  obliging  and  friendly 
to  him.  He  frequently  attended  his  sermons,  not  with  any  de- 
sire of  profiting  by  them,  but  to  gratify  his  curiosity,  and  to  in- 
form himself  whether  his  eloquence  answered  the  fame  he  had 


36  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

heard  concerning  him.  He  was  very  intent  upon  his  words,  and 
found  his  discourse  elegant  and  more  learned  than  that  of  Faus- 
tus,  the  Manichaean,  yet  not  so  pleasing  in  the  delivery.  Austin 
aimed  only  at  gratifying  his  ears,  and  despised  the  matter  which 
the  bishop  treated  :  yet  his  doctrine,  like  a  distilling  rain,  insen- 
sibly made  impression  on  his  heart,  and  caused  the  seeds  of  vir- 
tue to  spring  forth  therein.  He  began  to  think  there  was  good 
argument  and  reason  in  what  he  said,  and  that  the  Manichees 
unjustly  derided  and  cast  contempt  on  the  writings  of  the  law 
and  the  prophets ;  but  he  was  not  yet  convinced  of  the  goodness 
of  the  Catholic  cause,  and  he  continued  in  suspense,  withhold- 
ing his  heart  from  giving  any  assent,  for  fear  of  a  precipice ; 
though  he  learned  from  St.  Ambrose's  discourses  that  Catholics 
did  not  hold  what  the  Manichees  charged  them  with. 

He  found  the  writings  of  the  Platonic  philosophers  bred  in 
his  soul  pride,  and  not  humility,  making  him  to  have  a  mind  to 
seem  wise,  and  leaving  him  full  of  his  punishment,  instead  of 
teaching  him  to  bewail  his  own  misery.  Finding  nothing  in 
them  about  the  great  mystery  of  man's  redemption,  or  Christ's 
incarnation,  he  with  great  eagerness  of  mind  betook  himself  to 
read  the  New  Testament,  especially  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  in 
which  he  then  besfan  to  take  grreat  delisfht.  Here  he  found  the 
testimonies  of  the  Old  Testament  admirably  illustrated,  the 
glory  of  heaven  displayed,  and  the  way  clearly  pointed  out 
which  leadeth  us  thither ;  here  he  learned  that  which  he  had 
lonor  felt,  that  he  had  a  law  in  his  members  warringf  aeainst  the 
law  in  his  mind,  and  that  nothing  could  deliver  him  from  this 
body  of  death  but  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  perceived  an 
infinite  difference  between  the  doctrine  of  him  who  styled  him- 
self the  last  of  the  apostles,  and  that  of  those  proud  philosophers 
who  esteemed  themselves  the  greatest  of  men.  Austin  himself 
was  now  convinced  of  the  truth  and  excellency  of  that  virtue 
which  the  divine  law  prescribes  in  the  Catholic  Church,  but  was 
still  predjudiced  with  such  an  apprehension  of  insuperable  diffi- 
culties in  the  practice  as  kept  him  from  resolutely  entering  upon 
it. 

While  busy  with  his  friend  Alipius  in  studying  the  Pauline 
epistles,  his  strength  of  mind  became  intolerable  ;  the  thought 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE.  37 

of  divine  purity  fighting  in  his  heart  with  the  love  of  the  world 
and  of  the  flesh  overcame  him  ;  and  rushing  out  to  the  garden 
flung  himself  under  a  fig-tree  and  poured  out  his  heart  to  God 
in  a  flood  of  tears. 

On  a  sudden  he  heard,  as  it  were,  the  voice  of  a  child,  from  a 
neighboring  house,  which  singing,  frequently  repeated  these  two 
words  in  Latin,  Tolle  Lege;  To  lie  Lege  :  that  is,  "  Take  up,  and 
read  ;  take  up,  and  read."  Whereupon,  he  rose  up  suppressing 
the  torrent  of  his  tears,  and  he  interpreted  the  voice  to  he  noth- 
ing less  than  a  divine  admonition,  remembering  that  St.  Antony 
was  converted  from  the  world  to  a  life  of  retirement  by  hearing 
an  oracle  of  the  gospel  read.  Therefore  he  returned  in  haste  to 
the  place  where  Alipius  was  sitting,  for  he  had  left  there  the 
book  of  St.  Paul's  epistles.  He  catched  it  up,  opened  it,  and 
read  in  silence  the  following  words,  on  which  he  first  cast  his 
eyes  :  "  Not  in  revelling  and  drunkenness  ;  not  in  chamberings 
and  impurities;  not  in  strifes  and  envy  ;  but  put  ye  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh  in  its  concupi- 
scences." He  w^ould  read  no  further,  nor  was  there  need  ;  for 
at  the  end  of  these  lines,  as  it  were,  by  a  new  gleam  of  confi- 
dence and  security  streaming  into  his  heart,  all  the  darkness  of 
his  former  hesitation  was  dispelled.  He  shut  the  book,  having 
put  a  mark  upon  the  place,  and  with  a  calm  and  serene  counte- 
nance told  Alipius  what  had  passed  in  his  soul.  Alipius  desired 
to  see  the  passage  he  had  read,  and  found  the  next  words  to  be: 
"  He  that  is  weak  in  faith,  take  unto  you  ;  "  which  he  applied  to 
himself.  Being  of  virtuous  inclinations,  and  a  sweet  disposition, 
he  readily  joined  his  friend  in  his  good  resolution.  They  im- 
mediately went  in,  and  told  his  good  news  to  St.  Monica,  who 
was  transported  with  joy.  She  had  followed  her  son  into  Italy, 
and  came  to  him  at  Milan  soon  after  he  had  abandoned  the 
Manichaean  heresy  and  before  he  embraced  the  Catholic  faith. 
for  which  happiness  she  continued  still  to  pray,  and  for  his  per- 
fect conversion  from  vice  and  irresfularities  till  she  saw  both 
accomplished. 

The  conversion  of  St.  Austin  happened  in  the  year  386,  the 
thirty-second  of  his  age,  in  the  month  of  August  or  September. 
At  the  same  time  he  determined   to  quit  his  school  and  profes- 


38  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   TilE   FAFIH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

sion  of  teaching  rhetoric  ;  but  deferred  the  execution  of  this  res- 
olution three  weeks,  till  the  vacation,  which  was  in  the  time  of 
the  vintage. 

The  time  being  come  when  St.  Austin  was  to  enter  his  name 
among  the  Competentes,  in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  baptism, 
he  came  to  Milan  in  the  beginning  of  Lent,  in  387.  St.  Austin 
was  baptized  by  St.  Ambrose  on  Easter-eve,  in  387,  together 
with  Alipius,  and  his  son  Adeodatus,  who  was  about  fifteen 
years  of  age. 

Our  saint  had  no  sooner  received  the  sacrament  of  regenera- 
tion but  he  found  himself  freed  from  all  anxiety  concerning 
his  past  life.  Nor  was  he  ever  satiated  with  the  wonderful 
sweetness  he  enjoyed  in  considering  the  depth  of  the  divine 
counsels  concerning  the  salvation  of  man.  Soon  after  this,  de- 
siring to  devote  himself  entirely  to  the  divine  service  in  a  life  of 
solitude,  he  resolved  to  return  into  Africa.  Accordingly  he 
went,  on  his  way  thither,  from  Milan  to  Rome,  together  with 
his  mother  and  several  of  his  friends,  where  they  continued  from 
the  month  of  April  to  the  September  following.  Going  thence 
to  Ostia  with  an  intention  to  embark  there,  he  lost  St.  Monica, 
who  died  in  that  seaport  before  the  13th  of  November,  in  387. 

Upon  this  accident  Austin  went  back  to  Rome,  and  stayed 
there  till  the  following  year.  He  landed  at  Carthage  about 
September,  in  388,  and  there  lodged  for  some  time  in  the  house 
of  a  virtuous  lawyer,  named  Innocent.  St.  Austin  made  a  very 
short  stay  at  Carthage,  making  all  possible  haste  to  retire  to  his 
house  in  the  country,  with  certain  devout  friends.  There  he 
lived  almost  three  years  entirely  disengaged  from  all  temporal 
concerns,  serving  God  In  fasting,  prayer,  good  works,  meditat- 
ing upon  his  law  day  and  night,  and  instructing  others  by  his 
discourses  and  books.  The  religious  Order  of  the  hermits  of 
St.  Austin  dates  Its  foundation  from  this  epoch,  in  388. 

St.  Austin  applied  himself  to  pious  meditation,  and  the  study 
of  the  sacred  writings. 

St.  Austin  had  enjoyed  his  solitude  near  Tagast^  almost 
three  years,  when  a  person  of  consideration  and  probity,  one  of 
the  emperor's  agents  at  Hippo  Regius,  a  maritime  town  not  far 
from  Tagaste,  desired  very  much  to  converse  with  him  at  lels- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY  AGE.  39 

ure  about  the  state  of  his  soul.  The  saint  carefully  avoided 
going  to  any  cities  in  which  the  sees  were  vacant,  for  fear  of 
being  chosen  to  the  episcopal  dignity ;  but  there  being  then  a 
bishop  at  Hippo,  he  went  thither  on  this  occasion  without  sus- 
pecting any  danger.  Valerius,  bishop  of  that  city,  had  men- 
tioned to  his  people  the  necessity  of  ordaining  a  priest  for  the 
service  of  his  church.  One  day,  when  St.  Austin  was  come  into 
the  church,  they  laid  hands  on  him,  and  presented  him  to  Val- 
erius, desiring  with  great  earnestness  and  loud  cries,  that  he 
might  be  forthwith  ordained  priest.  St.  Austin  burst  into 
tears,  considering  the  great  dangers  that  threatened  him  in  that 
charge  ;  but  was  obliged  in  the  end  to  acquiesce,  and  was  or- 
dained priest  about  the  end  of  the  year  390. 

St.  Austin  preached  constantly,  sometimes  every  day,  and 
sometimes  twice  on  the  same  day.  He  did  not  desist  even 
when  he  was  so  weak  as  to  be  scarce  able  to  speak  ;  but  he 
seemed  to  gather  strength  in  preaching,  and  his  ardor  for  the 
salvation  of  souls  made  him  forget  the  pains  of  sickness.  Wher- 
ever he  went,  even  in  the  dioceses  of  other  bishops,  he  was  con- 
stantly required  to  feed  the  people  with  the  bread  of  life,  and 
was  always  heard  with  great  eagerness  ;  his  sermons  were  re- 
ceived with  universal  applause,  and  according  to  the  custom  of 
that  age,  with  clappings  and  acclamations ;  but  what  alone 
gave  him  pleasure,  was  the  wonderful  fruit  which  they  never 
failed  to  produce. 

Valerius,  finding  himself  sinking  under  the  weight  of  his 
years  and  infirmities,  and  fearing  lest  his  church  should  be  de- 
prived of  Austin  by  some  other  city  demanding  him  for  their 
bisiiop,  procured  privately  the  consent  of  St.  Aurelius,  Arch- 
bishop of  Carthage,  and  the  approbation  of  his  own  people,  and 
the  neighboring  prelates  of  his  province  of  Numidia,  to  make 
him  his  coadjutor  in  the  bishopric.  St,  Austin  strenuously  op- 
posed the  project,  but  was  compelled  to  acquiesce  in  the  will  of 
heaven,  and  was  consecrated  in  December,  395,  having  in  No- 
vember entered  into  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age.  Valerius 
died  the  year  following. 

There  perhaps  never  was  a  man  endowed  by  nature  with  a 
more  affectionate  and  friendly  soul  than  the  great  St.  Austin  : 


40  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

but  his  tender  and  benevolent  disposition  was  exceedingly  height- 
ened and  improved  by  the  nobler  supernatural  motive,  and  most 
powerful  influence  of  holy  charity  and  religion,  of  which  his  let- 
ters and  the  sequel  of  the  history  of  his  life  will  furnish  many 
examples.  He  conversed  freely  with  infidels,  and  often  invited 
them  to  his  table  ;  but  generally  refused  to  eat  with  Christians 
whose  conduct  was  publicly  scandalous  and  disorderly,  and  was 
severe  in  subjecting  their  crimes  to  canonical  penance  and  to  the 
censures  of  the  church. 

The  Pagans  and  the  Jews  were  no  small  object  of  our  saint's 
zeal.  The  latter  he  confuted  by  a  treatise,  in  which  he  shows 
the  Mosaic  law  was  to  have  an  end,  and  to  be  changed  into  the 
new  law.  The  neighboring  city  of  Madaura  was  full  of  idolaters. 
St.  Austin  gained  their  good  will  by  rendering  them  some  im- 
portant public  service,  and  doing  them  good  offices.  Their 
grateful  disposition  towards  him  he  improved  to  their  spiritual 
advantage,  and  induced  them  to  embrace  the  faith  of  Christ, 
having  obliged  Longinian,  their  pontiff,  to  confess  that  we  must 
adore  one  only  God,  the  incomprehensible  Creator  of  all  things, 
and  our  sovereign  good.  When  Rome  was  plundered  by  Alaric 
the  Goth,  in  410,  the  Pagans  renewed  their  blasphemies  against 
the  Christian  religion,  to  which  they  imputed  the  calamities  of 
the  empire.  To  answer  their  slanders,  St.  Austin  began  his 
great  work  of  the  City  of  God,  in  413,  though  he  only  finished  it 
in  426.  Several  Tertullianists  still  subsisted  at  Carthage,  whom 
St.  Austin,  by  his  mildness  and  zeal,  reunited  to  the  Catholic 
Church,  as  he  also  did  another  sect,  called,  from  Abel  the  patri- 
arch, Abelonians. 

The  sect  which  then  made  most  noise  in  Africa,  and  gave  the 
greatest  employment  to  the  zeal  of  this  saint,  was  that  of  the 
Donatists.  Constantine  the  Great  passed  severe  laws  against 
them  at  Milan,  in  316,  and  banished  some  of  their  ringleaders. 
Valentinian  I.,  Gratian,  and  Theodosius  the  Great  published 
new  laws  against  them,  and  they  were  divided  into  so  many  dif- 
ferent sects  in  Mauritania  and  Numidia,  that  they  themselves  did 
Tiot  know  their  number. 

The  Donatists  were  exceeding  numerous  in  Africa,  and  obsti- 
nate to  a  degree  of  madness.     They   reckoned   above  five   hun* 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE.  4I 

dred  bishops  of  their  sect.  At  Hippo  the  number  of  Catholics 
was  very  small,  and  the  Donatists  bore  so  uncontrollable  a  sway 
there,  that,  a  little  before  St.  Austin  came  thither,  Faustinus, 
their  bishop,  had  forbid  any  bread  to  be  baked  in  that  city 
for  the  use  of  Catholics,  and  was  obeyed,  even  by  servants  who 
had  lived  in  Catholic  families.  The  holy  doctor  arriving  whilst 
matters  were  in  this  situation,  set  himself  to  oppose  the  reigning 
heresy,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  in  the  churches  and  in 
houses,  by  his  words  and  writings.  Possidius  tells  us  that  far 
the  greatest  part  of  Christians  in  Africa  were  at  that  time  infec- 
ted with  the  errors  of  the  Donatists,  and  they  carried  their  fury 
to  the  greatest  excesses,  murdering  many  Catholics,  and  com- 
mittino;  all  acts  of  violence. 

By  the  learning  and  indefatigable  zeal  of  St.  Austin,  suppor- 
ted by  the  sanctity  of  his  life,  the  Catholics  began  to  gain 
ground  exceedingly  ;  at  which  the  Donatists  were  so  much  ex- 
asperated, that  some  enthusiasts  among  them  preached  pub- 
licly, that  to  kill  him  would  be  doing  a  thing  of  the  greatest  ser- 
vice to  their  religion,  and  highly  meritorious  before  God  ;  and 
troops  of  Circumcellions  made  several  attemps  to  do  it  when  he 
made  the  visitation  of  his  diocese.  One  day  he  only  escaped 
them  by  his  guide  having  missed  his  way  ;  for  which  preservation 
he  gave  public  thanks  to  God. 

About  the  year  400  Pelagius,  and  Celestius  his  pupil  began 
to  propagate  their  errors,  the  chief  of  which  regard  original  sin 
and  divine  grace  ;  the  former  they  denied,  and  the  necessity  of  the 
latter  :  they  also  afifirmed  that  a  man  could  live  exempt  from  all  sin, 
without  grace,  and  they  extolled  the  virtues  of  the  pagans.  St. 
Austin  maintained  the  contrary  truths  of  the  Catholic  faith  with 
invincible  force ;  and  he  proved  from  clear  passages  in  holy 
scripture,  that  all  men  are  sinners  and  bound  to  pray  for  the 
pardon  of  sins  ;  for  without  an  extraordinary  grace,  such  as  was 
given  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  saints  offend  by  small  transgressions 
of  a  faulty  inadvertence,  against  which  they  watch,  and  for 
which'  they  live  in  constant  compunction  :  he  also  proves  that 
the  virtues  of  heathens  are  often  counterfeit,  namely,  when  they 
are  founded  in  or  infected  with  motives  of  vain-glory  or  other 
passions  ;  they  are  true  mortal  virtues,  and  may  deserve  some 


42        GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE. 

temporal  recompense,  if  they  spring  purely  from  principles  of 
moral  honesty ;  but  no  virtue  can  be  meritorious  of  eternal  life, 
which  is  not  animated  by  the  principle  of  supernatural  life  (that 
is,  divine  charity),  and  which  is  not  produced  by  a  supernatural 
o-race.  He  teaches,  that  the  divine  grace,  obtained  for  us  by 
Christ's  redemption,  works  in  us  the  consent  of  our  will  to  all 
virtue,  thoueh  not  without  our  free  concurrence ;  so  that  all  the 
crood  that  can  be  in  us  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  Creator,  and  no 
one  can  boast  of  his  good  works  against  another  ;  but  God  can- 
not be  the  author  of  evil,  which  rises  entirely  from  the  malice 
and  defect  of  rectitude  in  the  free-will  of  the  creature,  to  whom 
nothino-  remains  without  the  divine  concurrence,  but  the 
wretched  power  of  depraving  and  corrupting  itself,  or  at  most  of 
doino-  that  from  self-love  which  ouo^ht  to  be  done  for  God  alone. 
It  cannot,  without  grace,  do  any  action  of  which  God  is  the 
supernatural  end,  nor  of  which,  by  consequence,  he  will  be  the 
recompense ;  but  the  necessary  grace  is  never  wanting  but 
throuorh  our  fault. 

Pride  being  become  the  darling  passion  of  our  heart,  men  are 
born  with  a  propensity  to  Pelagianism,  or  principles  which  flatter 
an  opinion  of  our  own  strength,  merit,  and  self-sufficiency.  It  is 
not  therefore  to  be  Avondered  that  this  heresy  found  many  advo- 
cates :  next  to  that  of  Arianism  the  church  never  received  a  more 
dangerous  assault.  The  wound  which  this  monster  caused, 
would  certainly  have  been  much  deeper  had  not  God  raised  up 
this  eminent  doctor  of  his  grace  to  be  a  bulwark  for  the  defence 
of  the  truth.  He  was  a  trumpet  to  excite  the  zeal  of  the  other 
pastors,  and,  as  it  were,  the  soul  of  all  their  deliberations,  coun- 
cils, and  endeavors  to  extinguish  the  rising  flame.  To  him  is 
the  church  indebted  as  to  the  chief  instrument  of  God  in  over- 
throwing this  heresy.  He  calmly  resigned  his  spirit  into  the 
hands  of  God,  on  the  28th  of  August,  430,  after  having  lived 
seventy-six  years,  and  spent  almost  forty  of  them  in  the  labors 
of  the  ministry.  He  made  no  will  ;  for  this  poor  man  of  Christ 
had  nothing  to  bequeath.  He  had  given  charge  that  the  library 
which  he  had  bestowed  on  his  church,  should  be  carefully  pre- 
served. 

This  saint  was  not  only  the  oracle  of  his  own  times,  "but  of  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  43 

principal  among  all  the  Latin  fathers  that  came  after  him,  who 
often  have  only  copied  him,  and  always  professed  to  adhere  to  his 
principles ;  Peter  Lombard,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  other 
eminent  masters  among  the  schoolmen,  have  trod  in  their  steps. 
The  councils  have  frequently  borrowed  the  words  of  this  holy 
doctor  in  expressing  their  decisions. 

SAINT    GREGORY    THE    GREAT,    POPE. 

St.  Gregory,  from  his  illustrious  actions  and  extraordinary 
virtues  surnamed  the  Great,  was  born  at  Rome  about  the  year 
540.  Gordianus,  his  father,  enjoyed  the  dignity  of  a  senator, 
and  was  very  wealthy ;  but,  after  the  birth  of  our  saint,  re- 
nounced the  world,  and  died  Regionarius, — that  is,  one  of  the 
seven  cardinal  deacons  who  took  care  of  the  ecclesiastical  dis- 
tricts of  Rome.  His  mother,  Sylvia,  consecrated  herself  to  God 
in  a  little  oratory  near  St.  Paul's.  Our  saint  was  called  Gregory, 
which  in  Greek  implies  a  watchman,  as  Vigilius  and  Vigilantius 
in  Latin.  In  his  youth  he  applied  himself,  with  unabated  dili- 
gence, to  the  studies  of  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  philosophy  ;  and 
after  these  first  accomplishments,  to  the  civil  law  and  canons  of 
the  Church,  in  which  he  was  perfectly  skilled.  He  was  only 
thirty-four  years  old,  when,  in  574,  he  was  made,  by  the 
Emperor  Justin  the  Younger,  praetor,  or  governor  and  chief 
magistrate  of  Rome.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  he  built  and 
endowed  six  monasteries  in  Sicily,  out  of  the  estates  which  he 
had  in  that  island,  and  founded  a  seventh  in  his  own  house  in 
Rome,  which  was  the  famous  monastery  of  St.  Andrew,  on  the 
hill  Scarus,  now  possessed  by  the  Order  of  Camaldoli.  The 
first  abbot  of  this  house  was  Hilarion  ;  the  second  Valentinus, 
under  whom  St.  Gregory  himself  took  the  monastic  habit  in  575^ 
being  thirty-five  years  old.  In  this  retirement,  Gregory  applied 
himself  with  that  vigor  to  fasting  and  the  study  of  the  sacred 
writings,  that  he  thereby  contracted  a  great  weakness  in  his 
stomach,  and  used  to  fall  into  fits  of  swooning  if  he  did  not  fre- 
quently eat.  What  gave  him  the  greatest  affliction  was  his  not 
being  able  to  fast  on  an  Easter-eve,  a  day  on  which,  says  John 
the  Deacon,  every  one,  not  even  excepting  little  children,  are 
used  to  fast.      His  s^reat  desire  of  conforminsf  to  the  universal 


44  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

practice  on  that  day  occasioned  his  applying  to  a  monk  of  emi- 
nent sanctity,  named  Eleutherius,  with  whom  having  prayed, 
and  besouoht  God  to  enable  him  to  fast  at  least  on  that  sacred 
day,  he  found  himself  on  a  sudden  so  well  restored,  that  he  not 
only  fasted  that  day,  but  quite  forgot  his  illness,  as  he  himself 
relates. 

It  was  before  his  advancement  to  the  See  of  Rome,  or  even 
to  the  government  of  his  monastery,  that  he  first,  as  Paul  the 
Deacon  testifies,  projected  the  conversion  of  the  English  nation. 
This  great  blessing  took  its  rise  from  the  following  occasion  : 
Gregory  happened  one  day  to  walk  through  the  market,  and 
here  taking  notice  that  certain  youths  of  fine  features  and  com- 
plexion were  exposed  to  sale,  he  inquired  what  countrymen  they 
were,  and  was  answered  that  they  came  from  Britain.  He 
asked  if  the  people  of  that  country  were  Christians  or  heathens, 
and  was  told  they  were  still  heathens.  Then  Gregory,  fetching 
a  deep  sigh,  said  :  "  It  was  a  lamentable  consideration  that  the 
prince  of  darkness  should  be  master  of  so  much  beauty,  and 
have  so  comely  persons  in  his  possession,  and  that  so  fine  an 
outside  should  have  nothing  of  God's  grace  to  furnish  it 
within."  This  incident  made  so  great  an  impression  upon  him, 
that  he  applied  himself  soon  after  to  Pope  Benedict  I.,  and  ear- 
nestly requested  that  some  persons  might  be  sent  to  preach 
Christianity  in  Britain,  and  was  only  prevented  by  the  command 
of  his  ecclesiastical  superiors  from  going  in  person  to  seek  the 
realization  of  his  pious  wish.  Not  long  after,  the  same  Pope, 
according  to  John  the  Deacon  and  the  Benedictines,  or  as  Paul 
the  Deacon  and  Baronius  say,  his  successor,  Pelagius  II.,  made 
him  one  of  the  seven  deacons  of  the  church  at  Rome,  who 
assisted  the  Pope.  Pelagius  II.  sent  him  to  Constantinople  in 
quality  of  Apocrisiarius,  or  Nuncio  of  the  Holy  See,  to  the 
religious  Emperor  Tiberius,  by  whom  the  saint  was  received 
and  treated  with  the  highest  distinction.  This  public  employ- 
ment did  not  make  him  lay  aside  the  practices  of  a  monastic 
life,  in  order  to  which  he  had  taken  with  him  certain  monks  of 
his  house,  with  whom  he  might  the  better  continue  them, 
and  by  their  example  to  excite  himself  to  recollection  and 
prayer.      At    the    request    of    St.    Leander,    Bishop  of    Seville, 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   ACE.  4$ 

whom  he  saw  at  Constantinople,  he  wrote  in  that  city  his  thirty- 
five  books  of  Morals  upon  Job,  giving  chiefly  the  moral  and 
allegorical  interpretations  of  that  sacred  book,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  reduce  into  one  body  the  most  excellent  principles  of 
morality,  and  also  of  an  interior  life,  of  both  which  this  admira- 
ble work  hath  been  ever  since  regarded  as  the  great  storehouse 
and  armory.  Out  of  it  St.  Isidore,  St.  Thomas,  and  other  mas- 
ters of  those  holy  sciences,  have  chiefly  drawn  their  sublime 
maxims.  Mauritius  having  married  the  daughter  of  Tiberius, 
in  582,  who  had  the  empire  for  her  dowry,  St.  Gregory  was 
pitched  upon  to  stand  godfather  to  his  eldest  son.  Eutychius 
was  at  that  time  Patriarch  of  Constantinople.  This  prelate, 
having  suffered  for  the  faith  under  Justinian,  fell  at  length  into 
an  error,  importing,  that  after  the  general  resurrection,  the  glo- 
rified bodies  of  the  elect  will  be  no  longer  palpable,  but  of  a 
more  subtle  texture  than  air.  This  error  he  couched  in  a  cer- 
tain book  which  he  wrote.  St.  Gregory  was  alarmed,  and  held 
severaPconferences  with  the  patriarch  upon  that  subject,  both  in 
private  and  before  the  emperor,  and  clearly  demonstrated  from 
the  Scriptures  that  the  glorified  bodies  of  the  saints  will  be  the 
same  which  they  had  on  earth,  only  delivered  from  the  appen- 
dixes of  mortality  ;  and  that  they  will  be  palpable  as  that  of 
Christ  was  after  the  resurrection.  The  good  bishop,  being 
docile  and  humble,  retracted  his  mistake,  and  shortly  after  fall- 
ing sick,  in  presence  of  the  emperor  who  had  honored  him 
with  a  visit,  taking  hold  of  his  skin  with  his  hand,  said,  "  I  pro- 
fess the  belief  that  we  shall  all  rise  in  this  very  flesh." 

Pope  Pelagius  recalled  St.  Gregory  in  584  and  also  made  him 
his  secretary.  Pope  Pelagius  II.  dying  in  the  beginning  of  the 
great  pestilence,  in  January,  590,  the  clergy,  senate,  and  Roman 
people  unanimously  agreed  to  choose  St.  Gregory  for  their 
bishop,  although  he  opposed  his  election  with  all  his  power. 
He  was  consecrated  on  the  3d  of  September,  in  590,  John, 
Archbishop  of  Ravenna,  modestly  reprehended  his  cowardjce, 
in  endeavoring,  by  flight,  to  decline  the  burden  of  the  pastoral 
charge.  In  answer  to  his  censure,  and  to  instruct  all  pastors, 
soon  after  his  exaltation  he  wrote  his  incomparable  book,  "On 
the  Pastoral  Care,"  setting  forth  the  dangers,  duties,  and  obliga* 


46  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

tions  of  that  charge,  which  he  calls,  from  St.  Gregory  Nazian- 
zen,  the  art  of  arts,  and  science  of  sciences.  So  great  was  the 
reputation  of  this  performance,  as  soon  as  it  appeared,  that  the 
Emperor  Mauritus  sent  to  Rome  for  a  copy;  and  Anastasius, 
the  Holy  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  translated  it  into  Greek.  Many 
popes  and  councils  have  exhorted  and  commanded  pastors  of 
souls  frequently  to  read  it,  and  in  it,  as  in  a  looking-glass,  to 
behold  themselves.  Our  English  saints  made  it  always  their 
rule,  and  King  Alfred  translated  it  into  the  Saxon  tongue.  In 
this  book  we  read  a  transcript  of  the  sentiments  and  conduct  of 
our  excellent  pastor.  His  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
angelical  function  of  paying  him  the  constant  tribute  of  praise 
in  the  Church,  moved  him,  in  the  beginning  of  his  pontificate, 
to  reform  the  Church  music.  Preaching  he  regarded  as  the 
prfncipal  and  most  indispensable  function  of  every  pastor  of 
souls,  as  it  is  called  by  St.  Thomas,  and  was  most  solicitous  to 
feed  his  flock  w^ith  the  Word  of  God.  His  forty  homilies  on 
the  Gospels,  which  are  extant,  show  that  he  spoke  in  a  plain 
and  familiar  style,  and  without  any  pomp  of  words,  but  with  a 
surprising  eloquence  of  the  heart.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
his  twenty-two  homilies  on  Ezekiel,  which  he  preached  whilst 
Rome  was  besieged  by  the  Lombards,  in  592. 

This  great  Pope  always  remembered  that,  by  his  station,  he 
was  the  common  father  of  the  poor.  He  relieved  their  necessi- 
ties with  so  much  sweetness  and  affability,  as  to  spare  them  the 
confusion  of  receiving  the  alms  ;  and  the  old  men  among  them 
he,  out  of  deference,  called  his  fathers.  He  often  entertained 
several  of  them  at  his  own  table.  He  kept  by  him  an  exact 
catalogue  of  the  poor,  called  by  the  ancients  Matriculae  ;  and  he 
liberally  provided  for  the  necessities  of  each.  In  the  beginning 
of  every  month  he  distributed  to  all  the  poor,  corn,  wine,  pulse, 
cheese,  fish,  flesh,  and  oil ;  he  appointed  officers  for  every  street 
to  send  every  day  necessaries  to  all  the  needy  sick;  before  he 
ate  he  always  sent  off  meats  from  his  own  table  to  some  poor 
persons.  One  day  a  beggar  being  found  dead  in  a  corner  of  a 
by-street,  he  is  said  to  have  abstained  some  days  from  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Divine  Mysteries,  condemning  himself  of  a  ne- 
glect in  seeking  the  poor   with  sufficient  care.      He  entertained 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  47 

great  numbers  of  strangers,  both  of  Rome  and  in  other  coun- 
tries, and  had  every  day  twelve  at  his  own  table,  whom  his  sac- 
ristan invited.  He  was  most  liberal  in  redeeming  captives  taken 
by  the  Lombards,  for  which  he  permitted  the  Bishop  of  Fano 
to  break  and  sell  the  sacred  vessels,  and  ordered  the  Bishop  of 
Messana  to  do  the  same.  He  extended  his  charity  to  the  here- 
tics, whom  he  sought  to  gain  by  mildness.  He  wrote  to  the 
Bishop  of  Naples  to  receive  and  reconcile  readily  those  who  de- 
sired it,  taking  upon  his  own  soul  the  danger,  lest  he  should  be 
charged  with  their  perdition  if  they  should  perish  by  too  great 
severity.  Yet  he  was  careful  not  to  give  them  an  occasion  of 
triumphing  by  any  unreasonable  condescension ;  and,  much 
more,  not  to  relax  the  severity  of  the  law  of  God  in  the  least 
tittle.  He  showed  great  moderation  to  the  schismatics  of  Istria, 
and  to  the  very  Jews.  When  Peter,  Bishop  of  Terracina,  had 
taken  from  the  latter  their  synagogue,  St.  Gregory  ordered  it 
to  be  restored  to  them,  saying,  they  are  not  to  be  compelled,  but 
converted  by  meekness  and  charity.  He  repeated  the  same  or- 
ders for  the  Jews  of  Sardinia,  and  for  those  of  Sicily.  In  his 
letters  to  his  vicar  in  Sicily,  and  to  the  stewards  of  the  pat- 
rimony of  the  Roman  Church  in  Africa,  Italy,  and  other  places, 
he  recommends  mildness  and  liberality  towards  his  vassals  and 
farmers ;  orders  money  to  be  advanced  to  those  that  were  in 
distress,  which  they  might  repay  by  little  and  little,  and  most 
rigorously  forbids  any  to  be  oppressed.  He  carefully  computed 
and  piously  distributed  the  income  of  his  revenues  at  four  terms 
in  the  year.  In  his  epistles,  we  find  him  continually  providino- 
for  the  necessities  of  all  churches,  especially  of  those  in  Italy, 
which  the  wars  of  the  Lombards  and  other  calamities  had  made 
desolate.  Notwithstanding  his  meekness  and  condescension, 
his  courage  was  undaunted,  and  his  confidence  in  the  Divine  as- 
sistance unshaken  amidst  the  greatest  difficulties.  "  You  know 
me,"  says  he,  "and  that  I  tolerate  a  long  while  ;  but  when  I 
have  once  determined  to  bear  no  longer,  I  go  with  joy  against 
all  dangers." 

It  is  incredible  how  much  he  wrote,  and,  during  the  thirteen 
years  that  he  governed  the  Church,  what  great  things  he 
achieved  for  the  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  the   Church,  the  re- 


48  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

formation  of  manners,  the  edification  of  the  faithful,  the  reHef  of 
the  poor,  the  comfort  of  the  afflicted,  the  estabUshment  of  eccle- 
siastical discipline,  and  the   advancement  of  piety  and  religion. 

But  our  surprise  redoubles  upon  upon  us,  when  we  remember 
his  continual  bad  state  of  health  and  frequent  sicknesses,  and 
his  assiduity  in  prayer  and  holy  contemplation  ;  though  this 
exercise  it  was  that  gave  always  wings  to  his  soul.  In  his  own 
palace  he  would  allow  of  no  furniture  but  what  was  mean  and 
simple,  nor  have  any  attendants  near  his  person  but  clergymen 
or  monks  of  approved  virtue,  learning  and  prudence.  His 
household  was  a  model  of  Christian  perfection  ;  and  by  his  care 
arts,  sciences,  and  the  heroic  practice  of  piety  flourished,  espe- 
cially in  the  city  of  Rome.  The  state  of  Christendom  was,  at 
that  time,  on  every  side  miserably  distracted,  and  stood  in  need 
of  a  pastor  whose  extraordinary  sanctity,  abilities,  and  courage 
should  render  him  equal  to  every  great  enterprise.  And  such  a 
one  was  Gregory.  The  Eastern  churches  were  wretchedly  di- 
vided and  shattered  by  the  Nestorians,  and  the  numerous  spawn 
of  the  Eutychians, — all  which  he  repressed.  In  the  West,  Eng. 
gland  was  buried  in  idolatry,  and  Spain,  under  the  Visigoths, 
was  overrun  with  the  Arian  heresy.  These  two  flourishing 
countries  owe  their  conversion,  in  a  great  measure,  to  his  zeal, — 
especially  the  former.  In  Africa  he  extirpated  the  Donatists, 
converted  many  schismatics  in  Istria  and  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces, and  reformed  many  grievous  abuses  in  Gaul,  whence  he 
banished  simony,  which  had  almost  universally  infected  that 
church.  A  great  part  of  Italy  was  become  a  prey  to  the  Lom- 
bards, who  were  partly  Arians,  partly  idolaters.  St.  Gregory 
often  stopped  the  fury  of  their  arms,  and  checked  their  oppres- 
sion of  the  people  ;  by  his  zeal  he  also  brought  over  many  to 
the  Catholic  faith,  and  had  the  comfort  to  see  Agilulph,  their 
king,  renounce  the  Arian  heresy  to  embrace  it. 

In  592,  Romanus,  exarch,  or  governor  of  Italy  for  the  em- 
peror, with  a  view  to  his  own  private  interest,  perfidiously  broke 
the  solemn  treaty  which  he  had  made  with  the  Lombards,  and 
took  Perugia  and  several  other  towns.  But  the  barbarians,  who 
were  much  the  stronger,  revenged  this  insult  with  great  cruelty, 
and  besieged  Rome   itself.     St.   Gregory  neglected  nothing  to 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        49 

protect  the  oppressed,  and  raised  troops  for  the  defence  of  sev- 
eral places.  At  length,  by  entreaties  and  great  presents,  he  en- 
gaged the  Lombards  to  retire  into  their  own  territories. 

This  holy  Pope  had  labored  many  years  under  a  great  weak- 
ness of  his  breast  and  stomach,  and  was  afflicted  with  slow 
fevers  and  frequent  fits  of  the  gout,  which  once  confined  him  to 
his  bed  two  whole  years.  God  called  him  to  himself  on  the 
1 2th  of  March,  the  same  year,  about  the  sixty-fourth  of  his  age, 
after  he  had  governed  the  Church  thirteen  years,  six  months, 
and  ten  days. 

SAINT    DOMINIC. 
Founder  of  the  Friar  Preachers. 

St.  Dominic  was  born  in  1 1 70,  at  Calaruega,  anciently  called 
Calaroga,  in  Old  Castille,  in  the  diocese  of  Osma.  He  was  of 
the  illustrious  house  of  the  Guzmans,  which  has  been  frequently 
ennobled  by  alliances  with  divers  royal  families.  St.  Dominic's 
father  was  called  Felix  of  Guzman,  and  his  mother  was  Jane  of 
of  Asa.  Such  was  his  fervor  in  his  childhood,  that  he  accus- 
tomed himself  to  rise  often  in  the  night  to  pray,  and,  leaving  his 
soft  bed,  used  to  take  his  rest  lying  on  the  hard  boards.  His 
uncle,  by  the  mother,  the  holy  archpriest  of  Gumiel,  was  his 
first  preceptor. 

The  saint,  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  was  sent  to  the  public 
schools  of  Palentia,  which  were  soon  after  transferred  to  Sala- 
manca, where  the  university,  which  is  the  most  famous  and  best 
provided  in  all  Spain,  was  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  Dominic  here  laid  in  a  solid  stock  of  learning,  and 
became  a  great  proficient  in  rhetoric,  philosophy  and  divinity. 
He  was  well  versed  in  the  knowledge  of  the  holy  Scriptures 
and  fathers.  The  death  of  his  mother  was  a  sensible  affliction 
to  him,  but  he  improved  it  to  a  more  perfect  disengagement  of 
his  heart  from  the  world.  From  her  example  he  had  learned  a 
tender  devotion  to  the  holy  Mother  of  God,  and  an  extraordi- 
nary affection  for  the  poor  ;  to  assist  whom,  in  a  famine,  he  not 
only  gave  all  his  money  and  goods,  but  sold  even  his  books  and 
his  own  writings  and   commentaries.     This  was  in  the  twenty- 


50  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

first  year  of  his  age.  So  heroic  a  charity  touched  the  hearts  of 
all  the  masters,  scholars,  and  citizens  ;  the  latter  opened  their 
granaries,  and  the  former  emptied  their  purses,  to  supply  the 
necessitous.  Thus  Dominic,  yet  a  scholar,  became  by  his  ex- 
ample, a  preacher  to  his  masters.  The  charity  with  which  his 
heart  was  moved  towards  all  that  were  in  distress  seemed  to 
have  no  bounds.  A  poor  woman  one  day  begged  of  him,  with 
many  tears,  an  alms  to  redeem  her  brother,  who  was  made  a 
slave  by  the  Moors.  The  saint's  heart  seemed  rent  with  com- 
passion, and  having  already  given  away  all  his  money  to  others, 
he  said  to  her,  "  I  have  neither  gold  nor  silver  ;  but  am  able  to 
work.  Offer  me  to  the  Moor  in  exchange  for  your  brother.  I 
am  willing  to  be  his  slave."  The  woman,  astonished  at  such  a 
proposal,  durst  not  accept  it  ;  but  Dominic's  charity  was  not 
less  before  God.  As  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  studies  and 
taken  his  degrees,  he  explained  the  holy  scriptures  in  the 
schools,  and  preached  the  word  of  God  to  the  people  at  Palentia 
with  wonderful  reputation  and  success.  Every  one  looked  upon 
the  man  of  God  as  an  oracle,  consulted  him  in  all  doubts, 
whether  of  learning  or  of  conscience,  and  acquiesced  in  his  de- 
cisions. 

Azebedo,  a  zealous  pastor,  being  made  bishop  of  Osma,  in 
1 198,  reformed  his  chapter,  introducing  into  it  regular  canons  and 
invited  St.  Dominic  to  accept  a  canonry.  He  practiced  all  the 
austerities  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  desert,  and  attained  to 
that  purity  of  heart  and  perfect  disengagement  from  creat- 
ures which  made  up  the  character  of  those  great  saints. 

Alphonsus  IX.,  King  of  Castille,  chose  the  Bishop  of  Osma 
to  go  ambassador  into  La  Marche  to  negotiate  a  match  between 
the  daughter  of  the  earl  of  that  country  and  his  son.  Prince  Fer- 
dinand. The  bishop  took  Dominic  with  him.  In  their  way 
they  passed  through  Languedoc,  which  was  then  filled  with  the 
abominations  of  the  heresy  of  the  Albigenses.  He  in  whose 
house  they  lodged  at  Toulouse  was  tainted  with  it.  St.  Dominic, 
pierced  to  the  heart  with  compassion  for  the  unhappy  condition  of 
his  soul,  in  thatone  night  made  him  a  perfect  convert.  Being  de- 
sirous to  devote  themselves  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of  souls  de- 
prived of  the  light  of  faith,  the  Bishop  and  St.  Dominic  went  to 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        5 1 

Rome  to  ask  of  Pope  Innocent  III.  leave  to  stayjn  Languedoc  to 
labor  among  the  Albigenses.  The  holy  bishop  begged  he  might 
be  allowed  to  resign  his  episcopal  see  in  Spain.  This  his  holi- 
ness would  not  consent  to,  but  gave  him  leave  to  stay  two  years 
in  Languedoc.  In  their  return  they  made  a  visit  of  devotion  to 
Citeaux,  a  place  then  renowned  for  the  sanctity  of  the  monks 
that  inhabited  it.  They  arrived  at  Montpellier  towards  the  end 
of  the  year  1205,  where  they  met  several  Cistercian  abbots,  who 
were  commissioned  by  the  pope  to  oppose  the  reigning  heresies. 
The  archbishop  and  Dominic  proposed  that  to  labor  with  suc- 
cess they  ought  to  employ  persuasion  and  example  rather  than 
terror,  and  that  their  preachers  should  imitate  the  poverty  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles,  travelling  on  foot,  without  money, 
equipage,  or  provisions.  The  abbots  readily  came  into  the  pro- 
posal, and,  sent  away  their  horses  and  servants.  These  mission- 
aries saw  the  dangers  and  difficulties  that  attended  their  under- 
taking, but  they  were  persuaded  they  should  be  abundantly 
recompensed  for  all  they  could  suffer,  if  they  should  be  so  happy 
as  to  become  instrumental  in  rescuing  one  soul  from  the  slavery 
of  sin,  or  to  lay  down  their  life  in  such  a  cause.  The  prodigious 
growth  of  impiety  in  that  country,  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  dis- 
ease, moved  them  to  compassion,  but  did  not  terrify  them, 
thouofh  the  evils  seemed  extreme.  The  heretics,  not  content  to 
fill  their  own  country  with  terror  and  desolation,  overran  several 
other  provinces  in  troops  of  four,  five,  or  eight  thousand  men, 
pillaged  the  countries  and  massacred  the  priests,  flaying  some 
alive,  and  scourging  others  to  death  ;  in  plundering  the  churches, 
they  broke  and  profaned  the  sacred  vessels,  and  sacrilegiously 
converted  the  ornaments  of  the  altars  into  women's  clothes. 
King  Philip  Augustus  cut  in  pieces  ten  thousand  of  these  ban- 
ditti in  the  province  of  Berri,  they  having  penetrated  into  the 
very  centre  of  his  kingdom.  Dominic  undertook  to  stem  the 
torrent  by  his  feeble  voice ;  and  God  was  pleased  to  make  his 
preaching  the  instrument  of  his  grace  to  strike  the  rocks,  to 
open -the  uncircumcised  ears,  and  to  soften  the  hardened  hearts 
of  many  which  even  the  thunder  of  a  St.  Bernard  had  not  been 
able  to  move.  The  conversion  of  many  most  obstinate  sinners 
may  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  our  saint's  miracles. 


52  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

The  first  conference  of  the  missionaries  with  the  heretic^  was 
held  in  a  borough  near  Montpellier,  and  lasted  eight  days;  dur- 
ino-  which,  each  day  several  remarkable  conversions  were 
wrouo-ht.  The  apostolic  men  preached  after  this  eight  days  at 
Beziers,  where  they  gained  several,  though  the  far  greater 
number  shut  their  ears  against  the  Catholic  faith.  Diego  and 
Dominic  proceeded  thence  to  Carcassone  and  Montreal.  At 
this  last  place  they  disputed  during  fifteen  days  with  the  four 
chiefs  of  the  Albigensian  sect,  by  which  conference  a  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  were  brought  over  to  the  truth. 

St.  Dominic  saw  with  grief  that  many  children  of  Catholic 
parents,  for  want  of  the  means  of  procuring  a  proper  education, 
were  neglected  in  their  youth,  or  fell  into  the  hands  of  those 
that  corrupted  their  morals  or  their  faith.  To  cut  off  the  source 
of  this  fatal  disorder,  being  assisted  by  the  liberalities  of  several 
bishops,  he  founded  the  numerous  nunnery  of  our  Lady  of 
Prouille,  near  Fanjaux,  in  1206.,  which  he  put  under  the  rule  of 
St.  Austin,  adding  certain  particular  constitutions,  which  were 
approved  by  Gregory  IX.  This  house  became  a  sanctuary  to 
many  ladies  who  desired  to  find  a  secure  retreat  from  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  world,  and  a  nursery  of  religion  and  piety  for 
those  who  were  afterwards  to  encounter  its  dangers.  This 
monastery  is  regarded  to  this  day  as  the  chief  or  mother-house 
of  all  the  nuns  of  this  Order.  In  1207,  the  Bishop  of  Osma 
returned  to  his  diocese,  the  two  years  allowed  him  by  the  pope 
being  almost  expired. 

He  had  been  almost  two  years  superior  of  the  mission  in 
Languedoc,  in  which  charge,  at  his  departure,  he  appointed  St. 
Dominic  his  successor,  to  whom  Pope  Innocent  III.  confirmed 
the  same  in  1207.  The  saint,  vested  with  this  authority,  estab- 
lished wholesome  regulations  to  be  observed  by  the  zealous 
preachers  who  labored  with  him. 

St.  Dominic,  during  his  apostolic  labors  in  Languedoc,  insti- 
tuted the  celebrated  devotion  of  the  Rosary,  consisting  of  the 
recital  of  fifteen  Our  Fathers  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  Hail 
Marys,  in  honor  of  the  fifteen  principal  mysteries  of  the  life 
and  sufferings  of  our  Blessed  Saviour,  and  of  his  holy  Mother. 
The    divine   and    most   excellent  prayer  which  our  Redeemer, 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF  THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY    AGE.  53 

who  promises  to  grant  all  that  we  request  in  his  name,  has 
drawn  up  as  the  form  of  our  supplications,  contains  the  peti- 
tions of  all  those  things  we  are  to  ask  or  hope  for  of  God,  and 
comprises  the  exercise  of  all  the  sublime  virtues  by  which  we 
pay  to  him  the  rational  homage  of  our  affections.  In  the 
Angelical  Salutation  are  comprised  our  praises  and  thanks  to 
God  for  the  great  mysteries  of  the  incarnation  and  of  our  re- 
demption, the  source  of  all  our  good ;  and  these  praises  are 
expressed  In  words  of  which  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  was  the 
author,  which,  though  addressed  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  contain 
much  more  the  praises  of  her  Divine  Son,  whom  we  acknowl- 
edge the  cause  of  all  hers  and  our  happiness.  The  earnest 
intercession  of  this  mother  of  God,  and  of  mercy,  is  also  im- 
plored in  our  behalf  both  at  present  and  for  the  tremendous 
moment  of  our  departure  hence;  and  to  move  hers  and  her 
Divine  Son's  compassion,  we  acknowledge  our  own  deep  sense  of 
our  miseries,  which  we  display  before  the  eyes  of  heaven  under 
the  extensive  and  most  expressive  humbling  title  of  sinners. 
These  prayers  are  so  disposed  in  the  Rosary,  as  to  comprise  an 
abstract  of  the  history  of  our  blessed  Redeemer's  holy  life  and 
sufferings,  the  great  object  of  the  continual  devotion  and  medi- 
tation of  Christians  ;  for  each  mystery  whereof  we  praise  God, 
and  through  it  ask  his  graces  and  blessings  for  ourselves  and 
others.  The  ignorance  of  many,  and  the  blasphemies  of  others 
among  the  Albigenses,  with  regard  to  these  most  sacred  mys- 
teries, moved  the  zealous  and  apostolic  servant  of  God  to  teach 
the  people  to  honor  them  by  an  easy  method  equally  adapted 
to  persons  of  the  weakest  understanding  and  to  those  that  are 
most  learned,  or  the  most  advanced  in  the  exercises  of  sublime 
contemplation,  who  find  in  it  a  most  inexhausted  fund  of  the 
highest  acts  of  faith,  hope,  divine  love,  praise  and  thanksgiving, 
with  a  supplication  for  succor  in  all  spiritual  and  corporal 
necessities,  which  they  always  repeat  with  fresh  ardor.  St. 
Dominic  afterwards  established  the  same  method  of  devotion  at 
Bologna  and  in  other  places. 

The  saint,  after  having  founded  his  nunnery  of  Prouille, 
established  an  institute  afterwards  called  his  third  Order,  in 
which  the  strictest  regularity  is  observed,  but  no  extraordinary 


54        GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE. 

austerities  are  prescribed.  Some  persons  of  this  third  Order 
live  in  monasteries,  and  are  properly  nuns  ;  others  live  in  their 
own  houses,  and  endeavor  to  sanctify  their  work  and  the  duties 
of  a  civil  life  by  certain  exercises  of  regularity  and  devotion,  and 
by  dedicating  part  of  their  time  to  works  of  mercy,  especially  in 
serving  the  poor  in  hospitals  and  prisons.  St.  Dominic  had 
spent  ten  years  in  preaching  in  Languedoc,  when,  in  1215,  he 
founded  his  religious  Order  of  Preaching  Friars,  the  plan  of 
which  he  had  meditated  some  time  before.  The  principal  aim 
of  the  saint  by  this  institution  was  to  multiply  in  the  church 
zealous  preachers,  whose  spirit  and  example  might  be  a  means 
more  easily  to  spread  the  light  of  faith,  and  the  fire  of  divine 
charity,  and  to  assist  the  pastors  in  healing  the  wounds  which 
the  church  had  received  by  the  inundation  of  heresy  and  vice. 

To  establish  it  the  founder  was  obliged  to  go  to  Rome, 
whither  he  accompanied  Fulco,  the  Bishop  of  Toulouse,  who 
was  called  to   assist  at  the  fourth  general  council  of   Lateran. 

After  a  mature  consultation  with  his  sixteen  colleagues,  of 
whom  eight  were  Frenchmen,  seven  Spaniards,  and  one  Eng- 
lishman, he  made  choice  of  the  rule  of  the  canons  of  the  great 
St.  Augustine,  who  was  himself  an  eminent  preacher.  He 
added  certain  particular  constitutions,  and  borrowed  from  the 
Order  of  Premontre  the  rule  of  observing  perpetual  abstinence 
from  flesh,  and  a  rigorous  fast  from  the  Feast  of  the  Exaltation 
of  the  Cross  to  Easter. 

Pope  Honorius  III.  confirmed  his  Order  and  its  constitutions 
by  two  bulls,  both  dated  on  the  26th  of  December,  12 16.  He 
detained  the  saint  several  months  in  Rome  to  preach  in  that 
city  ;  which  commission  he  executed  with  incredible  applause 
and  success.  He  put  the  pope  in  mind  that  several  persons 
that  attended  his  court  could  not  seek  instructions  abroad,  and 
therefore  a  domestic  master  of  the  sacred  studies  in  his  palace 
would  be  of  great  advantage.  His  holiness  hereupon  created 
the  office  of  Master  of  the  Sacred  Palace,  who  by  his  place  is 
the  pope's  domestic  theologian,  assists  at  all  consistories, 
whether  public  or  private,  confers  the  degree  of  doctor  at 
court,  approves  all  theses  and  books,  and  nominates  the  pope's 
preachers.      If  he  is  absent  from  court,  he  has  a  right  to  substi- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE    FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  5> 

tute  another  in  his  place.  Pope  Honorius  obHged  St.  Dominic 
to  take  upon  himself  that  charge,  which  has  been  ever  since 
committed  to  one  of  his  Order.  With  the  consent  of  his  holi- 
ness he  returned  to  Toulouse  in  May,  and  spent  some  time  in 
forming  his  religious  brethren  rn  the  practice  of  the  most  per- 
fect maxims  of  an  interior  life,  the  most  necessary  qualification 
in  preachers  of  the  divine  word.  He  dismissed  some  of  his 
religious  to  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  some  to  Paris,  appointing 
F.  Matthew  superior  among  these  latter,  and  sending  with  him 
his  own  brother,  Manez  de  Guzman.  The  extraordinary  repu- 
tation of  St.  Dominic  and  his  preaching  friars  drew  many 
learned  doctors  and  other  eminent  men  into  this  new  Order,  and 
the  saint  settled  convents  at  Lyons,  Montpellier,  Bayonne,  etc. 

St.  Dominic  went  again  to  Rome  in  121  7,  and  the  pope  desir- 
ing that  his  Order  should  have  a  house  in  that  city,  gave  him 
the  Church  of  St.  Sixtus ;  and,  whilst  a  convent  was  building 
there,  the  saint,  by  order  of  his  holiness,  read  lectures  of  theol- 
ogy, both  in  the  palace  and  in  the  city,  and  preached  in  St. 
Peter's  Church  with  such  eloquence  and  zeal  as  drew  on  him 
the  attention  and  admiration  of  the  whole  city.  The  many 
illustrious  miracles  by  which  God  honored  his  ministry  in  that 
city,  procured  him  the  name  of  the  Thaumaturgus  of  that  age.. 

In  1 2 18  he  took  a  journey  from  Rome  through  Languedac 
into  Spain,  and  founded  a  famous  convent  at  Segovia,  and 
another  at  Madrid.  He  returned  to  Toulouse  in  April,  1219, 
and  from  thence  went  to  Paris.  He  did  not  stay  many  weeks 
in  that  capital,  but  gained  souls  to  God  by  his  sermons  and 
instructions,  and  received  into  his  Order  many  persons  of  emi, 
nence.  Alexander  H.,  King  of  Scotland,  happened  to  be  then 
at  Paris,  being  come  to  pay  a  visit  to  Queen  Blanche,  the 
mother  of  St.  Lewis.  He  was  much  taken  with  the  discourse 
and  sanctity  of  the  holy  founder,  and  obtained  of  him  a  prom- 
ise that  he  would  send  some  of  his  religious  brethren  into  Scot- 
land, as  Hector  Boetius  and  Bishop  Lesley  mtorm  us.  The 
saint  settled  in  good  order  his  great  convent  which  was  founded 
in  the  street  of  St.  Jacques,  from  which  the  Dominican  friars 
are  usually  called  in  France  Jacobins.  After  this  he  left  Paris, 
and  having  founded  convents  on  his  road  at  Avicrnon,  Asti,  and 


56  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

Bergamo,  arrived  at  Bologna  about  the  end  of  summer  in  I2ig, 
which  city  he  made  from  that  time  his  ordinary  residence  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  though  he  sometimes  made  excursions  to  Rome. 
Florence,  and  other  places.  At  Bologna,  the  curate  of  St. 
Nicholas,  with  the  bishop's  consent,  bestowed  his  church  on  the 
saint,  and  he,  and  several  archdeacons,  doctors,  and  eminent 
professors,  entered  themselves  in  his  Order.  In  1220  he  waited 
on  Pope  Honorius  III.  at  Viterbo,  and  met  St.  Francis  at 
Rome,  in  the  house  of  Cardinal  Hugolin,  their  common  friend, 
who  afterwards  succeeding  Honorius  III.  under  the  name  of 
Gregory  IX.,  chose  out  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic  thirty-three 
bishops,  one  patriarch  of  Antioch,  and  eight  delegates.  St. 
Dominic  had  till  then  taken  no  other  title  but  that  of  superior. 
In  1220  Honorious  III.  commanded  him  to  be  styled  General; 
and  the  saint  returning  to  Bologna,  there  held  a  chapter  of  all 
the  superiors  in  his  Order,  at  Whitsuntide  the  same  year. 

Wherever  the  saint  travelled,  he  frequently  preached,  even  on 
the  road ;  and  always  with  that  incredible  success  which  can 
only  be  the  fruit  of  continual  prayer,  animated  with  the  most 
ardent  charity.  The  greatest  part  of  the  night  he  often  spent  in 
churches  at  the  foot  of  the  altars.  Though  he  was  superior,  he 
was  distinguished  in  nothing  from  the  lowest  among  his  breth- 
ren, but  by  his  more  profound  humility  and  more  rigorous  ab- 
stinence. The  people  at  Bologna  attended  his  sermons  with 
such  insatiable  avidity,  that  whilst  he  stayed  there  he  usually 
preached  every  day,  and  often  several  times  the  same  day. 

St.  Dominic  made  frequent  missionary  excursions;  and 
founded  convents  at  Bergamo,  Brescia,  Faenza,  and  Viterbo, 
and  visited  those  he  had  already  founded.  He  sent  some  of  his 
religious  into  Morocco,  Portugal,  Sweden,  Norway,  and  Ire- 
land ;  and  Brother  Gilbert,  with  twelve  others,  into  England, 
who  established  monasteries  of  this  Order  in  Canterbury,  Lon- 
don, and  Oxford.  The  holy  patriarch,  in  his  second  general 
chapter,  held  at  Bologna,  in  1221,  divided  his  order  into  eight 
provinces,  and  sent  some  of  his  religious  into  Hungary,  Greece, 
Palestine,  and  other  countries.  Among  these  missionaries,  F. 
Paul,  of  Hungary,  founded  in  Lower  Hungary  the  monasteries 
of  Gever  and  Vesprim,  converted  great  numbers  of  idolaters  in 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        57 

Croatia,  Sclavonia,  Transylvania,  Valachia,  Moldavia,  Bosnia, 
and  Servia  ;  and  leaving  the  churches  which  he  had  there  founded 
under  the  care  of  other  laborers,  preached  with  the  like  success 
in  Cumania,  the  inhabitants  of  which  country  were  most  savage 
and  barbarous. 

After  h.iving  received  the  last  sacraments  the  saint  calmly 
expired  on  the  6th  of  August,  1221,  being  fifty-one  years  old. 

SAINT   THOMAS    OF    AQUINO. 
Doctor  of  the  Church. 

St.  Thomas  of  Aquino  was  of  noble  descent  and  closely  allied 
to  several  of  the  royal  houses  of  Europe.  He  was  born  at  Bel- 
castro,  Italy,  in  1226.  His  father,  the  Count  of  Aquino,  con- 
ducted him  to  the  Abbey  of  Mount  Cassino,  when  he  was  but 
five  years  old,  to  be  instructed  by  those  good  monks  in  the  first 
principles  of  religion  and  learning ;  and  his  tutors  soon  saw  with 
joy  the  rapidity  of  his  progress,  his  great  talents,  and  his  happy 
dispositions  to  virtue.  He  was  but  ten  years  of  age  when  the 
abbot  told  his  father  that  it  was  time  to  send  him  to  some  uni- 
versity. The  count,  before  he  sent  him  to  Naples,  took  him  for 
some  months  to  see  his  mother  at  his  seat  at  Loretto,  the  place 
which  about  the  end  of  that  century  grew  famous  for  devotion 
to  our  Lady.  Thomas  was  the  admiration  of  the  whole  family. 
Amidst  so  much  company,  and  so  many  servants,  he  appeared 
always  as  much  recollected,  and  occupied  on  God,  as  he  had 
been  in  the  monastery  ;  he  spoke  little,  and  always  to  the  pur 
pose;  and  he  employed  all  his  time  in  prayer,  or  serious  and 
profitable  exercises.  His  great  delight  seemed  to  be  to  intercede 
for,  and  to  distribute,  his  parent's  plentiful  alms  among  the  poor  at 
the  gate,  whom  he  studied  by  a  hundred  ingenious  contrivances 
to  relieve.  He  robbed  himself  of  his  own  victuals  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  which  his  father  having  discovered,  he  gave  him  leave  to 
distribute  things  at  discretion,  which  liberty  he  made  good  use 
of  for  the  little  time  he  stayed.  He  learned  rhetoric  under  Peter 
Martin,  and  philosophy  under  Peter  of  Hibernia,  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  age,  and  with  such  wonderful  progress, 
that  he  repeated  the  lessons  more  clearly  than  the  master  had 


58  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

explained  them.  Yet  his  greater  care  was  to  advance  daily  in 
the  science  of  the  saints,  by  holy  prayer  and  all  good  works. 
His  humility  concealed  them  ;  but  his  charity  and  fervor  some- 
times betrayed  his  modesty,  and  discovered  them,  especially  in 
his  great  alms,  for  which  he  deprived  himself  of  almost  all 
things,  and  in  which  he  was  careful  to  hide  from  his  left  hand 
what  his  right  did. 

The  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  who  had  been  dead  twenty-two 
years,  then  abounded  with  men  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God'  and 
Thomas  conceived  a  vehement  desire  to  consecrate  himself 
wholly  to  God  in  that  Order.  Accordingly,  when  seventeen 
years  old,  he  assumed  the  habit  of  St.  Dominic,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  his  family,  an  opposition  overcome  only  by  the  in- 
tervention of  Pope  Innocent  IV.,  and  the  Emperor  Frederick. 
Albertus  Magnus,  teaching  then  at  Cologne,  the  general,  John 
the  Teutonic,  took  the  saint  with  him  from  Rome  to  Paris,  and 
thence  to  Cologne.  Thomas  gave  all  his  time,  which  was  not 
employed  in  devotion  and  other  duties,  to  his  studies,  retrench- 
ing part  of  that  which  was  allowed  for  his  meals  and  sleep,  not 
out  of  a  vain  passion,  or  the  desire  of  applause,  but  for  the 
advancement  of  God's  honor  and  the  interests  of  religion,  accor- 
ding to  what  He  Himself  teaches.  His  humility  made  him 
conceal  his  progress  and  deep  penetration,  insomuch  that 
his  school-fellows  thought  he  learned  nothing,  and,  on  ac- 
count of  his  silence,  called  him  the  Dumb  Ox,  and  the  Great 
Sicilian  Ox.  But  the  brightness  of  his  genius,  his  quick  and 
deep  penetration  and  learning  were  at  last  discovered,  in  spite 
of  all  his  endeavors  to  conceal  them  ;  for  his  master,  Albertus, 
having  propounded  to  him  several  questions  on  the  most 
knotty  and  obscure  points,  his  answers,  which  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience extorted,  astonished  the  audience  ;  and  Albertus,  not  able 
to  contain  his  joy  and  admiration,  said,  "We  call  him  the  Dumb 
Ox,  but  he  will  give  such  a  bellow  in  learning  as  will  be  heard 
all  over  the  world."  This  applause  made  no  impression  on  the 
humble  saint.  He  continued  the  same  in  simplicity,  modesty, 
silence,  and  recollection,  because  his  heart  was  the  same ; 
equally  insensible  to  praises  and  humiliations,  full  of  nothing 
but  of   God  and  his  own   insufficiency,  never  reflecting    on    his 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  $9 

own  qualifications,  or  on  what  was  the  opinion  of  others  con- 
cerning him.  In  his  first  year,  under  Albertus  Magnus,  he 
wrote  comments  on  Aristotle's  Ethics.  The  general  chapter  of 
the  Dominicans,  held  at  Cologne,  in  1245,  deputed  Albertus  to 
teach  at  Paris,  in  their  College  of  St.  James,  which  the  univer- 
sity had  given  them ;  and  it  is  from  that  college  they  are  called, 
in  France,  Jacobins.  St.  Thomas  was  sent  with  him  to  continue 
his  studies  there.  His  school  exercises  did  not  interrupt  his 
prayer.  By  an  habitual  sense  of  the  divine  presence,  and  de- 
vout aspiration r.  he  kept  his  heart  continually  raised  to  God; 
and,  in  difficult  points,  redoubled  with  more  earnestness  his  fer- 
vor in  his  prayers  than  his  application  to  study.  This  he  found 
attended  with  such  success,  that  he  often  said  that  he  had 
learned  less  by  books  than  before  his  crucifix,  or  at  the  foot  of 
the  altar.  His  constant  attention  to  God  always  filled  his  soul 
with  joy  which  appeared  in  his  very  countenance,  and  made  his 
conversation  altogether  heavenly. 

In  the  year  1248,  being  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  general  chapter  to  teach  at  Cologne,  together 
with  his  old  master  Albertus,  whose  high  reputation  he  equalled 
in  his  very  first  lessons.  He  then  also  began  to  publish  his  first 
works,  which  consist  of  comments  on  the  Ethics,  and  other 
philosophical  works  of  Aristotle.  No  one  was  more  courteous 
and  affable,  but  it  was  his  principle  to  shun  all  unnecessary  visits. 
To  prepare  himself  for  holy  orders,  he  redoubled  his  watchings, 
prayer,  and  other  spiritual  exercises.  His  devotion  to  the  Bles- 
sed Sacrament  was  extraordinary.  He  spent  several  hours  of 
the  day,  and  part  of  the  night,  before  the  altar,  humbling  him- 
self in  acts  of  profound  adoration,  and  melting  with  love  in  con- 
templation of  the  immense  charity  of  that  Man-God  whom  he 
there  adored.  In  saying  Mass  beseemed  to  be  in  raptures,  and 
often  quite  dissolved  in  tears  ;  a  glowing  frequently  appeared 
in  his  eyes  and  countenance,  which  showed  the  ardor  with  which 
his  heart  burned  within  him.  His  devotion  was  most  fervent 
during  the  precious  moments  after  he  had  received  the  divine 
mysteries;  and  after  saying  Mass  he  usually  served  at  another, 
or  at  least  heard  one.  This  fire  and  zeal  appeared  also  in  his 
sermons  at  Cologne,    Paris,  Rome,  and  in  other  cities  of   Italy 


6o  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY    AGE. 

He  was  everywhere  heard  as  an  angel  ;  even  the  Jews  ran  of 
their  own  accord  to  hear  him,  and  many  of  them  were  converted. 
St.  Thomas,  after  teaching  four  years  at  Cologne,  was  sent, 
in  1252,  to  Paris.  His  reputation  for  perspicuity  and  solidity 
drew  immediately  to  his  school  a  great  number  of  auditors.  St. 
Thomas,  with  great  reluctancy,  compelled  by  holy  obedience, 
consented  to  be  admitted  Doctor,  on  the  23d  of  October,  in 
1257,  being  then  thirty-one  years  old. 

The  holy  King  St.  Louis  had  so  great  an  esteem  for  St. 
Thomas,  that  he  consulted  him  in  affairs  of  state,  and  ordi- 
narily informed  him,  the  evening  before,  of  any  affair  of  impor- 
tance that  was  to  be  treated  of  in  council,  that  he  might  be  the 
more  ready  to  give  advice  on  the  point.  The  saint  avoided  the 
honor  of  dining  with  the  king  as  often  as  he  could  excuse  him- 
self ;  and,  when  obliged  to  assist  at  court,  appeared  there  as 
recollected  as  in  his  convent.  In  the  year  1269  St.  Thomas 
assisted  at  the  thirty-sixth  general  chapter  of  his  Order,  held  at 
Valenciennes,  which  deputed  him,  in  conjunction  witli  Albertus 
Magnus  and  three  others,  to  draw  up  rules  for  studies,  which 
are  still  extant  in  the  acts  of  that  chapter.  Returning  to  Paris, 
he  there  continued  his  lectures.  In  1261,  Urban  IV.  called  St. 
Thomas  to  Rome,  and,  by  his  order,  the  general  appointed  him 
to  teach  here.  His  Holiness  pressed  him  with  great  importu- 
nity to  accept  of  some  ecclesiastical  dignity,  but  he  knew  how 
much  safer  it  was  to  refuse  than  to  accept  a  bishopric.  The 
Pope,  however,  obliged  him  always  to  attend  his  person.  Thus 
it  happened  that  the  saint  taught  and  preached  in  all  the  towns 
where  that  Pope  ever  resided  :  as  in  Rome,  Viterbo,  Orvieto, 
Fondi,  and  Perugia.      He  also  taught  at  Bologna,  Naples,  etc. 

In  the  year  1263  the  Dominicans  held  their  fortieth  general 
chapter  in  London  ;  St.  Thomas  assisted  at  it,  and  obtained 
soon  after  to  be  dismissed  from  teaching.  He  rejoiced  to  see 
himself  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  private  religious  man.  Pope 
Clement  IV.  had  such  a  regard  for  hini,  that,  in  1265,  among 
other  ecclesiastical  preferments,  he  made  him  an  offer  of  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  Naples,  but  could  not  prevail  with  him  to  accept  of 
that,  or  any  other.  The  first  part  of  his  theological  Summ,  St. 
Thomas  composed  at  Bologna  ;  he  was  called  thence  to  Naples. 


GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  6l 

Here  it  was  that,  according  to  Tocco  and  others,  Dominick 
Caserte  beheld  him,  while  in  fervent  prayer,  raised  from  the 
ground,  and  heard  a  voice  from  the  crucifix  directed  to  him  in 
these  words  :  *'  Thou  hast  written  well  of  me,  Thomas ;  what 
recompense  dost  thou  desire  ?"  He  answered,  "  No  other  than 
thyself,  O  Lord." 

Pope  Gregory  X.  had  called  a  general  council,  the  second  of 
Lyons,  with  the  view  of  extinguishing  the  Greek  schism,  and 
raising  succors  to  defend  the  Holy  Land  against  the  Saracens. 
The  ambassadors  of  the  Emperor  Michael  Palaeologus,  together 
with  the  Greek  prelates,  were  to  assist  at  it.  The  council  was 
to  meet  on  the  ist  of  May,  in  1274.  His  Holiness,  by  brief 
directed  to  our  saint,  ordered  him  to  repair  thither,  and  to  pre- 
pare himself  to  defend  the  Catholic  cause  against  the  Greek 
schismatics.  Though  indisposed,  he  set  out  from  Naples  about 
the  end  of  January,  but  his  strength  failing  on  the  way  he  was 
carried  to  the  Cistescian  monastery  of  Fossa-Nuova,  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Terricina,  where  after  an  illness  of  seven  weeks  he  died 
March  7,  1274. 

The  nearer  he  saw  himself  to  the  term  of  all  his  desires,  the 
entering  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord,  the  more  tender  and  inflamed 
were  his  longings  after  death.  He  had  continually  in  his  mouth 
these  words  of  St.  Austin,  "  Then  shall  I  truly  live,  when  I  shall 
be  quite  filled  with  you,  alone,  and  your  love  ;  now  I  am  a  bur- 
den to  myself,  because  I  am  not  entirely  full  of  you."  In  such 
pious  transports  of  heavenly  love  he  never  ceased  sighing  after 
the  glorious  day  of  eternity.  The  monks  begged  he  would  dic- 
tate an  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Canticles,  in  imitation  of  St. 
Bernard.  He  answered,  "  Give  me  St.  Bernard's  spirit,  and  I 
will  obey."  But  at  last,  to  renounce  perfectly  his  own  will,  he 
dictated  the  exposition  of  that  most  mysterious  of  all  the  divine 
books.  It  begins,  "  Solomon  inspiratus."  It  is  not  what  his 
erudition  might  have  suggested,  but  what  love  inspired  him  with 
in  his  last  moments,  when  his  pure  soul  was  hastening  to  break 
the  chains  of  mortality,  and  drown  itself  in  the  ocean  of  God's 
immensity,  and  in  the  delights  of  eternity.  The  holy  doctor,  at 
last  finding  himself  too  weak  to  dictate  any  more,  begged  the 
religious  to  withdraw,  recommending  himself  to  their  prayers 


62  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

and  desiring  their  leave  to  employ  the  few  precious  moments  he 
had  to  live  with  God  alone.  He  accordingly  spent  them  in 
fervent  acts  of  adoration,  praise,  thanksgiving,  humility  and  repen- 
tance. He  made  a  general  confession  of  his  whole  life  to  Father 
Reynold,  with  abundance  of  tears  for  his  imperfections  and  sins 
of  frailty  j  for  in  the  judgment  of  those  to  whom  he  had  mani- 
fested his  interior,  he  had  never  offended  God  by  any  mortal  sin. 
And  he  said  to  Father  Reynold,  before  his  death,  that  he 
thanked  God  with  his  whole  heart  for  having  prevented  him 
with  his  grace,  and  always  conducted  him  as  it  were  by  the  hand, 
and  preserved  him  from  any  known  sin  that  destroys  charity  in 
the  soul ;  adding,  that  this  was  purely  God's  mercy,  to  which  he 
was  indebted  for  his  preservation  from  every  sin  which  he  had 
not  committed.  Having  received  absolution  in  the  sentiments 
of  the  most  perfect  penitent,  he  desired  the  Viaticum.  Whilst 
the  abbot  and  community  were  preparing  to  bring  it,  he  begged 
to  be  taken  off  his  bed,  and  laid  upon  ashes  spread  upon  the 
floor.  Thus  lying  on  the  ground,  weak  in  body  but  vigorous  in 
mind,,  he  waited  for  the  priest  with  tears  of  the  most  tender 
devotion.  When  he  saw  the  Host  in  the  priest's  hand,  he  said, 
**  I  firmly  believe  that  Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and  true  Man,  is 
present  in  this  august  Sacrament.  I  adore  you,  my  God  and 
my  Redeemer  ;  I  receive  you,  the  price  of  my  redemption,  the 
Viaticum  of  my  pilgrimage  ;  for  whose  honor  I  have  studied, 
labored,  preached,  and  taught.  I  hope  I  never  advanced  any 
tenet  as  your  word,  which  I  had  not  learned  from  you.  If, 
through  ignorance,  I  have  done  otherwise,  I  revoke  everything 
of  that  kind,  and  submit  all  my  writings  to  the  judgment  of  the 
holy  Roman  Church."  Then  recollecting  himself,  after  other 
acts  of  faith,  adoration,  and  love,  he  received  the  holy  Viaticum, 
but  remained  on  the  ashes  till  he  had  finished  his  thanksgiving. 
Growing  still  weaker,  amidst  his  transports  of  love,  he  desired 
Extreme  Unction,  which  he  received,  answering  himself  to  all 
the  prayers.  After  this,  he  lay  in  peace  and  joy,  as  appeared 
by  the  serenity  of  his  countenance;  and  he  was  heard  to  pro- 
nounce these  aspirations :  "  Soon,  soon  will  the  God  of  all  com* 
fort  complete  his  mercies  on  me,  and  fill  all  my  desires.  I  shall 
shortly  be  satiated  in  him,    and  drink  of   the    torrent  of  his  de- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  63 

lights  ;  be  inebriated  from  the  abundance  of  his  house,  and  in 
him  who  is  the  source  of  life,  I  shall  behold  the  true  light." 
Seeing  all  in  tears  about  him,  he  comforted  them,  saying,  death 
was  his  gain  and  his  joy.  Father  Reynold  said  he  had  hoped 
to  see  him  triumph  over  the  adversaries  of  the  Church  in  the 
Council  of  Lyons,  and  placed  in  a  rank  in  which  he  might  do  it 
some  sicrnal  service.  The  saint  answered,  "  I  have  beeped  of 
God,  as  the  greatest  favor,  to  die  a  simple  religious  man,  and  I 
now  thank  him  for  it.  It  is  a  greater  benefit  than  he  has  granted 
to  many  of  his  holy  servants,  that  he  is  pleased  to  call  me  out  of 
this  world  so  early,  to  enter  into  his  joy  ;  wherefore  grieve  not 
for  me,  who  am  overwhelmed  with  joy."  He  returned  thanks  to 
the  abbot  and  monks  of  Fossa-Nuova  for  their  charity  to  him. 
One  of  the  community  asked  him  by  what  means  we  might  live 
always  faithful  to  God's  grace.  He  answered,  "  Be  assured  that 
he  who  shall  always  walk  faithfully  in  his  presence — always 
ready  to  give  him  an  account  of  all  his  actions — shall  never  be 
separated  from  him  by  consenting  to  sin."  These  were  his  last 
words  to  men,  after  which  he  only  spoke  to  God  in  prayer,  and 
gave  up  the  ghost,  a  little  after  midnight,  some  say  in  the  fiftieth 
year  of  his  age ;  but  Ptolemy  of  Lucca,  and  other  contemporary 
authors,  say  expressly  in  his  forty-eighth,  which  also  agrees  with 
his  whole  history.  He  was  very  tall,  and  every  way  propor- 
tioned. 

The  University  of  Paris  sent  to  the  general  and  provincial  of 
the  Dominicans  a  letter  of  condolence  upon  his  death,  giving 
the  highest  commendations  to  the  saint's  learning  and  sanctity, 
and  begging  the  treasure  of  his  holy  body.  Naples,  Rome,  and 
many  other  universities,  princes,  and  Orders,  contended  no  less 
for  it.  He  was  solemnly  canonized  by  Pope  John  XXH.,  in 
1323.  Pope  Pius  v.,  in  1567,  commanded  his  festival  and  ofifice 
to  be  kept  equal  with  those  of  the  four  doctors  of  the  Western 
Church. 

SAINT    BONAVENTURE. 
Cardinal,  Bishop  and  Doctor  of  the  Church. 

St.  Bonaventure,  the  great  light  and  ornament  of  the  holy 
Order   of  St.   Francis,  for   his    extraordinary  devotion,    ardent 


64  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

charity,  and  eminent  skill  in  sacred  learning,  is  surnamed  the 
Seraphic  Doctor.  He  was  born  at  Bagnarea,  in  Tuscany,  in 
the  year  1221,  of  pious  parents,  named  John  of  Fidenza  and 
Mary  Ritelli.  Bonaventure  from  his  infancy  entered  upon  a 
religious  course,  and  appeared  inflamed  with  the  love  of  God  as 
soon  as  he  was  capable  of  knowing  him.  His  progress  in  his 
studies  surprised  his  masters,  but  that  which  he  made  in  the 
science  of  the  saints,  and  in  the  practise  of  every  virtue  was  far 
more  extraordinary.  It  was  his  highest  pleasure  and  joy  to  hear 
by  how  many  titles  he  belonged  to  God,  and  he  made  it  his 
most  earnest  study  and  endeavor  to  devote  his  heart  with  his 
whole  strength  to  the  divine  service. 

In  1243,  being  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  entered  into  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis.  Shortly  after,  he  was  sent  to  Paris  to 
complete  his  studies  under  the  celebrated  Alexander  of  Hales» 
surnamed  the  Irrefragable  Doctor.  After  his  death  in  1245, 
St.  Bonaventure  continued  his  course  under  his  successor,  John 
of  Rochelle.  His  penetrating  genius  was  poised  by  the  most 
exquisite  judgment,  by  which,  while  he  easily  dived  to  the 
bottom  of  every  subtle  inquiry,  he  cut  ofif  whatever  was  super- 
fluous, dwelling  only  on  that  knowledge  which  is  useful  and 
solid,  or  at  least  was  then  necessary  to  unravel  the  false  princi- 
ples and  artful  sophistry  of  the  adversaries  of  truth.  Thus  he 
became  a  masterly  proficient  in  the  scholastic  philosophy,  and  in 
the  most  sublime  parts  of  theology.  Bonaventure  prepared 
himself  to  receive  the  Holy  Order  of  priesthood  by  long  fasts, 
humiliations,  and  fervent  prayer,  that  he  might  obtain  in  it  an 
abundant  measure  of  graces  proportioned  to  so  high  a  function. 

Bonaventure  looked  upon  himself  as  called  by  the  obligations 
of  his  priestly  character  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  his  neigh- 
bor, and  to  this  he  devoted  himself  with  extraordinary  zeal.  He 
announced  the  word  of  God  to  the  people  with  an  energy  and 
unction  which  kindled  a  flame  in  the  hearts  of  those  that  heard 
him  ;  everything  was  inflamed  that  came  from  his  mouth.  For 
an  assistance  to  himself  in^this  function  he  compiled  his  treatise 
called  Pharetra,  consisting  of  animated  sentiments  gathered 
from  the  writings  of  the  fathers.  In  the  meantime,  he  was  em- 
ployed In   teaching   privately   In    his  own  convent,   till   he  sue- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  65 

ceeded  his  late  master,  John  of  Rochelle,  in  a  pubhc  chair  of 
the  University.  The  age  required  by  the  statutes  for  this  pro- 
fessorship was  thirty-five,  whereas  the  saint  was  only  thirty-three 
years  old;  but  his  abilities  amply  supplied  that  defect,  and  on 
this  literary  theatre  he  soon  displayed  them  to  the  admiration 
of  the  whole  Church.  He  continued  always  to  study  at  the 
foot  of  the  crucifix. 

The  holy  king  St.  Lewis  honored  St.  Bonaventure  with  his 
particular  esteem,  invited  him  often  to  his  own  table,  and  con- 
sulted him  in  his  most  intricate  concerns,  placing  an  entire  con- 
fidence in  his  advice.  He  engaged  him  to  compile  an  office  of 
the  Passion  of  Christ  for  his  use.  St.  Bonaventure  drew  up  a 
rule  for  St.  Isabella,  the  king's  sister,  and  for  her  nunnery  of 
migitated  Clares  at  Long-Champs.  His  book  "  On  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Soul,"  his  Meditations  for  every  day  in  the  week, 
and  most  of  his  other  lesser  tracts,  were  written  to  satisfy  the 
requests  of  several  devout  persons  of  the  court.  The  unction 
which  every  word  breathes  in  the  writings  of  this  holy  doctor 
pierces  the  heart,  and  his  concise  expression  is  an  abyss,  or, 
rather,  a  treasure,  of  mos;;  profound  sentiments  of  humility, 
compunction,  love,  and  devotion,  the  riches  of  which  a  pious 
heart  finds  everywhere  boundless.  Especially  his  tender  senti- 
ments of  the  love  of  God,  and  on  the  sacred  passion  of  Christ, 
exceedingly  recommend  to  all  devout  persons  his  meditations 
on  this  latter  subject,  and  express  the  burning  affections  with 
which  his  pure  soul  glowed  towards  that  stupendous  mystery 
of  infinite  love,  goodness,  and  mercy,  that  perfect  model  of  all 
virtue  and  sancity,  and  source  of  all  our  o-ood. 

The  celebrated  Gerson,  the  most  learned  and  devout  chan- 
cellor of  Paris,  writes  of  the  works  of  St.  Bonaventure  :  "  Among 
all  the  Catholic  doctors.  Eustachius  (for  so  we  may  translate 
his  name  of  Bonaventure)  seems  to  me  the  most  proper  for 
conveying  light  to  the  understanding,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
warming  the  heart.  In  particular  his  Brevioloquim  and  Itinera- 
rium  are  written  with  so  much  force,  art,  and  conciseness,  that 
nothing  can  be  beyond  them."  In  another  book  he  says  :  "  St. 
Bonaventure's  works  seem  to  me  the  most  proper  for  the 
instruction   of  the  faithful.     They  are    solid,    safe,  pious,    and 


66  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITK    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

devout ;  and  he  keeps  as  far  as  he  can  from  niceties  ;  not  med- 
dling with  logical  or  physical  questions  which  are  foreign  to  the 
matter  in  hand.  Nor  is  there  any  doctrine  more  sublime,  more 
divine,  or  more  conducive  to  piety."  Trithemius  recommends 
this  doctor's  writings  in  the  following  words  :  "His  expressions 
are  full  of  fire,  they  no  less  warm  with  divine  love  the  hearts  of 
those  who  read  them,  than  they  fill  their  understanding  with  the 
most  holy  light.  His  works  surpass  those  of  all  the  doctors  of 
his  time,  if  we  consider  the  spirit  of  divine  love,  and  of  Christian 
devotion  that  speaks  in  him.  He  is  profound  in  few  words, 
penetrating  without  curiosity,  eloquent  without  vanity;  his  dis- 
course is  inflamed  without  being  bloated.  Whoever  would  be 
both  learned  and  devout,  let  him  read  the  works  of  St.  Bona- 
venture." 

Whilst  he  continued  to  teach  at  Paris,  he  was  chosen  general 
of  his  Order,  in  a  chapter  held  in  the  convent  called  Ara-Cceli, 
at  Rome,  in  1256.  The  saint  was  only  thirty-five  years  old. 
Nevertheless  Pope  Alexander  IV.  confirmed  the  election.  St. 
Bonaventure  was  thunderstruck  at  this  news,  and,  prostrating 
himself  on  the  ground,  he  with  many  tears  implored  the  divine 
light  and  direction  ;  after  which  he  set  out  immediately  for 
Rome. 

Our  saint  in  his  return  to  the  schools  at  Paris,  visited  several 
of  his  convents  in  the  way,  in  which  he  showed  everywhere  that 
he  was  only  become  superior  to  be  the  most  humble,  the  most 
charitable,  and  the  most  compassionate  of  all  his  brethren,  and 
the  servant  of  his  whole  Order.  When  he  was  first  made  gen- 
eral he  put  his  Order  under  the  special  patronage  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin.  He  regulated  many  pious  exercises  of  devotion  to  her, 
composed  his  Mirror  of  the  Virgin,  setting  forth  her  graces,  vir- 
tues, and  prerogatives,  with  many  prayers,  which  are  tender  and 
respectful  effusions  of  the  heart,  to  implore  her  intercession.  He 
wrote  a  pathetic  paraphrase  in  verse  of  the  anthem  Salve  Regina. 
He  published  the  praises  of  the  Mother  out  of  devotion  to  the 
Son,  and  to  extend  his  glory.  To  propagate  his  honor  and  saving 
faith  he  sent,  by  the  Pope's  authority,  preachers  into  many  bar- 
barous nations,  and  lamented  his  situation  that  he  could  not  go 
himself,  and  expose  his  life  among  the  infidels. 


n 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        6/ 

He  held  a  General  Chapter  at  Paris,  in  1266;  and  in  the  next, 
which  he  assembled  at  Assisium,  he  ordered  the  triple  salutation 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  called  the  Angelus  Domini,  to  be  recited 
every  evening  at  six  o'clock,  to  honor  the  incomprehensible 
mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  which  ought  to  be  the  object  of  our 
perpetual  praises  and  thanksgiving. 

In  1272,  Theobald,  the  holy  Archdeacon  of  Liege,  a  native  of 
Placentia,  then  absent  in  the  Holy  Land,  was  chosen  Pope,  and 
took  the  name  of  Gregory  X.  Bonaventure,  fearing  the  holy 
Pope  would  compel  him  to  accept  of  some  ecclesiastical  dignity, 
left  Italy  and  went  to  Paris,  where  he  wrote  his  Hexaemeron, 
or  pious  exposition  of  the  creation,  or  work  of  six  days.  He 
had  scarce  finished  it,  when,  at  Whitsuntide,  he  received  from 
the  Pope  a  brief  by  which  he  was  nominated  cardinal,  and 
Bishop  of  Albano,  one  of  the  six  suffragans  of  Rome.  His  Holi- 
ness added  a  precept  to  him  to  accept  that  double  charge  with, 
out  alleging  any  pretext  against  it,  and  immediately  to  repair  to 
Rome.  He  sent  two  nuncios  to  meet  him  on  the  road  with  the 
hat  and  other  ensigns  of  his  dignities.  They  found  the  saint 
reposing  on  his  journey  in  a  convent  of  his  Order  at  Migel,  four 
leagues  from  Florence,  and  employed  in  washing  the  dishes. 
He  desired  them  to  hang  the  cardinal's  hat  on  the  bough  of  a 
tree,  because  he  could  not  decently  take  it  in  his  hands,  and  left 
them  to  walk  in  the  garden  till  he  had  finished  his  work.  Then, 
taking  up  the  hat,  he  went  to  the  nuncios,  and  paid  them  the 
respect  due  to  their  character.  Gregory  X.  came  from  Orvi- 
etto  to  Florence,  and  there,  meeting  Bonaventure,  ordained  him 
bishop  with  his  own  hands ;  then  ordered  him  to  prepare  himself 
to  speak  in  the  general  council  which  he  had  called  to  meet  at 
Lyons  for  the  reunion  of  the  Greeks. 

The  Emperor  Michael  Palseologus  had  made  proposals  to 
Pope  Clement  IV.  for  a  union.  Pope  Gregory  X.  zealously 
pursued  this  affair.  Joseph,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  made 
a  violent  opposition,  but  was  obliged  by  the  emperor  to  retire 
into  a  monastery.  To  bring  this  affair  to  a  happy  conclusion, 
Gregory  X.  invited  the  Greeks  to  come  to  the  general  council 
which  he  assembled  at  Lyons  for  this  very  purpose,  and  also  to 
concert  measures  for  pushing  on  a  war  for  the  recovery  of  the 


68  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY    AGE. 

Holy  Land,  which  the  Pope  promoted  with  all  his  might.  This 
was  the  fourteenth  general  council,  and  the  second  of  Lyons. 
At  it  were  present  five  hundred  bishops,  seventy  abbots,  James, 
Kino-  of  Arragon,  and  the  ambassadors  of  the  Emperor  Michael, 
and  of  other  Christian  princes.  St.  Thomas,  of  Aquin,  died  on 
the  road  to  this  synod.  St.  Bonaventure  accompanied  the  Pope 
throuo-h  Milan  to  it,  and  arrived  at  Lyons  in  November,  though 
the  council  was  only  opened  on  the  7th  of  May,  1274.  Bona- 
venture sat  on  the  Pope's  right  hand,  and  first  harangued  the 
asserfjb'y.  St.  Bonaventure,  meantime,  was  taken  ill.  The 
Pope  himself  gave  him  Extreme  Unction,  as  is  attested  by  an 
inscription  which  hath  been  preserved  in  the  same  chamber  in 
which  he  died  to  our  times.  He  expired  in  great  tranquility 
on  the  14th  of  July,  in  the  year  1274,  of  his  age  the  fifty- 
third.  The  Pope  and  the  whole  council  solemnized  his  ob- 
sequies on  the  same  day  in  the  Church  of  the  Franciscans  at 
Lvons. 

The  body  of  St.  Bonaventure  was  translated  Into  the  new 
Church  of  the  Franciscans  on  the  14th  of  March,  1843.  ^^^S 
Charles  VHI.  founded  their  new  convent  at  Lyons,  at  the  foot 
of  the  castle  of  Pierre  Incise,  in  1494,  with  a  rich  chapel,  in 
which  the  saint's  remains  were  enshrined,  except  a  part  of  the 
lower  jaw,  which  that  king  caused  to  be  conveyed  to  Fontaine- 
bleau.  and  it  is  now  in  the  Church  of  the  Cordeliers,  in  Paris  : 
the  bones  of  an  arm  are  kept  at  Bagnarea,  and  a  little  bone  at 
Venice.  In  1562  the  Calvinists  plundered  his  shrine,  burned 
his  relics  in  the  market-place,  and  scattered  the  ashes  in  the 
River  Saone,  as  is  related  by  the  learned  Jesuit  Possevinus, 
who  was  then  at  Lyons.  They  stabbed  to  death  the  guardian, 
with  a  Catholic  captain,  whom  they  had  made  prisoner ;  they 
burned  the  archives  of  the  library,  and  set  fire  to  the  convent. 
The  saint's  head,  and  some  other  relics,  escaped  the  fury  of  the 
rebels  by  having  been  concealed.  St.  Bonaventure  was  canon- 
ized by  Sixtus  IV.  in  1482.  Sixtus  V.  enrolled  his  name  among 
the  doctors  of  the  church  in  the  same  manner  as  Pius  V.^  had 
done  that  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  69 


SAINT    FRANCIS    OF    ASSISIUM. 
Founder  of  the  Friar  Minors. 

The  blessed  St.  Francis  was  one  of  those  happy  little  ones 
whom  God  chose  to  enrich  with  spiritual  knowledge  and 
heavenly  gifts  of  virtue.  He  was  born  at  Assisium,  in  Umbrise, 
in  the  Ecclesiastical  State,  in  1182.  His  father,  Peter  Bernar- 
don,  was  descended  of  a  gentleman's  family  originally  settled  at 
Florence,  but  was  himself  a  merchant,  and  lived  at  Assisium,  a 
town  situated  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  called  Assi.  The  saint's 
mother  was  called  Pica.  Both  his  parents  were  persons  of 
great  probity.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  Francis  was  seized 
with  a  severe  illness.  Reflections  came  to  him  on  his  sick-bed, 
and  he  rose  from  it  an  altered  man.  Henceforward  he  held 
that  in  contempt  which  the  world  holds  in  admiration  and  love. 
The  ardor  of  his  natural  character  flamed  both  in  a  consummate 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of  others.  He  made  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome,  and  in  his  enthusiasm  for  poverty  flung 
all  he  had  on  the  altar  of  St.  Peter's,  joined  himself  to  a  troop 
of  beggars,  and  gave  himself  up  to  a  wandering  life  of  alms- 
giving and  charity.  Gradually  he  found  his  full  vocation,  not 
only  in  a  life  of  entire  devotion  and  poverty  for  himself,  but  in 
foundinor  an  order  of  mendicants  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
Church, 

Many  began  to  admire  the  heroic  and  uniform  virtue  of  this 
great  servant  of  God,  and  some  desired  to  be  his  companions  and 
disciples.  Gradually  there  gathered  round  his  cell  a  band  of  dis- 
ciples as  enthusiastic  as  himself.  At  first  there  were  only  seven, 
himself  the  eighth,  but  all  were  animated  by  the  same  spirit,  and 
all  followed  the  same  rule  of  life.  When  their  number  was  aug- 
mented to  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  St.  Francis,  assem- 
bling them  together,  spoke  to  them  in  a  most  pathetic  manner  of 
the  -kingdom  of  God.  the  contempt  of  the  world,  the  renouncing 
their  own  will,  and  the  mortification  of  their  senses. 

The  saint  composed  a  rule  for  his  Order,  consisting  of  the 
gospel  counsels  of  perfection,  to  which  he  added  some  things 
necessary  for  uniformity  in   their  manner  of  life.      He   exhorts 


JO  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

his  brethren  to  manual  labor,  but  will  have  them  content  lo 
receive  for  it  things  necessary  for  life,  not  money.  He  bids 
them  not  to  be  ashamed  to  beg  alms,  remembering  the  poverty 
of  Christ ;  and  he  forbids  them  to  preach  in  any  place  without 
the  bishop's  license.  He  carried  his  rule  to  Rome,  and  obtained 
the  Pope's  approbation. 

Soon  after,  the  Benedictins  of  Monte  Soubazo  bestowed  on 
the  founder  the  church  of  the  Portiuncula,  upon  condition  that 
it  should  always  continue  the  head  church  of  his  Order.  The 
saint  refused  to  accept  the  property  or  dominion,  but  would 
only  have  the  use  of  the  place  ;  and,  in  token  that  he  held  it  of 
the  monks,  he  sent  them  every  year,  as  an  acknowledgment,  a 
basket  of  little  fish,  called  laschi,  of  which  there  is  great  plenty 
in  a  neighboring  river.  The  monks  always  sent  the  friars,  in 
return,  a  barrel  of  oil.  St.  Francis  would  not  suffer  any 
dominion  or  property  of  temporal  goods  to  be  vested  even  in 
his  Order,  or  in  any  community  or  convent  in  it  (as  in  other 
religious  Orders),  that  he  might  more  perfectly  and  more 
affectionately  say  in  his  heart,  that  the  house  in  which  he  lived, 
the  bread  which  he  ate,  and  the  poor  clothes  which  he  wore 
were  none  of  his  ;  and  that  he  possessed  nothing  of  any  earthly 
goods,  being  a  disciple  of  Him  who,  for  our  sakes,  was  born  a 
stranger  in  an  open  stable,  lived  without  a  place  of  his  own 
wherein  to  lay  his  head,  subsisting  by  the  charity  of  good  peo- 
ple, and  died  naked  on  a  cross  in  the  close  embraces  of  holy 
poverty,  in  order  to  expiate  our  sins,  and  to  cure  our  passions 
of  covetousness,  sensuality,  pride,  and  ambition. 

Holy  poverty  was  dearer  to  St.  Francis  through  his  extraor- 
dinary love  of  Penance.  He  scarce  allowed  his  body  what 
was  necessary  to  sustain  life,  and  found  out  every  day  new  ways 
of  afflicting  and  mortifying  it.  If  any  part  of  his  rough  habit 
seemed  too  soft,  he  sewed  it  with  pack-thread,  and  was  wont  to 
say  to  his  brethren  that  the  devil  easily  tempted  those  that  wore 
soft  garments.  His  bed  was  ordinarily  the  ground,  or  he  slept 
sitting,  and  used  for  his  bolster  a  piece  of  wood  or  stone.  Un- 
less he  was  sick,  he  very  rarely  ate  anything  that  was  dressed 
with  fire  ;  and  when  he  did,  he  usually  put  ashes  or  water  upon 
it.     Often  his  nourishment   was  only    a  little  coarse   bread,  on 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  /I 

which  he  sometimes  strewed  ashes.  He  drank  clear  water,  and 
that  very  moderately,  how  great  thirst  or  heat  soever  he  suffered. 
He  fasted  rigorously  eight  lents  in  the  year.  Seculars  were 
much  edified  that,  to  conform  himself  to  them,  he  allowed  his 
relio'ious  to  eat  flesh  meat,  which  the  end  of  his  institute  made 
necessary.  He  called  his  body  brother  Ass,  because  it  wsls  to 
carry  burdens,  to  be  beaten,  and  to  eat  little  and  coarsely. 
When  he  saw  anyone  idle,  eating  of  other  men's  labors,  he 
called  him  brother  Fly,  because  he  did  no  good,  but  spoiled  the 
good  which  others  did,  and  was  troublesome  to  them.  As  a 
man  owes  a  discreet  charity  to  his  own  body,  the  saint,  a  few 
days  before  he  died,  asked  pardon  of  his,  for  having  treated  it 
perhaps  with  too  great  rigor,  excusing  himself  that  he  had  done 
it  the  better  to  secure  and  guard  the  purity  of  his  soul,  and  for 
the  greater  service  of  God. 

With  extreme  austerity  St.  Francis  joined  the  most  profound 
humility  of  heart.  He  was  in  his  own  eyes  the  basest  and  most 
despicable  of  all  men,  and  desired  to  be  reputed  such  by  all ;  he 
loved  contempt,  and  sincerely  shunned  honor  and  praise.  If 
others  commended  him,  and  showed  any  esteem  of  his  virtue,  he 
often  said  to  himself,  "  What  every  one  is  in  the  eyes  of  God, 
that  he  is  and  no  more."  From  this  humility  it  was  that  he 
would  not  be  ordained  priest,  but  always  remained  in  the  degree 
of  deacon  ;  he  bore  the  greatest  reverence  to  all  priests. 

This  saint,  who  by  humility  and  self-denial  was  perfectly  cru- 
cified and  dead  to  himself,  seemed,  by  the  ardor  of  his  charity, 
to  be  rather  a  seraph  incarnate  than  a  frail  man  in  a  .mortal 
state.  Hence  he  seemed  to  live  by  prayer,  and  was  assiduously 
employed  in  holy  contemplation  ;  for  he  that  loves  much  desires 
to  converse  with  the  person  whom  he  loves.  In  this  he  finds 
his  treasure  and  his  happiness,  and  finds  no  entertainment  or 
delight  like  that  of  dwelling  upon  his  excellences  and  greatness. 
St.  Francis  retired  every  year,  after  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany, 
in  honor  of  the  forty  days  which  Christ  spent  in  the  desert,  and, 
shutting  himself  up  in  his  cell,  he  spent  all  that  time  in  rigorous 
fasting  and  devout  prayer.  He  communicated  very  often,  and 
ordinarily  with  ecstacies,  in  which  his  soul  was  wrapt  and  sus- 
pended in  God.      He  had  a  singular  devotion  to  the   Mother  of 


•]2  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

God  (whom  he  chose  for  the  special  patroness  of  his  Order),  and 
in  her  honor  he  fasted  from  the  feast  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul, 
to  that  of  her  Assumption.  After  this  festival  he  fasted  forty 
days,  and  prayed  much,  out  of  devotion  to  the  angels,  especially 
the  archangel  Michael ;  and  at  All  Saints  he  fasted  other  forty 
days. 

St.  Francis  sometimes  expressed  his  pious  breathings  in  can- 
ticles. Two  such  canticles  composed  by  him  are  still  extant,  and 
express,  with  wonderful  strength  and  sublimity  of  thought,  the 
vehemence  and  tenderness  of  divine  love  in  his  breast,  in  which 
he  found  no  other  comfort  than,  could  it  be  gratified,  to  die  of 
love,  that  he  might  be  for  ever  united  to  the  great  object  of  his 
love.  His  thirst  of  the  conversion  of  souls  was  most  ardent. 
So  great  was  the  compassion  and  charity  of  this  holy  man  for 
all  such,  that,  not  contenting  himself  with  all  that  he  did  and 
suffered  for  that  end  in  Italy,  he  resolved  to  go  to  preach  to  the 
Mahometans  and  other  infidels,  with  an  extreme  desire  of  laying 
down  his  life  for  our  Lord.  With  this  view  he  embarked,  in  the 
sixth  year  after  his  conversion,  for  Syria,  but  straight  there 
arose  a  tempest,  which  drove  him  upon  the  coast  of  Dalmatia; 
and  finding  no  convenience  to  pass  on  further,  he  was  forced  to 
return  back  again  to  Ancona.  Afterwards,  in  12 14,  he  set  out 
for  Morocco,  to  preach  to  the  famous  Mahometan  king  Miramo- 
lin,  and  went  on  his  way  with  so  great  fervor  and  desire  of  mar- 
tyrdom, that  though  he  was  weak  and  much  spent,  his  compan- 
ion was  not  able  to  hold  pace  with  him.  But  it  pleased  God 
that  ia,  Spain  he  was  detained  by  a  grievous  fit  of  sickness,  and 
afterwards  by  important  business  of  his  Order,  and  various  acci- 
dents, so  that  he  could  not  possibly  go  to  Mauritania.  But  he 
wrought  several  miracles  in  Spain,  and  founded  there  some  con- 
vents ;  after  which  he  returned  through   Languedoc  into  Italy. 

The  holy  founder  out  of  humility  gave  to  his  Order  the  name 
of  Friar  Minors,  desiring  that  his  brethren  should  be  disposed, 
in  the  affection  of  sincere  humility,  to  strive,  not  for  the  first, 
but  for  the  last  and  lowest  places.  Many  cities  became  suitors 
that  they  might  be  so  happy  as  to  possess  some  of  his  disciples 
animated  with  his  spirit,  and  St.  Francis  founded  convents  at 
Cortona,  Arezzo,  Vergoreta,  Pisa,  Bologna,  Florence,  and  other 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        73 

places  ;  and  in  less  than  three  years  his  Order  was  multipHed  to 
sixty  monasteries.  In  12 12  he  gave  his  habit  to  St.  Clare,  who, 
under  his  direction,  founded  the  institute  of  holy  virgins,  which 
was  called  the  second  order  of  St.  Francis.  St.  Dominic  being 
at  Rome  in  1215,  met  there  St.  Francis,  and  these  two  eminent 
servants  of  God  honored  each  other,  had  frequent  spiritual  con- 
ferences together,  and  cemented  a  close  friendship  between  their 
Orders,  which  they  desired  to  render  perpetual,  as  we  are  in- 
formed by  contemporary  writers  of  the  life  of  St.  Dominic. 

Ten  years  after  the  first  institution  of  his  Order,  in  12 19, 
St  Francis  held  near  Portiuncula,  the  famous  general  chapter 
called  of  Matts,  because  it  was  assembled  in  booths  in  the  fields, 
being  too  numerous  to  be  received  in  any  building  of  the  coun- 
try. We  are  assured  by  four  companions  of  St.  Francis,  and 
by  St.  Bonaventure,  that  five  thousand  friars  met  there,  though 
some  remained  at  home  who  could  not  leave  their  con- 
vents. 

St.  Francis  in  12 19  set  sail  with  B.  Illuminatus,  of  Reate, 
and  other  companions,  from  Ancona,  and  having  touched  at 
Cyprus,  landed  at  Aeon  or  Ptolemais,  in  Palestine.  The  Chris- 
tian army  in  the  sixth  crusade  lay  at  that  time  before  Damiata, 
in  Egypt,  and  the  Soldan  of  Damascus,  or  Syria,  led  a  numer- 
ous army  to  the  assistance  of  Meledin,  Soldan  of  Egypt,  or 
Babylon  ;  for  so  he  was  more  commonly  called,  because  he 
resided  at  Babylon,  in  Egypt,  a  city  on  the  Nile,  opposite  to  the 
ruins  of  Memphis  :  Grand  Cairo  rose  out  of  the  ashes  of  this 
Babylon.  St.  Francis,  with  brother  Illuminatus,  hastened  to  the 
Christian  army,  and  upon  his  arrival  endeavored  to  dissuade 
them  from  giving  the  enemy  battle,  foretelling  their  defeat,  as 
we  are  assured  by  three  of  his  companions  ;  also  by  St.  Bona- 
venture, Cardinal  James,  of  Vitri,  who  was  then  present  in  the 
army,  and  Marin  Sanut.  He  was  not  heard,  and  the  Christians 
were  driven  back  into  their  trenches  with  the  loss  of  six  thou- 
sand men.  However,  they  continued  the  siege,  and  took  the 
city  on  the  5th  of  November  the  same  year. 

Resigning  the  generalship  that  year,  1220,  he  caused  the  vir- 
tuous Peter  of  Cortona  to  be  chosen  minister-general.  In  1223 
he  obtained  of    Pope    Honorius    III.   the    confirmation   of  the 


74  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

famous  indulgence    granted  a  little   time  before  to  the  Church 
Portiuncula. 

When  St.  Francis  returned  from  Spain,  and  laid  aside  the 
thoughts  of  his  intended  mission  to  Morocco,  in  12 15,  Count 
Orlando,  of  Catona,  bestowed  on  him  a  close  agreeable  solitude 
on  Mount  Alverno,  a  part  of  the  Appenines  not  far  from  Cam- 
aldoli  and  Vale  Umbrosa.  This  virtuous  count  built  there  a 
convent  and  a  church  for  the  Friar  Minors,  and  St,  Francis  was 
mch  deliehted  with  the  retirement  of  that  h'lo-h.  mountain. 
Towards  the  festival  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
in  1224,  St.  Francis  retired  into  a  most  secret  place  in  Mount 
Alverno,  where  his  companions  made  him  a  little  cell.  Heav- 
enly visions  and  communications  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were 
familiar  to  our  saint ;  but  in  this  retreat  on  Mount  Alverno,  in 
1224,  he  was  favored  with  extraordinary  raptures,  and  inflamed 
with  burningf  desires  of  heaven  in  a  new  and  unusual  manner. 
Then  it  was  that  this  saint  deserved,  by  his  humility,  and  his 
ardent  love  of  his  crucified  Saviour,  to  be  honored  with  the 
extraordinary  favor  of  the  marks  of  his  five  wounds  imprinted 
on  his  body  by  the  vision  of  a  seraph. 

St.  Francis,  a  little  before  his  death,  dictated  his  testament  to 
his  religious  brethren,  in  which  he  recommends  to  them,  that 
they  always  honor  the  priests  and  pastors  of  the  Church  as  their 
masters,  that  they  faithfully  observe  their  rule,  and  that  they 
work  with  their  hands,  not  out  of  a  desire  of  gain,  but  for  the 
sake  of  good  example,  and  to  avoid  idleness.  He  yielded  up 
his  soul  on  the  4th  of  October,  in  the  year  1226,  the  forty-fifth 
of  his  age,  as  De  Calano  assures  us.  St.  Francis  was  canonized 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1228. 

SAINT    IGNATIUS    OF    LOYOLA. 
Founder  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

The  conversion  of  many  barbarous  nations,  several  heretofore 
unknown  to  us,  both  in  the  most  remote  eastern  and  western 
hemisphere,  the  education  of  youth  in  learning  and  piety,  the 
instruction  of  the  ignorant,  the  improvement  of  all  the  sciences, 
and  the  reformation  of  the  manners  of  a  great  part  of  Christen- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  75 

dom,  is  the  wonderful  fruit  of  the  zeal  with  which  this  glorious 
saint  devoted  himself  to  labor  in  exalting  the  glory  of  God,  and 
in  spreading  over  the  whole  world  that  fire  which  Christ  himself 
came  to  kindle  on  earth.  St.  Ignatius  was  born  in  1491,  in  the 
castle  of  Loyola,  in  Guipuscoa,  a  part  of  Biscay  that  reaches  to 
the  Pyrenean  mountains.  He  was  well  shaped,  and  in  his  child- 
hood gave  proofs  of  a  pregnant  wit  and  discretion  above  his 
years  ;  was  affable  and  obliging,  but  of  a  warm  or  choleric  dis- 
position, and  had  an  ardent  passion  for  glory.  He  was  bred  in 
the  court  of  Ferdinand  V.  in  quality  of  page  to  the  king,  and  his 
inclinations  led  him  to  the  army.  The  love  of  glory  and  the 
example  of  his  elder  brothers,  who  had  signalized  themselves  in 
the  wars  of  Naples,  made  him  impatient  till  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice. He  behaved  with  great  valor  and  conduct  in  the  army, 
especially  at  the  taking  of  Najara,  a  small  town  on  the  frontiers 
of  Biscay  ;  yet  he  generously  declined  taking  any  part  of  the 
booty,  in  which  he  might  have  challenged  the  greatest  share. 
He  hated  gaming  as  an  offspring  of  avarice,  and  a  source  of 
quarrels  and  other  evils ;  was  dextrous  in  the  management  of 
affairs,  and  had  an  excellent  talent  in  making  up  differences 
among  the  soldiers.  He  was  generous,  even  towards  enemies, 
but  addicted  to  gallantry,  and  full  of  the  maxims  of  worldly 
honor,  vanity,  and  pleasures. 

While  in  the  breach  at  the  head  of  the  garrison,  at  the  de- 
fense of  Pampeluna,  in  1521,  Ignatius  had  his  leg  shattered  by 
a  cannon  ball. 

During  the  cure  of  his  knee  he  was  confined  to  his  bed, 
though  otherwise  in  perfect  health,  and  finding  the  time  tedious 
he  called  for  some  book  of  romances,  for  he  had  been  always 
much  delighted  with  fabulous  histories  of  knight-errantry. 
None  such  being  found,  a  book  of  the  lives  of  our  Saviour,  and 
of  the  saints,  was  brought  him.  He  read  them  first  only  to  pass 
away  the  time,  but  afterwards  began  to  relish  them  and  to  spend 
whole  days  in  reading  them.  He  chiefly  admired  in  the  saints 
their  love  of  solitude  and  of  the  cross.  He  considered  among 
the  anchorets  many  persons  of  quality,  who  buried  themselves 
alive  in  caves  and  dens,  pale  with  fasting,  and  covered  with  hair- 
cloth ;  and  he  said   to  himself,  "  These  men  were  of  the  same 


76  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

frame  I  am  of;  why  then  should  not  I  do  what  they  have  done?" 
Takine  at  last  a  firm  resolution  to  imitate  the  saints  in  their  he- 
roic  practice  of  virtue,  he  began  to  treat  his  body  with  all  the 
rigor  it  was  able  to  bear ;  he  rose  at  midnight,  and  spent  his  re- 
tired hours  in  weeping  for  his  sins.  One  night  being  prostrate 
before  an  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  in  extraordinary  senti- 
ments of  fervor,  he  consecrated  himself  to  the  service  of  his  Re- 
deemer under  her  patronage,  and  vowed  an  inviolable  fidelity. 
The  saint's  eldest  brother,  who  was  then,  by  the  death  of  their 
father,  lord  of  Loyola,  endeavored  to  detain  him  in  the  world, 
and  to  persuade  him  not  to  throw  away  the  great  advantages^oi 
the  honor  and  reputation  which  his  valor  had  gained  him. 
Ignatius,  being  cured  of  his  wounds,  went  to  Montserrat.  This 
was  a  great  abbey  of  near  three  hundred  Benedictine  Monks,  of 
a  reformed  austere  institute,  situate  on  a  mountain  of  difficult 
access,  about  four  leagues  in  circumference  and  two  leagues 
high,  in  the  diocese  of  Barcelona. 

He  made  a  vow  of  perpetual  chastity,  and  dedicated  himself 
with  crreat  fervor  to  the  divine  service.  At  his  first  cominor  to 
this  place  he  had  bought,  at  the  village  of  Montserrat,  a  long 
coat  of  coarse  cloth,  a  girdle,  a  pair  of  sandals,  a  wallet,  and  a 
pilgrim's  staff,  intending,  after  he  had  finished  his  devotions 
there,  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  Disguised  in  this 
habit,  he  remained  at  the  abbey.  He  communicated  to  his  di- 
rector a  plan  of  the  austerities  he  proposed  to  practise,  and  was 
confirmed  by  him  in  his  good  resolutions.  He  received  the 
blessed  eucharist  early  in  the  morning  on  the  feast  of  the  An- 
nunciation of  our  Lady  in  1522  ;  and,  on  the  same  day  left  Mont- 
serrat, having  given  his  horse  to  the  monastery,  and  hung  up  his 
sword  on  a  pillar  near  the  altar  in  testimony  of  his  renouncing 
the  secular  warfare,  and  entering  himself  in  that  of  Christ.  He 
travelled  with  his  staff  in  his  hand,  a  scrip  by  his  side,  bare- 
headed, and  with  one  foot  bare,  the  other  being  covered  because 
it  was  yet  tender  and  swelled.  He  went  away  infinitely  pleased 
that  he  had  cast  off  the  livery  of  the  world,  and  put  on  that  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

Three  leagues  from  Montserrat  is  a  large  village  called  Man- 
resa,  with  a  convent  of   Dominicans,  and  a  hospital  without  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE    FAITH    IX   EVERY   AGE.  yj 

walls  for  pilgrims  and  sick  persons.  Ignatius  went  to  this  hos- 
pital, and,  rejoicing  to  see  himself  received  in  it  unknown  and 
among  the  poor,  began  to  fast  on  water  and  the  bread  (which 
he  begged)  the  whole  week,  except  Sundays,  when  he  ate  a  few 
boiled  herbs,  but  sprinkled  over  with  ashes.  He  wore  an  iron 
girdle  and  a  hair  shirt ;  disciplined  himself  thrice  a  day,  slept 
little,  and  lay  on  the  ground.  He  was  every  day  present  at  the 
whole  divine  office,  spent  seven  hours  on  his  knees  at  prayer, 
and  received  the  sacraments  every  Sunday.  He  stayed  there 
almost  a  year,  during  which  time  he  governed  himself  by  the 
advice  of  the  holy  monk  of  Montserrat,  whom  he  visited  every 
week,  and  that  of  his  Dominican  director. 

He  began  then  to  exhort  many  to  the  love  of  virtue;  and  he 
there  wrote  his  Spiritual  Exercises,  which  he  afterwards  revised, 
and  published  at  Rome,  in  1548.  When  some  pretended  to 
find  fault  with  this  book  of  St.  Ignatius's  Spiritual  Exercises, 
Pope  Paul  HI.,  at  the  request  of  St.  Francis  Borgia,  by  a  brief, 
in  1548,  approved  it  as  full  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  very  useful 
for  the  edification  and  spiritual  profit  of  the  faithful. 

Ignatius,  after  a  stay  of  ten  months  at  Manresa,  left  that 
place  for  Barcelona,  and  in  five  days  landed  at  Gaeta,  whence  he 
travelled  on  foot  to  Rome,  Padua,  and  Venice.  He  spent  the 
Easter  at  Rome,  and  sailed  from  Venice  on  board  the  admiral's 
vessel,  which  was  carrying  the  governor  to  Cyprus.  He  arrived 
at  Cyprus,  and  found  in  the  port  a  vessel  full  of  pilgrims,  just 
ready  to  hoist  sail.  Going  immediately  on  board,  he  made  a 
good  voyage,  and  landed  at  Jaffa,  the  ancient  Joppe,  on  the  last 
day  of  August,  1523,  forty  days  after  he  had  left  Venice.  He 
went  on  foot  from  thence  to  Jerusalem  in  four  days.  The  sight 
of  the  holy  places  filled  his  soul  with  joy,  and  the  most  ardent 
sentiments  of  devotion  and  compunction. 

He  returned  to  Europe  in  winter,  in  extreme  cold  weather, 
poorly  clad,  and  came  to  Venice  at  the  end  of  January,  in  1524; 
from  whence  he  continued  his  journey  by  Genoa  to  Barcelona. 
Desiring  to  qualify  himself  for  the  functions  of  the  altar,  and  for 
assisting  spiritually  his  neighbor,  he  began  at  Barcelona  to 
study,  and  addressed  himself  to  a  famous  master  named  Jerom 
Ardebal,  being  assisted  in  the  meantime  in  his  maintenance  by 


78  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

the  charities  of  a  pious  lady  of   that  city,  called  Isabel  Rosella. 
He  was  then  thirty-three  years  old. 

The  saint,  after  studying  two  years  at  Barcelona,  went  to  the 
university  of  Alcala,  which  had  been  lately  founded  by  Cardinal 
Ximenes,  where  he  attended  at  the  same  time  to  lectures  in 
logic,  physics,  and  divinity  ;  by  which  multiplicity  he  only  con- 
founded his  ideas,  and  learned  nothing  at  all,  though  he  studied 
night  and  day.  However,  he  went  himself  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,  Alphonsus  de  Fonseca,  who  was  much  pleased  with 
him,  but  advised  him  to  leave  Alcala,  and  go  to  Salamanca, 
promising  him  his  protection.  Shortly  afterward  he  resolved 
to  leave  Spain. 

He  from  that  time  began  to  wear  shoes,  and  received  money 
sent  him  by  his  friends,  but  in  the  middle  of  winter  travelled  on 
foot  to  Paris,  where  he  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  February, 
1528.  He  spent  two  years  in  perfecting  himself  in  the  Latin 
tongue  ;  then  went  through  a  course  of  philosophy.  He  studied 
his  philosophy  three  years  and  a  half  in  the  College  of  St.  Bar- 
bara. Pegna,  his  master,  appointed  another  scholar,  who  was 
more  advanced  in  his  studies,  and  a  young  man  of  great  virtue 
and  quick  parts,  to  assist  him  in  his  exercises.  This  was  Peter 
Faber,  a  Savoyard,  a  native  of  the  diocese  of  Geneva,  by  whose 
help  he  finished  his  philosophy,  and  took  the  degree  of  master 
of  arts  with  great  applause,  after  a  course  of  three  years  and  a 
half,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times.  After  this  Ignatius 
began  his  divinity  at  the  Dominicans. 

The  saint  prescribed  for  Peter  Faber  a  course  of  his  spiritual 
exercises,  and  taught  him  the  practices  of  meditation,  of  the 
particular  examination,  and  other  means  of  perfection,  conduct- 
ing him  through  all  the  paths  of  an  interior  life.  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  a  young  master  of  philosophy,  full  of  the  vanity  of  the 
schools,  was  his  next  conquest.  St.  Ignatius  made  him  sensible 
that  all  mortal  glory  is  emptiness  ;  only  that  which  is  eternal 
deserving  our  regard.      He  converted  many   abandoned   sinners. 

James  Laynez,  of  Almazan,  twenty-one  years  of  age  ;  Alphon- 
sus Salmeron,  only  eighteen  ;  and  Nicholas  Alphonso,  surnamed 
Bobadilla,  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  near  Valencia, — all  Span- 
iards of  great  parts,  at  that  time  students  in  divinity  at  Paris, — 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        79 

associated  themselves  to  the  saint  In  his  pious  exercises.  Simon 
Rodriguez,  a  Portuguese,  joined  them.  These  fervent  students, 
moved  by  the  pressing  instances  and  exhortations  of  Ignatius, 
made  all  together  a  vow  to  renounce  the  world,  to  go  to  preach 
the  gospel  in  Palestine,  or  if  they  could  not  go  thither  within  a 
year  after  they  had  finished  their  studies,  to  offer  themselves  to 
his  holiness  to  be  employed  in  the  service  of  God,  in  what  man- 
ner he  should  judge  best. 

In  the  meantime,  three  others,  all  doctors  in  divinity,  by  the 
exhortations  of  Faber,  joined  the  saint's  companions  in  Paris. 
Claudius  le  Jay,  a  Savoyard,  John  Codure,  a  native  of  Dau- 
phine,  and  Pasquier  Brouet,  of  Picardy;  so  that  with  Ignatius 
they  were  now  ten  in  number.  The  holy  founder,  after  a  tedi- 
ous and  dangerous  journey,  both  by  sea  and  land,  arrived  at 
Venice  about  the  end  of  the  year  1536,  and  his  nine  companions 
from  Paris  met  him  there  on  the  8th  of  January,  1537  ;  they 
employed  themselves  in  the  hospitals,  but  all,  except  Ignatius, 
went  to  Rome,  where  Pope  Paul  III.  received  them  graciously, 
and  granted  them  an  indult,  that  those  who  were  not  priests 
might  receive  holy  orders  from  what  bishop  they  pleased. 
They  were  accordingly  ordained  at  Venice  by  the  Bishop  of 
Arbe.  Ignatius  was  one  of  this  number.  The  emperor  and  the 
Venetians  having  declared  war  against  the  Turks,  their  pilgrim- 
age into  Palestine  was  rendered  impracticable.  The  year  there- 
fore being  elapsed,  Ignatius,  Faber,  and  Laynez  went  to  Rome, 
threw  themselves  at  his  holiness's  feet,  and  offered  themselves 
to  whatever  work  he  should  judge  best  to  employ  them  in.  St. 
Ignatius  told  his  companions  at  Vicenza,  that  if  any  one  asked 
what  their  institute  was,  they  might  answer,  "  the  Society  of 
Jesus  ;"  because  they  were  united  to  fight  against  heresies  and 
vice  under  the  standard  of  Christ.  Pope  Paul  III.  received 
them  graciously ;  and  appointed  Faber,  called  in  French  Le 
Fevre,  to  teach  in  the  Sapienza  at  Rome  scholastic  divinity,  and 
Laynez  to  explain  the  holy  scripture ;  whilst  Ignatius  labored, 
by  means  of  his  spiritual  exercises  and  instructions  to  reform 
the  manners  of  the  people. 

The  holy  founder,  with  a  view  to  perpetuate  the  work  of 
God,  called  to  Rome  all  his  companions,  and  proposed  to  them 


8o  GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

his  design  and  motives  of  forming  themselves  into  a  religiousa 
Order.     The  three  cardinals  appointed  by  the  pope  to  examine! 
the  affairs  of  this  new  Order,  at  first  opposed  it,  thinking  relig- 
ious  orders   already   too    much   multiplied,    but    changed   then 
opinions  on  a  sudden,  and  Pope  Paul  III.  approved  it  under  thel 
title  of  "The  Society  of  Jesus,"  by   a  bull,  dated  the  27th   of| 
September,    1540.      Ignatius  was   chosen   the  first  general,  but 
only    acquiesced    in    obedience    to  his  confessor.      He  enterec 
upon  his  office  on  Easter-day,  1541,  and  the  members  all  made 
their  religious  vows,  according  to  the  bull  of  their  institution. 

Ignatius  then  set  himself  to  write  constitutions  or  rules  for 
his  Society,  in  which  he  lays  down  its  end  to  be,  in  the  first 
place,  the  sanctification  of  their  own  souls  by  joining  together 
the  active  and  the  contemplative  life  ;  for  nothing  so  much 
qualifies  a  minister  of  God  to  save  others  as  the  sanctification 
of  his  own  soul  in  the  first  place.  Secondly,  to  labor  for  the 
salvation  and  perfection  of  their  neighbor,  and  this,  first,  by 
catechising  the  ignorant  (which  work  is  the  basis  and  ground 
of  religion  and  virtue,  and,  though  mean  and  humble,  is  the 
most  necessary  and  indispensable  duty  of  every  pastor) ; 
secondly,  by  the  instruction  of  youth  in  piety  and  learning 
(upon  which  the  reformation  of  the  world  principally  depends)  ; 
and  thirdly,  by  the  direction  of  consciences,  missions,  and  the 
like. 

He  was  entreated  by  many  princes  and  cities  of  Italy,  Spain, 
Germany,  and  the  Low  Countries  to  afford  them  some  of  his 
laborers.  Under  the  auspicious  protection  of  John  III.,  King 
of  Portugal,  he  sent  St.  Francis  Xavier  into  the  East  Indies, 
where  he  o-ained  a  new  world  to  the  faith  of  Christ.  He  sent 
John  Nugnez  and  Lewis  Gonzales  into  the  kingdoms  of  Fez 
arid  Morocco  to  instruct  and  assist  the  Christian  slaves  ;  in 
1547,  four  others  to  Congo  in  Africa;  in  1555,  thirteen  into 
Abyssinia,  among  whom  John  Nugnez  was  nominated  by  Pope 
Julius  III.  patriarch  of  Ethiopia,  and  two  others,  bishops  ;  lastly, 
others  into  the  Portuguese  settlements  in  South  America. 

Pope  Paul  III.  commissioned  the  fathers  James  Laynez  and 
Alphonsus  Salmeron  to  assist,  in  quality  of  his  theologians,  at 
the    council    of    Trent.      Before    their  departure    St.    Ignatius, 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        8 1 

among  other  Instructions,  gave  them  a  charge  in  all  disputations 
to  be  careful  above  all  things,  to  preserve  modesty  and  humil- 
ity, and  to  shun  all  confidence,  contentiousness,  or  empty  dis- 
play of  learning.  F.  Claudius  Le  Jay  appeared  in  the  same 
council  as  theologian  of  Cardinal  Otho,  Bishop  of  Ausberg. 
Many  of  the  first  disciples  of  St.  Ignatius  distinguished  them- 
selves in  divers  kingdoms  of  Europe. 

In  1546  the  Jesuits  first  opened  their  schools  in  Europe,  in 
the  college  which  St.  Francis  Borgia  had  erected  for  them  at 
Gandia,  with  the  privileges  of  an  university.  The  seminary  of 
Goa,  in  Asia,  which  had  been  erected  some  years  before  for 
the  Indian  missions,  was  committed  to  the  Jesuits,  under  the 
direction  of  Francis  Xavier,  the  preceding  year.  King  John 
also  founded  for  them,  in  1546,  a  noble  college  at  Coimbra,  the 
second  which  they  had  in  Europe.  F.  Simon  Rodriguez 
directed  this  establishment,  and  many  others  in  Portugal,  Spain, 
and  Brazil,  and  died  at  Lisbon,  in  the  highest  reputation  for 
sanctity  and  learning,  in  1579. 

St.  Francis  Borgia,  in  1551,  gave  a  considerable  sum  towards 
building  the  Roman  college  for  the  Jesuits.  Pope  Julius  III. 
contributed  largely  to  it;  Paul  IV.,  in  1555,  founded  it  for 
perpetuity  with  great  munificence  ;  afterwards  Gregory  XIII. 
much  augmented  its  buildings  and  revenues.  St.  Ignatius,  in- 
tending to  make  this  the  model  of  all  his  other  colleges,  neg- 
lected nothing  to  render  it  complete,  and  took  care  that  it 
should  be  supplied  with  the  ablest  masters  in  all  the  sciences, 
and  with  all  possible  helps  for  the  advancement  of  literature. 

The  prudence  and  charity  of  the  saint  in  his  conduct  towards 
his  religious  won  him  all  their  hearts.  His  commands  seemed 
rather  entreaties.  The  address  with  which  he  accommodated 
himself  to  every  one's  particular  genius,  and  the  mildness  with 
which  he  tempered  his  reproofs,  gave  to  his  reprehensions  a 
sweetness  which  gained  the  affections,  whilst  it  corrected  a  fault. 
He  always  showed  the  affection  of  the  most  tender  parent 
towards  all  his  brethren,  especially  towards  the  sick,  for  whom 
he  was  solicitous  to  procure  every  spiritual  and  even  temporal 
succor  and  comfort,  which  it  was  his  great  delight  to  give  them 
himself.     The  most  perfect  obedience  and  self-denial  were  the 


82  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

two  first  lessons  which  he  inculcated  to  his  novices,  whom  he 
told  at  the  door  as  they  entered,  that  they  must  leave  behind 
them  all  self-will  and  private  judgment. 

Notwithstanding  the  fatigue  and  constant  application  which 
the  establishment  of  his  Order  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  so 
many  other  great  enterprises  undertaken  to  promote  the  glory 
of  God  required,  he  was  all  on  fire  with  an  excess  of  charity, 
and  a  restless  desire  of  gaining  souls  to  God,  and  wearied  him- 
self out  in  the  service  of  his  neighbor,  always  laboring  to  ex- 
tirpate vice,  and  to  promote  virtue  in  all,  and  set  on  foot 
several  practices  which  might  conduce  to  the  divine  service  and 
the  salvation  of  men. 

In  matters  of  concern,  though  reasons  were  ever  so  convinc- 
ing and  evident,  he  never  took  any  resolution  before  he  had 
consulted  God  by  prayer.  He  let  not  an  hour  pass  in  the  day 
without  recollecting  himself  interiorly  and  examining  his  con- 
science, for  this  purpose  banishing  for  a  while  all  other 
thoughts.  He  never  applied  his  mind  so  much  to  exterior 
affairs  as  to  lose  the  sweet  relish  of  interior  devotion.  He  had 
God  always  and  in  all  things  present  to  his  mind. 

After  mass  he  spent  two  hours  in  private  prayer,  during 
which  time  no  one  was  admitted  to  speak  to  him  except  on 
some  pressing  necessity.  All  his  actions,  and  whatever  be- 
longed to  him,  breathed  an  air  of  sincere  humility.  His  ap- 
parel was  poor,  though  clean  ;  his  bed  was  very  mean,  and  his 
.diet  coarse,  and  so  temperate  that  it  was  a  perpetual  abstinence. 
He  employed  himself  often  most  cheerfully  in  the  meanest 
of^ces  about  the  house,  as  in  makino-  beds,  and  in  cleansing"  the 
chambers  of  the  sick.  It  was  his  great  study  to  conceal  his 
virtues,  and  nothing-  was  more  admirable  in  his  life  than  the 
address  with  which  he  covered  his  most  heroic  actions  under 
the  veil  of  humility.  Though  he  was  superior,  he  frequently 
submitted  to  inferiors  with  wonderful  meekness  and  humility, 
when  he  could  do  it  without  prejudice  to  his  authority.  In 
things  of  which  he  was  not  certain,  he  readily  acquiesced  in  the 
judgment  of  others  ;  and  was  a  great  enemy  to  all  positiveness, 
and  to  the  use  of  superlatives  in  discourse.  He  received  re- 
bukes from  any  one  with  cheerfulness  and  thanks.      If  in  his 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IX   EVERY   AGE.  S3 

presence  anything  was  said  that  redounded  to  his  praise,  he 
showed  an  extreme  confusion,  which  was  usually  accompanied 
with  many  tears.  He  was  seldom  heard  to  speak  of  himself, 
and  never  but  on  very  pressing  occasions.  Ribadeneira  heard 
him  say,  that  every  one  in  the  house  was  to  him  an  example  of 
virtue,  and  that  he  was  not  scandalized  at  any  one  besides  him- 
self. 

Charity,  or  the  most  ardent  and  pure  love  of  God,  was  the 
most  conspicuous,  and  the  crown  of  all  his  other  virtues.  He 
had  often  in  his  mouth  these  words,  which  he  took  for  his  motto 
or  device,  "  To  the  greater  glory  of  God,"  referring  to  this  end, 
with  all  his  strength,  himself,  his  Society,  and  all  his  actions,  in 
which  he  always  chose  that  which  appeared  to  him  the  most  per- 
fect. He  often  said  to  God,  "  Lord,  what  do  I  desire,  or  what 
can  I  desire  besides  thee  !  " 

From  this  same  love  of  God  sprang  his  ardent  thirst  for  the 
salvation  of  men,  for  which  he  undertook  so  many  and  so  great 
things,  and  to  which  he  devoted  his  watchings,  prayers,  tears, 
and  labors.  When  he  dismissed  any  missionaries  to  preach  the 
word  of  God,  he  usually  said  to  them,  "  Go,  brethren,  inflame 
the  world,  spread  about  that  fire  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to 
kindle  on  earth."  To  gain  others  to  Christ,  he,  with  admirable 
address,  made  himself  all  to  all,  going  in  at  //ieir  door,  and  com- 
ing out  at  /i/s  ozun. 

St.  Ignatius  was  General  of  the  Society  fifteen  years,  three 
months,  and  nine  days  ;  but  was  in  the  end  so  worn  out  with  in- 
firmities that  he  procured  that  the  Society  should  choose  him  an 
assistant  in  that  office. 

The  saint,  on  the  day  before  he  died,  charged  F.  Polancus  to 
beg  his  holiness's  blessing  for  him  at  the  article  of  death,  though 
others  at  that  time  did  not  think  it  so  near.  The  next  morning, 
having  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  hands  to  heaven,  and  pronouncing, 
both  with  his  tongue  and  heart,  the  sweet  name  of  Jesus,  with  a 
serene  countenance,  he  calmly  gave  up  his  happy  soul  into  the 
hand's  of  his  Creator  on  the  last  day  of  July,  in  the  year  1556, 
the  sixty-fifth  of  his  age,  the  thirty-fifth  after  his  conversion,  and 
the  sixteenth  after  the  confirmation  of  the  Societ}'.  The  people 
esteemed  him  a  saint   both  living  and  after  his  death  ;  and  the 


84  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

opinion  of  his  sanctity  was  confirmed  by  many  miracles.  He 
saw  his  Society  in  very  few  years  divided  into  twelve  provinces, 
with  above  one  hundred  colleges,  and  spread  over  almost  the 
whole  world.  In  1626,  it  contained  thirty-six  provinces,  and  in 
them  eight  hundred  houses,  and  fifteen  thousand  Jesuits,  since 
which  time  it  is  much  increased.  St.  Ignatius's  body  was  buried 
first  in  the  little  church  of  the  Jesuits,  dedicated  in  honor  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  in  Rome.  When  Cardinal  Alexander  Farne- 
sius  had  built  the  stately  church  of  the  professed  house  called  II 
Giesu,  it  was  translated  thither  in  1587  ;  and  in  1637  was  laid 
under  the  altar  of  the  chapel,  which  bears  his  name.  He  was 
beatified  by  Paul  V.  in  1609,  and  canonized  by  Gregory  XV. 
in  1622,  though  the  bull  was  only  published  the  year  following 
by  Urban  VIII. 

SAINT    ALPHONSUS    LIGUORI. 
Doctor  of  the  Church. 

He  was  born  In  Marinella,  in  the  suburbs  of  Naples,  on  the 
27th  of  September,  1696,  of  a  noble  family,  and  pious 
parents. 

Alphonsus,  in  early  youth,  nay,  we  might  almost  say,  in  in- 
fancy, even  then  edified  all  with  whom  he  conversed  ;  and  those 
who  have  written  his  life  in  detail,  mention  numerous  instances 
of  virtue,  which  we  cannot  afford  to  specify.  His  progress  in 
human  learning  kept  pace  so  well  with  his  progress  in  the 
science  of  the  saints,  that  when  he  had  completed  his  legal 
studies,  he  required  a  dispensation  of  three  years  for  admission 
to  the  degree  of  doctor  in  canon  and  civil  law. 

He  practised  for  some  time  at  the  bar,  and  was  fast  growing 
into  repute,  when  an  incident  occurred,  to  which,  in  the  dispen. 
sations  of  Providence,  we  are  indebted  for  the  apostolic  labors 
and  learned  writings  of  our  saint.  Alphonsus  having  been  re- 
tained as  counsel  for  the  defence,  in  a  case  of  great  interest  and 
importance,  his  pleading  was  so  ingenious,  and  so  eloquent,  that 
the  president,  Signor  Caravita,  felt  disposed  to  give  judgment 
in  favor  of  his  client,  when  the  counsel,  on  the  other  side,  in- 
stead of  replying,  simply  begged  of  Alphonsus  to  reconsider  his 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE,  8$ 

aro-ument,  and  see  whether  it  was  not  unsound.  Alphonsus,  to 
his  gre3,t  confusion  and  surprise,  perceived  it  to  be  flawed  by- 
reason  of  his  having  overlooked  one  negative  particle  in  the 
process.  The  court  and  audience  complimented  him  upon  his 
able  defence,  and  acquitted  him  of  any  blame  upon  the  score  of 
neo-licrence  ;  attributing  his  oversight  to  the  warmth  so  natural 
to  a  young  lawyer  in  his  situation.  Alphonsus,  however,  did 
not  so  readily  acquit  himself ;  but,  having  bowed  to  the  court, 
was  heard  to  say,  as  he  withdrew,  "  false  world,  I  know  you, 
and  have  done  with  you  ; " — he  had  given  up  the  bar. 

Alphonsus  was  advanced  to  the  priesthood,  and  so  great,  in 
fact,  was  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  archbishop, 
that  he  had  no  sooner  been  ordained  priest,  than  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  conduct  the  retreat  of  the  clergy,  although  there 
were  amongst  them  many  apostolic  and  eloquent  men  of  older 
standing  than  he. 

Our  saint  meanwhile  continued  to  preach  in  all  the  churches 
of  Naples  to  immense  congregations,  and  with  abundant  fruit. 
At  stated  periods  of  the  year,  he  conducted  missions  in  various 
quarters  of  the  kingdom,  and  while  laboring  for  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  others,  took  such  measures  for  his  own,  as  are  taken  only 
by  saints  such  as  he. 

He  addressed  himself  to  God  In  prayer,  and  took  counsel  of 
several  learned  and  pious  men,  all  of  whom  assured  him  that  it 
was  the  will  of  God  he  should  become  the  founder  of  a  new  con- 
gregation of  missionary  priests  for  the  spiritual  aid  of  those  souls 
who  are  most  destitute.  The  Bishop  of  Scala  engaged  him  to 
establish  the  first  house  of  the  future  Order  in  his  diocese.  His 
first  companions  numbered  twelve,  consisting  of  ten  priests,  and 
two  candidates  for  orders,  together  with  a  serving  lay-brother, 
Vito  Curzio  by  name,  a  rich  gentleman  of  Acquaviva  di  Bari, 
who,  admonished  by  a  vision  at  Naples,  had  chosen  that  humble 
post  amongst  the  brethren  of  the  new  congregation. 

Alphonsus  submitted  to  the  Holy  See  the  rules  he  had  drawn 
up  for.  the  government  of  the  congregation,  which  met  with  the 
entire  approval  of  the  Pope. 

The  congregation  being  now  distributed  into  different  houses, 
the  brethren   set  about  the  election  of  a  superior-general,  and 


86  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

were  unanimous  in  their  choice  of  Alphonsus,  whom  they  ap« 
pointed  general  for  life. 

In  training  the  students  for  their  missionary  labors,  every 
other  study  was  of  course  subordinate  to  the  great  object  of  the 
congregation — the  ministry  of  the  divine  word  ;  and  it  was  the 
anxious  care  of  Alphonsus  to  impress  them  with  correct  no- 
tions upon  this  all  important  matter.  He  instructed  them  to 
avoid  defacing  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  with  the  frippery  of 
rhetoric,  or  even  the  genuine  beauties  of  purely  human  eloquence. 
He  took  especial  care  that  they  should  fit  themselves  for  the 
confessional  by  the  study  of  moral  theology  ;  which,  he  said, 
should  finish  only  with  the  life  of  the  student,  and  without  the 
knowledge  of  which,  a  confessor,  he  said,  would  damn  himself, 
and  bring  ruin  on  his  penitents.  He  instructed  them,  more- 
over, in  the  proper  treatment  of  different  classes  of  penitents, 
impressing  upon  them  the  necessity  of  sweetness  and  charity, 
the  danger  of  severity  and  harshness,  and  the  importance  of 
using  to  advantage  their  discretion  in  giving  or  withholding 
Absolution  in  those  cases  where  the  Church  has  left  either 
course  open  to  them. 

The  sanctity  of  Alphonsus,  and  the  wonders  by  which  his 
preaching  was  attended,  began  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  en- 
tire kingdom,  and,  the  See  of  Sant'  Agata  de'  Goti  becoming 
vacant,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Pope  himself  to  the  care  of 
that  Church. 

Alphonsus  having  accepted  the  episcopal  office,  through  pure 
obedience,  set  out  for  Rome  accompanied  by  Father  Andrea 
Villani,  a  man  of  approved  virtue. 

Having  been  at  length  formally  declared  bishop  of  Sant' 
Agata  de'  Goti,  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  in  the  secret  consist- 
ory held  on  the  14th  of  June,  1762,  Alphonsus  was  consecrated 
on  the  20th  of  the  same  month. 

Alphonsus,  in  the  government  of  his  diocese,  simply  carried 
out  the  principles  which  he  had  laid  down  in  a  book,  entitled 
*'  Reflections  useful  to  bishops  in  the  government  of  their 
Churches,"  and  published  before  his  elevation  to  the  episcopacy. 
Though  removed  in  body  from  his  congregation,  it  ceased  not 
to  be  directed  by  his  spirit,  as  he  was  in  constant  communication 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE.  87 

with  Father  Vallani,  his  Vicar-general,  and  the  superiors  of 
houses,  continually  exhorting  and  instructing  them  by  letters 
full  of  unction  and  wisdom  alike  divine.  His  elevation  to  the 
episcopal  dignity,  no  wise  prejudiced  that  eminent  spirit  of  pov- 
erty by  which  he  had  been  distinguished  while  residing  with  the 
cono^rep-ation.  His  dress  (invariably  the  habit  of  the  congrega- 
tion) was  of  the  coarsest  texture.  He  left  the  best  apartments 
to  his  household  clergy,  occupying  himself  a  couple  of  the  most 
unpretending,  and  furnished  in  the  meanest  style,  possessing,  in 
fact,  only  some  straw  chairs,  a  table  with  an  inkstand  and  a  few 
books,  a  small  wooden  bedstead  with  a  straw  bed,  and  coarse 
sheets,  some  pictures  of  saints,  and  one  of  our  Blessed  Lady  of 
good  counsel,  together  with  a  little  altar  for  the  celebration  of 
Mass,  when  his  health  should  not  permit  him  to  go  to  the 
Cathedral.  His  table  was  originally  very  simple,  and  every  day 
experienced  new  retrenchments,  until  it  reached  the  standard  of 
insipidity,  which  Alphonsus  had  laid  out  for  it.  His  house- 
hold resembled  nothing  so  closely  as  a  religious  community,  so 
regular  were  the  hours  of  prayer  and  silence,  and  meals,  and 
reliofious  converse. 

The  little  time  which  he  contrived  to  steal  from  his  pastoral 
cares,  or  his  devotions,  he  spent  not  in  recreation,  but  in  writing, 
or  dictating  letters,  or  composing  works  for  the  good  of  souls. 
or  reading  spiritual  or  theological  books. 

He  had  an  alms  for  every  one  who  asked  it,  and  summoned 
his  vicar-general  and  others  to  the  aid  of  his  own  zeal  in  discov- 
ering such  as  shame  (so  ill-consorted  with  penury)  prevented  from 
putting  in  their  petitions  with  the  others.  Superannuated 
priests,  old  people  of  every  description,  widows  with  families, 
and  more  especially  young  maidens,  whose  poverty  might  be 
the  occasion  of  their  fall,  were  the  objects  of  his  tenderest  care. 
We  have  already  mentioned  his  care  of  the  sick  ;  and  it  was  at 
least  equalled  by  his  care  of  those  in  prison,  both  as  concerned 
their  spiritual  and  temporal  wants.  But  all  his  other  acts  of 
love  were  outdone  by  one  act  of  stupendous  charity,  in  the  year 
1765,  during  which  Italy  was  afflicted  in  a  great  and  prevailing 
famine.  As  if  in  preparation  for  the  disastrous  season,  Alphon- 
sus, contrary  to  custom,  had  laid  up  a  large  store  of  corn,  and  as 


88 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 


soon  as  the  scarcity  began  to  be  felt,  distributed  it  to  the  poor. 
After  having  expended  his  entire  store,  he  wrote  to  every  one 
of  wealth  and  distinction,  and  more  especially  to  his  brother 
Hercules,  to  contribute  to  the  relief  of  the  starving  population. 
He  afterwards  gave  orders  for  the  secret  sale  of  the  carriage 
and  mules  which  his  brother  had  presented  to  him,  as  well  as  of 
his  pectoral  cross,  and  the  ring  given  him  by  Monsignor  Ganini, 
substituting  for  them  gilded  things  of  trifling  value.  But,  not- 
withstanding all  his  efforts,  thousands  remained  unsupplied,  and 
in  the  madness  of  their  hunger,  attacked  the  corporate  officers; 
for  whose  safety  Alphonsus  has  been  known  to  expose  his  own 
life  to  the  fury  of  the  mob. 

Alphonsus  having  made  application  to  Pius  VI.,  for  permis- 
sion to  retire  from  his  office,  that  Pontiff,  was  induced  by  the 
representations  of  many  distinguished  persons  to  accede,  though 
(as  he  said)  with  great  sorrow,  to  the  request  of  Alphonsus,  and 
accept  his  resignation. 

Immediately  that  Alphonsus  had  received  the  welcome  intelli- 
gence, "  Blessed  be  God,"  he  exclaimed,  "  who  has  removed  a 
mountain  from  my  breast  ; "  and,  in  a  few  days  after,  having 
arranged  all  matters  for  his  departure,  left  the  diocese  amid  the 
lamentations  of  the  entire  flock,  and  directed  his  course  towards 
San  Michele  de'  Pagni,  where  there  was  a  house  of  his  Order. 
Having  reached  his  destination,  he  humbly  besought  the  Fathers 
to  receive  him  once  more  amongst  them.  As  he  ascended  the 
stairs,  leading  to  the  choir,  he  repeated  the  "  Gloria  Patri,"  and 
exclaimed,  "  how  light  is  now  this  cross  upon  my  breast,  which 
was  so  heavy  when  I  first  mounted  the  steps  of  the  palace  of 
Sant'  Agata!"  Here  he  lived  completely  after  the  manner  of 
the  other  fathers  of  the  congregation,  attending  all  the  exercises 
where  and  when  it  was  done  by  the  rest  of  the  community. 
Durino-  all  this  time  he  ceased  not  to  compose  works  for  the 
sanctification  of  souls.  Amongst  other  works  composed  and 
published  by  him  after  his  return  to  San  Michele  de'  Pagni,  he 
gave  to  the  world  the  book  entitled  "  Admirable  Dispositions  of 
Divine  Providence,  for  the  Salvation  of  the  World,  through  means 
of  Jesus  Christ  ;  "  and  dedicated  it  to  Pius  VI.,  who  was  pleased  to 
acknowledge  it  as  an  especial  favor,  and  compliment  the  blessed 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  89 

author  in  the  loftiest,  and,  at  the  same  time,  most  affectionate 
strain.  But  the  health  of  Alphonsus,  which  had  been  all  along 
declining,  began  rapidly  to  grow  worse.  From  the  29th  of 
November,  1779,  he  was  unable  to  say  Mass,  and  continued 
thenceforward  to  communicate  in  one  kind  ;  his  manner  of  life 
being,  in  other  respects,  as  before  described, 

Alphonsus  straining  the  crucifix  and  image  of  most  holy  Mary 
to  his  breast,  the  brethren  in  tears  and  prayer  around  him, 
calmly  and  without  struggle  or  contortion,  breathed  forth  his 
blessed  soul,  on  Tuesday,  the  ist  of  August,  1787. 

On  the  2 1  St  day  of  December,  1809,  the  venerable  Pontiff 
Pius  VII.  issued  the  decree  for  the  beatification  of  Alphonsus, 
and  on  the  26th  of  May,  1836,  our  Most  Holy  Father,  Gregory, 
after  having  gone  through  the  glorious  proofs  of  his  sanctity^ 
vouchsafed  to  the  Church  by  the  Almighty,  after  the  beatifica- 
tion of  his  servant,  proceeded  with  the  solemn  ceremony  of 
canonization,  or  enrollment  amongst  the  saints.  He  was  declared 
a  Doctor  of  the  Church  by  Pius  IX.  March  11,  1871. 

ST.    BRUNO. 
Confessor. 

St.  Bruno,  the  founder  of  the  Carthusian  Order  of  Monks, 
was  born  at  Cologne  about  the  year  1030.  He  was  educated  at 
Cologne,  and  afterward  at  Rheims,  where  he  was  appointed  to 
superintend  the  studies  in  all  the  chief  schools  of  the  diocese. 
Such  was  his  reputation  for  learning  that  he  was  looked  upon 
as  the  light  of  churches,  doctor  of  doctors,  the  glory  of  the  two 
nations  of  Germany  and  France,  the  ornament  of  the  age,  the 
model  of  good  men,  and  the  mirror  of  the  world,  to  use  the 
expressions  of  an  ancient  writer.  Many  of  his  pupils  afterward 
became  distinguished  and  in  the  number  was  Pope  Urban  II. 
In  1084,  he  retired  with  six  companions  into  the  desert  of  Char- 
treuse, where  he  built  an  oratory  with  cells  at  a  little  distance 
from  each  other. 

Such  was  the  original  of  the  Order  of  the  Carthusians,  which 
took  its  name  from  this  desert  of  Chartreuse.     They  first  built  a 


90  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

church  on  a  summit,  and  cells  near  it,  in  which  they  lived  two 
together  in  each  cell,  soon  after  single,  meeting  in  church  at  matins 
and  vespers  :  other  hours,  prime,  tierce,  sext,  none,  and  compline, 
they  recited  in  their  cells.  They  never  took  two  refections  in  a 
day,  except  on  the  greatest  festivals,  on  which  they  ate  together 
in  a  refectory.  On  other  days  they  ate  in  their  cells  as  hermits. 
Pulse  was  given  them  in  a  certain  measure  on  days  when  it  was 
allowed  them. 

It  is  hard  to  represent  the  wonderful  life  of  these  holy  ancho- 
rites in  their  desert.  Peter  the  Venerable,  abbot  of  Cluni,  fifty 
years  after  St.  Bruno,  writes  of  them  :  "Their  dress  is  meaner 
and  poorer  than  that  of  other  monks;  so  short  and  scanty,  and 
so  rough,  that  the  very  sight  affrights  one.  They  wear  coarse 
hair  shirts  next  their  skin,  fast  almost  perpetually  ,  eat  only 
bran  bread  ;  never  touch  flesh,  either  sick  or  well  ;  never  buy 
fish,  but  eat  it  if  given  them  as  an  alms  ;  eat  eggs  and  cheese 
on  Sundays  and  Thursdays;  on  Tuesdays  and  Saturdays  their 
fare  is  pulse  or  herbs  boiled  ;  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays  they  take  nothing  but  bread  and  water  ;  and  they  have 
only  one  meal  a  day,  except  within  the  octaves  of  Christmas, 
Easter,  Whitsuntide,  Epiphany,  and  some  other  festivals. 
Their  constant  occupation  is  praying,  reading  and  manual  labor, 
which  consists  chiefly  in  transcribing  books.  They  say  the 
lesser  hours  of  the  divine  ofiflce  in  their  cells  at  the  times  when 
the  bell  rings  ;  .but  meet  together  at  vespers  and  matins  with 
wonderful  recollection.  They  say  mass  only  on  Sundays  and 
festivals."  St.  Bruno  left  his  disciples  fervent  observers  of  those 
customs  and  practices  which  he  had  established  among  them. 
This  institute  has  been  regarded  by  the  pastors  of  the  church  as 
the  most  perfect  model  of  a  penitential  and  contemplative  state, 
in  which  persons  devote  themselves  to  the  most  perfect  sancti- 
fication  of  their  souls,  and  by  their  tears  and  prayers  endeavor 
to  draw  down  the  divine  mercy  on  sinners  and  on  the  whole 
world. 

St.  Bruno  is  styled  by  the  writers  of  that  age  Master  of  the 
Chartreuse,  and  sometimes  prior ;  for,  being  the  person  who  led 
the  rest  into  that  course  of  life,  he  was  looked  upon  by  them  as 


GREAT   DEFENDEflS   OF  THE    FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  9I 

their  superior ;  and  as  he  was  the  most  learned,  so  he  also 
excelled  them  in  the  fervor  of  his  charity,  compunction  and 
humility. 

St.  Bruno  had  not  governed  this  congregation  six  years,  when 
Pope  Urban  II.,  sent  him  a  severe  order  to,  repair  to  Rome, 
that  he  might  assist  him  by  his  counsels  in  the  government  of 
the  church.  The  humble  monk  could  have  scarce  met  with  a 
more  severe  trial  of  his  obedience,  or  made  a  greater  sacrifice. 
Nevertheless,  without  further  deliberation,  he  set  out  in  1089, 
having  nominated  Landuin  prior  at  the  Chartreuse.  St.  Bruno 
was  received  by  the  pope  with  all  imaginable  tokens  of  esteem 
and  affection.  His  holiness  kept  him  in  his  palace,  near  his 
person,  and  consulted  him  in  all  weighty  affairs  of  religion  and 
conscience. 

The  tumult  of  a  court  grew  every  day  more  insupportable  to 
St.  Bruno,  who  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  solitude  and  uninter- 
rupted contemplation,  and  trembled  amidst  the'  distractions  of 
the  world.  The  pope  had  too  great  a  value  for  such  a  friend  to 
grant  his  request  of  returning  to  the  Chartreuse  ;  he  even 
pressed  him  to  accept  the  archbishopric  of  Rheggio,  in  Calabria ; 
but  the  holy  man  excused  himself  with  so  great  earnestness,  and 
redoubled  his  importunities  for  the  liberty  of  living  to  himself 
in  solitude,  that  his  holiness  at  length  thought  he  could  no 
longer  offer  violence  to  his  holy  inclinations,  and  consented  that 
he  miofht  retire  into  some  wilderness  in  the  mountains  of  Cala- 
bria.  The  saint  found  a  convenient  solitude  in  the  diocese  of 
Squillaci,  where  he  settled  in  1090,  with  some  new  disciples 
whom  he  had  gained  in  Rome.  Here  he  betook  himself  to  the 
exercises  of  a  solitary  life  with  more  joy  and  fervor  than  ever. 
Landuin,  prior  of  the  Chartreuse,  went  into  Calabria  to  consult 
St.  Bruno  about  the  form  of  livino;  which  our  saint  had  insti- 
tuted  at  the  Chartreuse  ;  for  those  disciples  were  desirous  not  to 
depart  in  the  least  point  from  the  spirit  and  rule  of  their  holy 
master.  St.  Bruno  wrote  them  an  admirable  letter,  full  of  ten- 
der charity  and  the  spirit  of  God,  which  he  sent  them  by  Lan- 
duin when  he  returned  in  1099.  In  this  letter  he  instructed 
them  all  in  the  practices  of  a  solitary  life,  solved  the   difficulties 


92  GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

which  they  proposed  to  him,  comforted  them  in  their  afflictions, 
and  encouraged  them  to  perseverance  and  watchfulness  against 
all  the  attacks  of  their  enemies. 

The  principal  works  of  St.  Bruno  are  Comments  on  the  Psal- 
ter, and  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  both  of  which  are  demonstrated 
to  be  the  genuine  productions  of  our  saint,  and  answer  the  char- 
acter given  of  St.  Bruno,  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  learned 
men,  not  only  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  but  of  most  others. 
The  elegy  in  fourteen  verses.  On  the  Contempt  of  the  World, 
or  on  the  last  things,  which  was  composed  by  St.  Bruno,  is 
engraved  under  the  picture  of  the  saint  in  the  choir  of  the 
famous  Chartreuse  of  Dijon. 

The  monastery  De  la  Torre,  in  Calabria,  was  the  second  of 
the  Order.  St.  Bruno  continued  by  his  counsels  and  instruc- 
tions at  a  distance,  to  direct  the  monks  of  the  Great  Chartreuse 
in  all  spiritual  and  temporal  emergencies.  He  died  Oct.  6,  iioi. 
He  was  canonized  by  Pope  Leo  X.  in  15 14. 

SAINT    FRANCIS    XAVIER. 
Confessor  and  Apostle  of  the  Indies. 

A  CHARGE  to  go  and  preach  to  all  nations  was  given  by  Christ 
to  his  apostles.  This  commission  the  pastors  of  the  church  have 
faithfully  executed  down  to  this  present  time  ;  and  in  every  age 
have  men  been  raised  by  God,  and  filled  with  his  Holy  Spirit 
for  the  discharge  of  this  important  function,  who,  being  sent  by 
the  authority  of  Christ  and  his  name  by  those  who  have  suc- 
ceeded the  apostles  in  the  government  of  his  church,  have 
brought  new  nations  to  the  fold  of  Christ  for  the  advancement 
of  the  divine  honor,  and  filling  up  the  number  of  the  saints. 
This  conversion  of  nations  accordinor  to  the  divine  commission 
is  the  prerogative  of  the  Catholic  Church,  in  which  it  has  never 
had  any  rival.  Among  those  who  in  the  sixteenth  century 
labored  most  successfully  in  this  great  work,  the  most  illustrious 
was  St.  Francis  Xavier,  the  Thaumaturgus  of  these  later  ages, 
whom  Urban  VHI.  justly  styled  the  apostle  of  the  Indies. 
This  great  saint  was  born  in  Navarre,  at  the  castle  of  Xavier, 


GREAT  DEFENDERS  OF  THE  FAITH  IN  EVERY  AGE.        93 

eight  leagues  from  Pampelona,  in  1506.  His  inclination  deter- 
mined his  parents  to  send  him  to  Paris  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
his  age  ;  where  he  entered  the  college  of  St.  Barbara.  Havino- 
studied  philosophy  two  years  he  proceeded  master  of  arts  ;  then 
taught  philosophy  at  Beauvais  college,  though  he  still  lived  in 
that  of  St.  Barbara. 

St.  Ignatius  came  to  Paris  in  1528  with  a  view  to  finish  his 
studies,  and  after  some  time  entered  himself  pensioner  in  the 
college  of  St.  Barbara.  This  holy  man  had  conceived  a  desire 
of  forming  a  society  wholly  devoted  to  the  salvation  of  souls  ; 
and  being  taken  with  the  qualifications  of  Peter  Faber,  called  in 
French  Le  Fevre,  a  Savoyard,  and  Francis  Xavier,  who  had  been 
school-fellows,  and  still  lived  in  the  same  college,  endeavored  to 
gain  their  concurrence  in  this  holy  project. 

Xavier  after  a  short  resistance  yielded  to  the  spell,  and  was 
one  of  the  little  band  of  seven  persons,  including  Loyala  himself 
who  took  the  original  Jesuit  vows,  and  founded  the  company  on 
Aug.  15,  1534,  In  the  crypt  of  Notre  Dame  de  Montmatre. 

On  November  15,  1536,  they  started  for  Italy  to  concert  with 
Ignatius  (then  in  Spain,  but  purposing  to  join  them)  plans  for  a 
mission  to  convert  the  Moslems  of  Palestine.  They  arrived  at 
Venice  on  the  8th  of  January,  1537,  and  were  much  comforted 
to  meet  there  St.  Ignatius,  by  whose  direction  they  divided 
themselves  to  serve  the  poor  in  two  hospitals  in  that  city,  whilst 
they  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  embark  for  Palestine. 

St.  Francis  was  ordained  priest  in  Venice  upon  St.  John 
Baptist's  Day,  1537. 

In  Lent,  in  1538,  our  saint  was  called  by  St.  Ignatius  to 
Rome,  where  the  fathers  assembled  together  to  deliberate  about 
the  foundation  of  their  Order.  After  waiting  a  whole  year  to 
find  an  opportunity  of  passing  into  Palestine,  and  finding 
execution  of  that  design  impracticable,  on  account  of  the  war 
between  the  Venetians  and  the  Turks,  St.  Ignatius  and  his 
company  offered  themselves  to  his  holiness,  to  be  employed  as 
he  should  judge  most  expedient  in  the  service  of  their  neighbor. 
The  Pope  accepted  their  offer,  and  ordered  them  to  prcacli  and 
instruct  in  Rome  till  he  should  otherwise  employ  them.      Mean- 


94  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

while  John  III.,  King  of  Portugal  had  resolved  sending  a 
mission  to  his  East  Indian  dominions,  and  applied  to  the  Pope 
for  six  Jesuits  to  undertake  the  task.  Ignatius  could  spare  but 
two,  and  one  of  them  having  fallen  sick,  Xavier  took  his  place. 
He  left  Rome  March  15,  1540. 

They  arrived  at  Lisbon  about  the  end  of  June.  At  Lisbon, 
before  he  went  on  board,  the  king  delivered  to  him  four  briefs 
from  the  Pope  ;  in  two  of  which  his  holiness  constituted  Xavier 
apostolic  nuncio,  with  ample  power  and  authority  ;  in  the  third, 
he  recommended  him  to  David,  Emperor  of  Ethiopia  ;  and  in 
the  fourth  to  other  princes  in  the  East.  No  importunities  of 
the  king  or  his  officers  could  prevail  on  the  saint  to  accept  of 
any  provisions  or  necessaries,  except  a  few  books  for  the  use  of 
converts. 

The  saint  set  sail  on  the  7th  of  April,  in  the  year  1541,  the 
thirty-sixth  of  his  age,  on  board  the  admiral's  vessel,  which 
carried  Don  Martin  Alfonso  de  Sousa,  General-Governor  of  the 
Indies,  who  went  with  five  ships  to  take  possession  of  his 
government.  They  landed  at  Goa,  on  the  6th  of  May,  in  1542, 
in  the  thirteenth  month  from  their  setting  out  from  Lisbon. 

The  saint  presented  to  the  Bishop  of  Goa  the  briefs  of  Paul 
III.,  declared  that  he  pretended  not  to  use  them  without  his 
approbation,  and  casting  himself  at  his  feet,  begged  his  bless- 
ing. The  situations  of  those  countries  was  deplorable  when 
St.  Francis  Xavier  appeared  among  them  as  a  new  star  to  en- 
lighten so  many  infidel  nations.  Having  spent  the  morning  in 
assisting  and  comforting  the  distressed  in  the  hospitals  and 
prisons,  he  walked  through  all  the  streets  of  Goa,  with  a  bell  in 
his  hand,  summoning  all  masters,  for  the  love  of  God,  to  send 
their  children  and  slaves  to  catechism.  The  little  children  gath- 
ered together  in  crowds  about  him,  and  he  led  them  to  the 
church,  and  taught  them  the  creed  and  practices  of  devotion, 
and  impressed  on  their  tender  minds  strong  sentiments  of  piety 
and  religion.  By  the  modesty  and  devotion  of  the  youth,  the 
whole  town  began  to  change  its  face,  and  the  most  abandoned 
sinners  began  to  blush  at  vice. 

The  reformation  of  the  whole  city  of  Goa  was  accomplished 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IX    EVERY    AGE.  95 

in  half  a  year,  when  the  saint  was  informed,  that,  on  the  coast 
of  La  Pescaria,  or  the  Pearl  Fishery,  which  is  extended  from 
Cape  Comorin  to  the  isle  of  Manar,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
peninsula,  there  were  certain  people  called  Paravas,  that  is,  fish- 
ers, who  some  time  ago,  in  order  to  please  the  Portuguese,  who 
had  succored  them  against  the  Moors,  had  caused  themselves 
to  be  baptized,  but,  for  want  of  instructions,  retained  their 
superstitions  and  vices.  Xavier,  taking  with  him  two  young 
ecclesiastics,  embarked  in  October,  in  1542,  and  sailed  to  Cape 
Comorin,  which  faces  the  isle  of  Ceylon,  and  is  about  six  hun- 
dred miles  from  Goa.  Here,  St.  Francis  went  into  a  village 
full  of  idolaters,  and  preached  Jesus  Christ  to  them.  Most  of 
the  chief  persons  of  the  country  listened  to  his  doctrine,  and 
heartily  embraced  the  faith.  The  servant  of  God  proceeded  to 
the  Pear  Coast,  set  himself  first  to  instruct  and  confirm  those 
who  had  been  formerly  baptized  ;  and,  to  succeed  in  this  under- 
taking, he  was  at  some  pains  to  make  himself  more  perfectly 
master  of  the  Malabar  tongue.  Then  he  preached  to  those 
Paravas  to  whom  the  name  of  Christ  was  till  that  time  un- 
known ;  and  so  great  were  the  multitudes  which  he  baptized, 
that  sometimes  by  the  bare  fatigue  of  administering  that  sacra- 
ment, he  was  scarce  able  to  move  his  arm,  according  to  the  ac- 
count which  he  gave  to  his  brethren  in  Europe. 

He  had  labored  about  fifteen  months  in  the  conversion  of  the 
Paravas,  when,  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1543,  he  was  obliged 
to  return  to  Goa  to  procure  assistants.  The  seminary  of  the 
faith  which  had  been  founded  there  for  the  education  of  young 
Indians,  was  committed  to  his  care,  and  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  Society.  The  saint  enlarged  it,  and  made  prudent  regula- 
tions for  the  government  and  direction  of  the  youth  ;  and,  from 
this  time,  it  was  called  the  seminary  of  St.  Paul.  The  following 
year  he  returned  to  the  Paravas  with  a  supply  of  evangelical 
laborers,  as  well  Indians  as  Europeans,  whom  he  stationed  in 
different  towns  ;  and  some  he  carried  with  him  into  the  kin^fdom 
of  Travancor,  where,  as  he  testifies  in  one  of  his  letters,  he  bap- 
tized ten  thousand  Indians  with  his  own  hand  in  one  month,  and 
sometimes  a  whole  village    received    the  sacrament  of  regenera- 


96 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 


tion  in  one  day.  When  the  holy  man  first  penetrated  into  the 
island  provinces  of  the  Indians,  being  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
language  of  the  people,  he  could  only  baptize  children,  and  serve 
the  sick,  who,  by  signs,  could  signify  what  they  wanted,  as  he 
wrote  to  F.  Mansilla.  Whilst  he  exercised  his  zeal  in  Travancor 
God  first  communicated  to  him  the  gift  of  tongues,  according  to 
the  relation  of  a  young  Portuguese  of  Coimbra,  named  Vaz,  who 
attended  him  in  many  of  his  journeys.  He  spoke  very  well  the 
lano-uacre  of  those  barbarians  without  havino-  learned  it,  and  had 
no  need  of  an  interpreter  when  he  instructed  them.  He  some- 
times preached  to  five  or  six  thousand  persons  together,  in  some 
spacious  plain.  The  saint  narrowly  escaped  the  snares  which 
were  sometimes  laid  by  Brahmans  and  others  to  take  away  his 
life  ;  and  when  the  Badages,  a  tribe  of  savages  and  public  robbers, 
having  plundered  many  other  places,  made  inroads  into  Travan- 
cor. he  marched  up  to  the  enemy,  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hand,  at 
the  head  of  a  small  troop  of  fervent  Christians,  and,  with  a  com- 
manding air,  bade  them,  in  the  name  of  the  living  God,  not  to 
pass  further,  but  to  return  the  way  they  came.  His  words  cast 
such  a  terror  into  the  minds  of  the  leaders  who  were  at  the  head 
of  the  barbarians,  that  they  stood  some  time  confounded,  and 
without  motion;  then  retired  in  disorder,  and  quitted  the 
country.  This  action  procured  St.  Francis  the  protection  of  the 
King  of  Travancor,  and  the  surname  of  the  Great  Father.  His 
miracles  made  so  great  impressions  on  the  people,  that  the  whole 
kingdom  of  Travancor  was  subjected  to  Christ  in  a  few  months, 
except  the  king  and  some  of  his  courtiers. 

The  saint,  after  he  had  made  a  journey  to  Cochin,  upon  busi- 
ness, visited  Manar,  and  settled  there  a  numerous  church  ;  in  a 
journey  of  devotion,  which  he  took  to  Meliapor,  to  implore  the 
intercession  of  the  apostle  St.  Thomas,  he  converted  many  dis- 
solute livers  in  that  place.  Afterwards,  intending  to  pass  to  the 
island  of  Macassar,  he  sailed  to  Malacca,  a  famous  mart,  in  the 
peninsula  beyond  the  Ganges,  to  which  all  the  Indies,  and  also 
the  Arabs,  Persians,  Chinese,  and  Japanians,  resorted  for  trade. 
The  saint  arrived  here  on  the  25th  of  September,  1545,  and,  by 
the    irresistible    force  of  his    zeal    and    miracles,   reformed  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  97 

debauched  manners  of  the  Christians  and  converted  many  pagans 
and  Mahometans.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1548  he  landed 
in  Ceylon,  where  he  converted  great  numbers,  with  two  kings. 

Arriving  at  Goa,  he  instructed  Angeroo,  a  Japanese,  and 
many  others,  and  took  a  resolution  to  go  to  Japan.  F.  Caspar 
Barzia,  and  four  other  Jesuits,  arrived  at  that  time  at  Goa  from 
Europe,  whom  the  saint  stationed,  and  then  set  out  for  Malacca, 
intending  to  proceed  to  Japan.  After  a  short  stay  at  Malacca, 
he  went  on  board  a  Chinese  vessel,  and  arrived  at  Cangoxima, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Saxuma,  in  Japan,  on  the  15th  of  August, 
1549,  having  with  him  Angeroo,  who  had  been  baptized  with 
two  of  his  domestics  at  Goa,  and  was  called  Paul  of  the  holy 
faith.  Meeting  with  a  most  gracious  and  honorable  reception, 
he  obtained  the  king's  leave  to  preach  the  faith  to  his  subjects  ; 
of  which  he  made  so  good  use  that  he  converted  a  great  number. 

After  a  year  spent  at  Cangoxima,  with  his  usual  success,  the 
saint,  in  1550,  went  to  Firando,  the  capital  of  another  petty 
kingdom  ;  for  the  King  of  Saxuma,  incensed  at  the  Portuguese 
because  they  had  abandoned  his  port  to  carry  on  their  trade 
chiefly  at  Firando,  had  withdrawn  the  license  he  had  granted 
the  saint,  and  began  to  persecute  the  Christians.  At  Firando, 
Xavier  baptized  more  infidels  in  twenty  days  than  he  had  done 
at  Cangoxima  in  a  whole  year.  These  converts  he  left  under 
the  care  of  one  of  the  Jesuits  that  accompanied  him,  and  set  out 
for  Meaco  with  one  Jesuit,  and  two  Japanian  Christians.  They 
went  by  sea  to  Facata,  and  from  thence  embarked  for  Amangu- 
chi,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Naugato,  famous  for  the  rich- 
est silver  mines  in  Japan.  He  preached  with  such  fruit,  that  he 
baptized  three  thousand  persons  in  that  city,  with  whom  he  left 
two  Jesuits,  who  were  his  companions,  to  give  the  finishing  to 
their  instruction.  At  Amanofuchi  God  restored  to  St.  Francis 
the  gift  of  tongues  ;  for  he  preached  often  to  the  Chinese  mer- 
chants who  traded  there,  in  their  mother-tongue,  which  he  had 
never  learned. 

St.  PVancis,  recommending  the  new  Christians  here  to  two 
fathers  whom  he  left  behind,  left  Amanguchi,  toward  the  middle 
of  September,  in  1551,  and,  with  two  Japanian  Christians,  who 


98  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

had  suffered  with  joy  the  confiscation  of  their  goods  for  chang. 
ino-  their  reHgion,  travelled  on  foot  to  Fuceo,  the  residence  of 
the  King  of  Bungo,  who  was  very  desirous  to  see  him,  and  gave 
him  a  most  gracious  reception.  Here  the  saint  publicly  con- 
futed the  Bonzas,  who,  upon  motives  of  interest,  everywhere 
strenuously  opposed  his  preaching,  though,  even  among  them, 
some  were  converted.  The  saint's  public  sermons  and  private 
conversations  had  their  due  effect  among  the  people,  and  vast 
multitudes  desired  to  be  instructed  and  baptized.  Our  saint 
embarked  to  return  to  India,  on  the  20th  of  November,  1551, 
having  continued  in  Japan  two  years  and  four  months.  To  cul- 
tivate this  growing  mission,  he  sent  thither  three  Jesuits,  who 
were  shortly  followed  by  others.  It  had  been  often  objected  to 
him  that  the  learned  and  wise  men  in  China  had  not  embraced 
the  faith  of  Christ.  This  circumstance  first  inspired  him  with 
an  earnest  desire  that  the  name  of  Christ  might  be  glorified  in 
that  flourishing  empire ;  and,  full  of  a  zealous  project  of  under- 
taking that  great  enterprise,  he  left  Japan.  At  Malacca  he  was 
received  with  the  greatest  joy  that  can  be  imagined,  and  he  im- 
mediately set  himself  to  contrive  how  he  might  compass  his 
intended  journey  to  China.  The  greatest  difficulty  was,  that 
besides  the  ill-understanding  which  was  betwixt  China  and 
Portugal,  it  was  forbidden  to  strangers,  on  pain  of  death,  or  of 
perpetual  imprisonment,  to  set  foot  in  that  kingdom.  To 
remove  that  obstacle,  St.  Francis  discoursed  with  the  old  gov- 
ernor of  Malacca,  Don  Pedro  de  Sylva,  and  with  the  new  one, 
Don  Alvarez  d'Atayda,  and  it  was  agreed  that  an  embassy 
miorht  be  sent  in  the  name  of  the  Kinor  of  Portugral  to  China  to 
settle  a  commerce,  with  which  the  saint  might  with  safety  land 
in  that  kingdom.      In  the  meantime  the  saint  set  out  for  Goa. 

Xavier  reached  Goa  in  the  beginning  of  February,  and  hav- 
ing paid  a  visit  to  the  hospitals,  went  to  the  College  of  St.  Paul, 
where  he  cured  a  dying  man.  The  missionaries  whom  he  had 
dispersed  before  his  departure,  had  spread  the  gospel  on  every 
side.  F.  Caspar  Barzia  had  converted  almost  the  whole  city 
and  island  of  Ormuz.  Christianity  flourished  exceedingly  on 
the  coast  of  the  pearl  fishery,  and  had  made  great  progress  at 


GREAT    DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  99 

Cochin,  Coulan,  Bazain,  Meliapor,  in  the  Moluccas,  the  isles 
of  Moro,  etc.  The  King  of  Tanor,  whose  dominions  lay  on  the 
coast  of  Malabar,  had  been  baptized  at  Goa.  The  King  of 
Trichenamalo,  one  of  the  sovereigns  of  Ceylon,  also  embraced 
the  faith.  The  progress  of  the  faith  in  many  other  places  was 
such  as  gave  the  greatest  subject  of  joy  to  the  holy  man.  Xa- 
vier  appointed  F.  Barzia,  a  person  of  eminent  piety,  rector 
of  Goa  and  vice-provincial,  sent  new  preachers  into  all  the  mis- 
sions on  this  side  the  Ganges,  and  obtained  of  the  viceroy,  Don 
Alphonso  de  Norogna,  a  commission  for  his  good  friend,  James 
Pereyra,  to  ,go  on  an  embassy  to  China.  Having  settled  all 
affairs  at  Goa,  he  made  the  most  tender  and  ardent  exhortations 
to  his  religious  brethren,  then  leaving  F.  Barzia  vice-provincial, 
set  sail  on  the  14th  of  April,  in  1552,  and  landing  at  Malacca, 
found  the  town  afflicted  with  a  most  contagious  pestilential 
fever.  When  the  mortality  had  almost  ceased,  the  saint  treated 
about  the  embassy  to  China  with  the  Governor  of  Malacca,  on 
whom  Don  Alphonso  de  Norogna  (the  fifth  Viceroy  and  seven- 
teenth Governor  of  the  Indies)  had  reposed  the  trust  of  that 
affair.  Xavier  determined  to  go  on  board  of  a  Portuguese  ship 
that  was  setting  sail  for  the  isle  of  Sancian,  a  small  barren  island 
near  Macao,  on  the  coast  of  China.  On  the  twenty-third  day 
after  the  ship's  departure  from  Malacca,  he  arrived  at  Sancian, 
where  the  Chinese  permitted  the  Portuguese  to  come  and  buy 
their  commodities.  When  the  project  of  the  embassy  had  failed, 
St.  Francis  had  sent  the  three  Jesuits  he  had  taken  for  his  com- 
panions into  Japan,  and  retained  with  him  only  a  brother  of  the 
Society  (who  was  a  Chinese,  and  had  taken  the  habit  at  Goa,) 
and  a  young  Indian.  He  hoped  to  find  means  with  only  two 
companions  to  land  secretly  in  China. 

Whilst  the  voyage  was  deferred  Xavier  fell  sick,  and  when 
the  Portuguese  vessels  were  all  gone  except  one,  was  reduced  to 
extreme  want  of  all  necessaries.  A  fever  seized  the  saint  a  sec- 
ond time  on  the  20th  of  November,  and  at  the  same  time  he 
had  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  day  and  hour  of  his  death,  which 
he  openly  declared  to  a  friend,  who  afterwards  made  an  authen- 
tic deposition  of  it  by   a    solemn  oath.     At   last,   on   the  2d  of 


lOO  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

December,  which  fell  on  Friday,  having  his  eyes  all  bathed  in 
tears,  and  fixed  with  great  tenderness  of  soul  upon  his  crucifix, 
he  pronounced  these  words,  "  In  thee,  O  Lord,  I  have  hoped  ; 
I  shall  not  be  confounded  forever;"  and,  at  the  same  instant, 
transported  with  celestial  joy,  which  appeared  upon  his  counte- 
nance, he  sweetly  gave  up  the  ghost,  in  1552.  Though  he  was 
only  forty-six  years  old,  of  which  he  had  passed  ten  and  a  half 
in  the  Indies,  his  continual  labors  had  made  him  gray  betimes, 
and  in  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  was  grizzled  almost  to  white- 
ness. By  order  of  King  John  III.  a  verbal  process  of  the  life 
and  miracles  of  the  man  of  God  was  made  with  the  utmost 
accuracy  at  Goa,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  Indies.  Many 
miracles  were  wrought,  through  his  intercession,  in  several  parts 
of  the  Indies  and  Europe,  confessed  by  several  Protestants ;  and 
Tavernier  calls  him  the  St.  Paul,  and  the  true  apostle  of  the 
Indies.  St.  Francis  was  beatified  by  Paul  V.  in  1554,  and  can- 
onized by  Gregory  XV.,  in  1662.  By  an  order  of  John  V., 
King  of  Portugal,  the  Archbishop  of  Goa,  attended  by  the 
viceroy,  the  Marquis  of  Castle  Nuovo,  in  1744,  performed  a 
visitation  of  the  relics  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  ;  at  which  time 
the  body  was  found  without  the  least  bad  smell,  and  seemed 
environed  with  a  kind  of  shining  brightness  ;  and  the  face, 
hands,  breast,  and  feet  had  not  suffered  the  least  alteration,  or 
symptom  of  corruption.  In  1747,  the  same  king  obtained  a 
brief  of  Benedict  XIV.,  by  which  St.  Francis  Xavier  is  honored 
with  the  title  of  patron  and  protector  of  all  the  countries  in  the 
East  Indies. 

ST.    CHARLES    BORROMEO. 
Cardinal,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  and  Confessor. 

St.  Charles  Borromeo,  the  model  of  pastors,  and  the  re- 
former of  ecclesiastical  discipline  in  these  degenerate  ages,  was 
son  of  Gilbert  Borromeo,  Count  of  Arona,  Margaret  of  Medi- 
cis,  sister  to  John  James  of  Medicis,  Marquis  of  Marignan,  and 
of  Cardinal  John  Angelus  of  Medicis,  afterwards  Pope  Pius 
IV.  The  saint's  parents  were  remarkable  for  their  discretion 
and  piety. 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN'EVERY   AGE.  lOI 

St.  Charles  was  born  on  the  2d  of  October,  in  1538,  In  the 
castle  of  Arona,  upon  the  borders  of  Lake-Major,  fourteen  miles 
from  Milan.  The  saint  in  his  infancy  gave  proofs  of  his  future 
sanctity,  loved  prayer,  was  from  the  beginning  very  diligent  in 
his  studies ;  and  it  was  his  usual  amusement  to  build  little 
chapels,  adorn  altars,  and  sing  the  divine  ofhce.  By  his  happy 
inclination  to  piety  and  love  of  ecclesiastical  functions,  his 
parents  judged  him  to  be  designed  by  God  for  the  clerical  state, 
and  initiated  him  in  it  as  soon  as  his  age  would  allow  him  to 
receive  the  tonsure.  When  he  was  twelve  years  old,  his  uncle, 
Julius  Csesar  Borromeo,  resigned  to  him  the  rich  Benedictine 
abbey  of  SS.  Gratinian  and  Felin,  martyrs,  in  the  territory  of 
Arona,  the  revenue  of  which  he  applied  wholly  in  charity  to  the 
poor.  St.  Charles  learned  Latin  and  humanity  at  Milan,  and 
was  afterwards  sent  by  his  father  to  the  university  of  Pavia, 
where  he  studied  the  civil  and  canon  law  under  Francis  Alciat, 
the  eminent  civilian.  His  father's  death  brought  him  to  Milan 
in  1558  ;  but  when  he  had  settled  the  affairs  of  his  family  with 
surprising  prudence  and  address,  he  went  back  to  Pavia,  and 
after  completing  his  studies,  took  the  degree  of  doctor  in  the 
laws  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1559. 

In  1559,  his  uncle  Cardinal  de  Medici  was  raised  to  the  Pon- 
tificate by  the  name  of  Pius  IV.,  and  St.  Charles  was  made  pro- 
thonotary,  entrusted  with  both  the  public  and  privy  seal  of  the 
ecclesiastical  state,  created  cardinal  deacon,  and  soon  after  raised 
to  the  archbishopric  of  Milan.  He  established  an  academy  of 
learned  persons,  and  published  their  memoirs  as  the  N'octes 
Vaticanae.  About  the  same  time  he  also  founded  and  endowed 
a  college  at  Pavia,  which  he  dedicated  to  Justina,  virgin  and 
martyr. 

St.  Charles  judged  it  so  far  necessary  to  conform  to  the 
custorfi  of  the  court  as  to  have  a  magnificent  palace  well  fur- 
nished, to  keep  a  sumptuous  equipage,  and  a  table  suitable  to 
his  rank,  and  to  give  entertainments.  Yet  he  was  in  his  heart 
most  perfectly  disengaged  from  all  these  things,  most  mortified 
in  his  senses,  humble,  meek,  and  patient  in  all  his  conduct 
Honored  and  caressed  by  the  whole   Christian  world,  having  in 


I02  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE. 

his  power  the  distribution  of  riches  and  honors,  and  enjoying 
himself  whatever  the  world  could  bestow,  he  considered  in  all  this 
nothing  but  dangers  ;  and  far  from  taking  any  delight  herein, 
watched  with  trembling  over  his  own  heart  lest  any  subtle 
poison  of  the  love  of  the  world  should  insinuate  itself,  and  in 
all  things  sought  only  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  council  of  Trent,  which  had  been  often  interrupted 
and  resumed,  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  1563,  the  last  session 
being  held  on  the  5th  of  December,  in  which  the  decree  of  all  the 
former  sessions  under  Paul  III.,  Julius  III.,  and  Pius  IV.,  were 
confirmed,  and  subscribed.  No  sooner  was  it  finished  but  St. 
Charles  began  strenuously  to  enforce  the  execution  of  all  its 
decrees  for  the  reformation  of  discipline.  At  his  instigation, 
the  pope  pressed  earnestly  all  bishops  to  found  seminaries 
according  to  the  decree  of  the  council,  and  set  the  example  by 
establishing  such  a  seminary  at  Rome,  the  care  of  which  was 
committed  to  the  Jesuits.  In  opposition  to  the  new  errors  his 
holiness  published,  in  1564,  the  creed  which  bears  his  name,  and 
commanded  all  who  are  preferred  to  ecclesiastical  livings,  digni- 
ties, etc.,  to  subscribe  the  same. 

Pope  Pius  IV.  died  on  the  loth  of  December,  in  1565.  In 
the  conclave,  in  which  St.  Charles  had  much  the  greatest  sway, 
our  saint's  skill  and  diligence  contributed  to  harmony  of  action. 
St.  Pius  V.  who  was  chosen  on  the  7th  of  January,  in  1566,  did  all 
in  his  power  to  engage  St.  Charles  to  stay  at  Rome,  and  accept 
of  the  same  employments  which  he  had  enjoyed  under  his  pred- 
ecessor. But  the  holy  archbishop  feared  that  even  to  resign 
his  church  without  havinof  remedied  the  disorders  which  had 
taken  root  in  it,  would  have  been  to  abandon  it ;  and  pressed 
his  return  to  his  people  with  such  zeal  that  the  pope,  after  hav- 
ing taken  his  advice  for  several  days,  dismissed  him  with  his 
blessing. 

St.  Charles  arrived  at  Milan  in  April,  1566,  and  went  vigor- 
ously to  work  for  the  reformation  of  his  diocese.  At  Milan  he 
removed  out  of  his  palace  the  fine  sculptures,  paintings,  and 
hangings,  and  especially  the  arms  of  his  family,  which  some  had 
put  up  before  his  arrival  ;  nor  would  he  suffer  his  name  or  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGA.  103 

arms  of  his  family,  but  only  those  of  his  bishopric,  to  be  set  up 
upon  any  edifices  which  he  raised.  Under  his  robes  he  wore  a 
very  poor  garment  which  he  called  his  own,  and  which  was  so 
mean,  and  usually  so  old  and  ragged,  that  once  a  beggar  refused 
to  accept  of  it.  His  servants  he  chiefly  •  employed  in  other 
affairs,  but  did  everything  for  himself  that  he  could,  and  it  was 
his  deligfht  even  to  serve  others  ;  though  he  did  this  in  such  a 
manner  as  never  to  do  any  thing  unbecoming  his  dignity,  being 
sensible  what  he  owed  to  his  rank.  The  least  shadow  of  praise 
or  flattery  was  most  hateful  to  him.  All  supernatural  favors 
and  interior  graces  and  consolations  which  he  received  in  prayer, 
he  was  most  careful  to  conceal  ;  and  he  had  a  little  cell  in  the 
garrets  of  his  palace  at  a  distance  from  the  chambers  of  others, 
to  which  he  often  retired.  He  never  spoke  of  his  own  actions 
unless  to  ask  advice  or  to  condemn  himself.  It  was  an  extreme 
pleasure  to  him  to  converse  with,  and  to  catechise  the  poor, 
which  he  did  among  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  wildest  moun- 
tains. The  Bishop  of  Ferrara  coming  to  meet  him  when  he  was 
occupied  in  the  visitation  of  a  poor  valley,  found  him  sick  of  an 
ague,  lying  on  a  coarse  bed  in  a  very  poor  cottage.  At  the 
sight,  he  was  so  struck  as  to  be  scarce  able  to  speak.  St. 
Charles  perceiving  his  confusion,  told  him  he  was  treated  very 
well,  and  much  better  than  he  deserved.  The  accent  with 
which  he  spoke  this  astonished  the  bishop  much  more  than  what 
he  saw.  If  he  was  put  in  mind  of  any  fault,  he  expressed  the 
most  sincere  gratitude  ;  and  he  gave  a  commission  to  two  pru- 
dent and  pious  priests  of  his  household  to  put  him  in  mind  of 
every  thing  they  saw  amiss  in  his  actions,  and  he  often  begged 
that  favor  of  strangers.  The  sweetness  and  gravity  with  which 
he  reproved  or  exhorted  others  was  the  fruit  of  his  sincere 
humility  and  charity.  From  his  childhood  mildness  seemed  to 
form  his  character,  and  even  in  his  youth  he  seemed  never  to 
feel  any  emotion  of  anger  against  school-fellows  or  others.  This 
virtue  was  daily  more  and  more  perfected  in  him  as  he  advanced 
in  the  victory  over  himself.  The  most  atrocious  injuries,  even  ac- 
cusations sent  to  the  King  of  Spain  against  him,  and  the  blackest 
actions  of  ingratitude  never  discomposed  his  mind  ;  and  defama- 


104  GREAT   DEFE>^DERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

tory  libels  published  against  him  he  burnt  without  reading  them, 
or  inquiring  after  the  authors.  A  certain  priest  who  took  de- 
light in  finding  fault  with  his  actions  he  kept  constantly  in  his 
family,  treated  him  with  the  greatest  regard,  and  in  his  will  left 
hirti  a  pension  for  life  upon  his  estate.  The  saint's  tongue  was 
always  the  interpreter  of  his  heart ;  his  candor  and  sincerity 
appeared  in  all  his  words  and  transactions,  and  his  promises 
were  inviolable.  The  confidence  which  every  one  on  this 
account  reposed  in  him  showed  the  incomparable  advantage 
which  a  character  of  strict  sincerity  and  veracity  gives  over  lying 
and  hypocrisy,  which  the  saint  could  never  bear  in  any  one.  He 
refused  dispensations  and  grants  which  seemed  unjust,  with 
invincible  firmness,  but  with  so  much  sweetness  as  to  make  the 
parties  themselves  enter  into  his  reasons. 

The  management  of  his  temporalities  he  left  entirely  to 
stewards  of  approved  probity  and  experience,  whose  accounts  he 
took  once  a  year.  To  inspire  his  clergy  with  the  love  of  holy 
poverty,  he  severely  reproved  even  bishops  who  discovered  a 
spirit  of  interestedness  ;  and  he  used  to  repeat  to  them  the 
prayer  of  St.  Austin,  who  often  begged  of  God  that  he  would 
take  from  his  heart  the  love  of  riches,  which  strangely  with- 
draws a  man  from  the  love  of  God,  and  alienates  his  affections 
from  spiritual  exercises  ;  certainly  nothing  can  be  baser  in  a 
minister  of  the  altar,  or  more  unworthy  and  more  contrary  to 
his  character  than  that  foul  passion.  When  others  told  him  he 
ought  to  have  a  garden  at  Milan  to  take  the  air  in,  his  answer 
was,  that  the  holy  scriptures  ought  to  be  the  garden  of  a  bishop. 
If  any  spoke  to  him  of  fine  palaces  or  gardens,  he  said,  We 
ouorht  to  build  and  to  think  of  eternal  houses  in  heaven.  When 
he  came  to  reside  at  Milan,  though  his  revenues  when  he  left 
Rome  amounted  to  above  one  hundred  thousand  crowns  a  year, 
including  his  legations  or  governments,  he  reduced  them  to 
twenty  thousand  crowns,  for  he  reserved  nothing  besides  the 
income  of  his  archbishopric,  the  pension  which  the  King  of 
Spain  had  granted  him,  and  a  pension  upon  his  own  estate. 
His  other  benefices  he  resigned,  or  converted  into  colleges  and 
seminaries  for  the  education  of  youth.      He  made  over  the  Mar- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  105 

quisate  of  Romagonora,  to  Frederic  Ferrier,  his  kinsman,  and 
his  other  estates  in  the  Milanese  to  his  uncles,  the  counts  of 
Borromeo,  those  estates  being  feoffments,  or  perpetual  entails 
in  the  family,  though  his  for  life.  The  principality  of  Oria,  in 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  yielded  him  ten  thousand  ducats 
a  year  for  his  life,  he  sold  for  forty  thousand  crowns,  which  sum 
was  brought  to  his  palace,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  sale. 
But  he  could  not  bear  the  thouo-ht  of  a  treasure  lodored  in  a 
bishop's  house,  and  ordered  his  almoner  to  distribute  the  whole 
without  delay  among  the  poor  and  the  hospitals.  When  the 
list  which  the  almoner  showed  him  for  the  distribution  amounted 
by  mistake  to  forty-two  thousand  crowns,  the  saint  said  the  mis- 
take was  too  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  poor  to  be  corrected^ 
and  the  forty-two  thousand  crowns  were  accordingly  distributed 
in  one  day.  When  the  officers  of  King  Philip  II.  seized  the 
castle  of  Arona  for  the  crown,  in  which  a  garrison  was  always 
kept,  and  which  was  the  most  honorable  title  of  the  family  of 
Borromeo  and  of  the  whole  country,  the  saint  could  not  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  send  any  remonstrances  to  the  court,  or  to  make 
interest  to  recover  it.  Upon  the  death  of  his  brother,  Frederic, 
he  caused  the  rich  furniture,  jewels,  paintings,  and  other  pre- 
cious effects,  to  be  sold  at  Rome,  Milan,  and  Venice,  and  the 
price,  which  amounted  to  thirty  thousand  crowns,  he  gave  to 
the  poor.  When  he  came  first  to  reside  at  Milan,  he  sold  plate 
and  other  effects  to  the  value  of  thirty  thousand  crowns,  and 
applied  the  whole  sum  for  the  relief  of  distressed  families  in 
that  diocese.  Count  Frederic's  widow,  Virginia,  of  Rouera,  left 
him  by  will  a  legacy  of  twenty  thousand  crowns,  which  he  made 
over  to  the  poor  without  touching  a  farthing  of  it.  His  chief 
almoner,  who  was  a  pious  priest,  named  Julius  Petrucci,  was 
ordered  to  give  among  the  poor  of  Milan,  of  whom  he  kept  an 
exact  list,  two  hundred  crowns  a  month,  besides  whatever  extra- 
ordinary sums  he  should  call  upon  the  stewards  for,  which  were 
very  frequent,  and  so  great  that  they  were  obliged  to  contract 
considerable  debts  to  satisfy  them,  of  which  they  often  com- 
plained to  St.  Charles,  but  could  not  prevail  with  him  to  moder- 
ate his  alms.  The  saint  would  never  suffer  any  beggar  to  be 
dismissed  without  some  alms,  wherever  he  was. 


Io6  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

Hospitality  the  saint  looked  upon  as  a  bishop's  indispensable 
duty,  and  he  was  most  obliging  and  liberal  in  entertaining 
princes,  prelates,  and  strangers  of  all  ranks,  but  often  at  the 
table  at  which  his  upper  family  ate  all  together,  and  without 
dainties  or  luxury;  and  he  endeavored  as  much  as  possible  to 
conceal  his  own  abstemiousness  ;  of  which  he  would  not  suffer 
the  least  sign  to  be  given  or  notice  taken,  every  one  being  free 
to  eat  as  he  pleased  at  his  table.  His  liberality  appears  in  many 
monuments  which  yet  remain  at  Rome,  Milan,  and  in  many 
parts  of  that  diocese.  The  Church  of  St.  Praxedes,  at  Rome, 
which  gave  him  the  title  of  cardinal,  was  magnificently  repaired 
and  almost  rebuilt  by  him.  He  adorned  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary  Major,  of  which  he  was  arch-priest.  At  Bologna,  whilst 
he  was  legate  there,  he  built  the  public  schools  in  a  stately  and 
finished  manner,  with  a  beautiful  fountain  in  the  middle  of  the 
city.  At  Milan  he  did  many  things  to  adorn  the  metropolitical 
church,  and  built  houses  for  all  the  canons  of  an  admirable  arch- 
itecture, with  a  subterraneous  passage,  for  them  to  go  to  the 
church  without  being  seen  by  any  one  ;  also  a  dwelling  place  for 
the  rest  of  the  clergy  of  that  church  ;  and  the  archiepiscopal 
palace,  chapel,  prisons  and  stables;  the  great  seminary  of  Milan, 
and  two  other  seminaries  there  ;  three  more  in  other  parts  of 
the  diocese ;  the  convent  of  Capuchins  (whom  he  established  at 
Milan),  with  apartments  for  his  clergy  to  make  retreats  there, 
near  one  of  his  seminaries.  He  settled  at  Milan  the  Theatins  ; 
also  the  Jesuits,  whose  college  of  Brera  he  founded  at  Milan, 
and  to  whom  he  made  over,  for  the  foundation  of  their  novitiate, 
his  abbey  of  St.  Gratinian,  at  Arona.  It  would  be  tedious  to 
enumerate  the  pious  settlements  he  made  for  his  Oblats,  and  the 
churches,  hospitals,  and  other  public  buildings  which  he  repaired 
or  adorned.  The  revenues  of  his  archbishopric  he  divided  into 
three  parts,  one  of  which  was  appropriated  to  his  household^ 
another  to  the  poor,  and  the  third  to  the  reparation  of  churches  ; 
and  the  account  of  these  revenues,  to  the  last  farthing,  he  laid 
before  his  provincial  councils,  saying  he  was  no  more  than  the 
administrator  and  steward. 

It  was  a  rule,  which  he  inviolably  observed,  to  go  every  morn- 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE.  107 

ing  to  confession,  before  he  said  mass,  and  to  make  a  spiritual  re- 
treat twice  every  year.  It  happened  once  that  in  giving  the  holy 
communion  at  Brescia,  by  the  fault  of  him  who  served  at  mass, 
he  let  the  host  fall ;  for  which,  in  the  deepest  compunction  and 
humiliation,  he  fasted  most  rigorously  eight  days,  and  abstained 
four  days  from  saying  mass.  Except  on  this  occasion  he  never 
omitted  to  say  mass  every  day,  even  in  his  journeys  and  the 
greatest  hurries  of  business,  unless  in  extreme  fits  of  illness,  and 
then  he  at  least  received  every  day  the  holy  communion.  Out 
of  respect  and  devotion  to  the  adorable  sacrifice  he  always  kept 
a  rigorous  silence  (unless  some  important  business  intervened), 
from  the  evening  prayer  and  meditation  till  the  next  day  after 
mass,  and  his  long  thanksgiving.  He  prepared  himself  to  offer 
the  sacrifice  by  the  sacrament  of  penance,  and  by  many  vocal 
and  mental  prayers ;  and  used  to  say  that  it  was  unbecoming  a 
priest  to  apply  his  mind  to  any  temporal  business  before  that 
great  duty.  To  a  gentleman  who  begged  he  would  prescribe 
him  the  rules  of  advancing  in  piety,  he  gave  this  answer,  "  He 
who  desires  to  make  any  progress  in  the  service  of  God  must 
begin  every  day  of  his  life  with  new  ardor,  must  keep  himself  in 
the  presence  of  God  as  much  as  possible,  and  must  have  no 
other  view  or  end  in  all  his  actions,  but  the  divine  honor." 

The  diocese  of  Milan,  when  the  saint  arrived  in  it,  with  regard 
to  ignorance  and  disorders,  was  in  the  most  deplorable  condition. 
St.  Charles,  by  six  provincial  councils,  and  eleven  diocesan 
synods,  also  by  many  pastoral  instructions  and  mandates,  made 
excellent  regulations  for  the  reformation  of  the  manners  both  of 
the  clergy  and  people,  which  all  zealous  pastors  have  since  re- 
garded as  a  finished  model,  and  have  studied  to  square  their  con- 
duct by  them.  He  preached  every  Sunday  and  holiday,  and  often 
in  his  visitations  two  or  three  times  a  day.  The  saint's  zeal  in 
procuring  that  all  children  and  others  throughout  his  diocese 
should  be  perfectly  instructed  in  the  catechism  or  Christian 
doctrine,  was  fruitful  in  expedients  to  promote  and  perpetuate 
this  most  important  duty  of  religion.  Not  content  with 
strictly  enjoining  all  parish  priests  to  give  public  catechism 
every  Sunday    and  holiday,    he  established  everywhere,  under 


I08  GREAT   DEP^ENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

admirable  regulations,  schools  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  which 
amounted  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  and  forty,  in  which 
were  three  thousand  and  forty  catechists,  and  forty  thousand 
and  ninty-eight  scholars,  as  Giussano  testifies. 

To  supply  his  diocese  with  good  pastors  he  founded  many 
colleges  and  seminaries,  and  with  the  same  view  instituted,  in 
1578,  the  congregation  of  secular  priests,  called  Oblats  of  St. 
Ambrose,  because  they  voluntarily  offer  themselves  to  the 
bishop,  making  a  simple  vow  of  obedience  to  him,  and  being 
ready  at  his  discretion  to  be  employed  in  any  manner  whatever 
in  laboring  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 

Immediately  after  his  first  provincial  council  he  began  the 
visitation  of  his  diocese  with  the  churches  of  Milan.  Several 
monasteries,  especially  of  nuns,  that  were  subject  to  the  superiors 
of  their  own  Order,  refused  to  give  him  admission,  and  opposed 
the  rules  of  reformation  which  he  prescribed  them.  It  cost  him 
infinite  trouble  to  effect  his  o^ood  desio-ns  amongrst  them  ;  but  no 
entreaties  or  interest  could  soften  him,  nor  were  danorers  and 
difficulties,  which  would  have  discouraged  any  other  person,  able 
to  slacken  his  vigorous  endeavors,  which  were  at  length  crowned 
everywhere  with  success.  Some  nunneries  which  before  were 
under  the  obedience  of  their  Order  only,  by  special  bulls  which 
he  procured  he  subjected  to  the  archiepiscopal  jurisdiction. 
Every  one  of  these  undertakings  was  a  work  of  time  and  much 
labor,  and  cost  the  holy  prelate  many  prayers  and  tears.  The 
reformation  of  his  chapter  was  his  first  essay,  and  he  established 
the  divine  service  in  the  metropolitical  church  with  the  most 
edifying  devotion,  and  in  the  utmost  splendor,  and  obliged  the 
canons  to  give  constant  attendance  in  the  choir. 

In  some  corners  of  his  diocese  the  Zuinglian  heresy  had  got 
footing  ;  to  them  he  made  his  way  through  incredible  difficulties, 
reconciled  many  to  the  church,  and  settled  all  this  northern  part 
of  his  diocese  in  very  good  order.  His  method  of  making  his 
visitation  was  as  follows  :  He  always  travelled  on  horseback  or 
on  foot ;  had  never  more  than  six  horses  with  him,  and  every  one 
carried  his  own  little  necessaries  on  his  own  horse  before  him. 
He  had  no  mules,  but    was  followed  by  a  horse  loaded  with  a 


GREAT   DEFENDERS    OF   THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  109 

sack  full  of  books.  He  called  at  no  houses  of  nobleman  or 
gentleman,  and  lodged  in  those  of  the  curates,  how  mean  soever 
they  were,  often  lying  himself  on  some  table,  and  yielding  the 
beds  to  those  that  attended  him.  At  dinner  he  would  only 
allow  a  pottage,  some  fruit,  and  one  dish  of  meat  to  be  served 
up  ;  though  he  never  touched  the  meat  himself,  and  in  the  last 
years  of  his  life  subsisted  only  on  bread  and  water  which  he 
took  privately  in  his  chamber,  and  did  not  make  his  appearance 
at  table.  Certain  priests  went  before  him  to  prepare  the  people 
to  receive  the  holy  communion,  which  he  gave  to  all  himself ; 
he  allowed  himself  no  interval  of  repose  from  his  functions 
except  a  short  time  in  the  night  ;  and  he  inquired  into  the 
necessities,  both  corporal  and  spiritual,  even  of  particular  persons 
in  every  parish,  took  down  some  account  of  them,  and  after- 
wards would  be  informed  how  the  evils  he  had  observed  had 
been  remedied. 

In  many  particular  commissions  of  popes  to  reform  abuses  in 
distant  cities  or  in  religious  bodies,  he  showed  such  prudence 
and  disinterested  piety  and  zeal  as  to  seem  rather  an  angel  than 
a  man. 

Upon  the  death  of  St.  Pius  V.  in  1572,  St.  Charles  concurred 
strenuously  to  the  election  of  Cardinal  Buoncampagno,  who 
took  the  name  of  Gregory  XIII.,  is  famous  for  the  institution  of 
many  colleges,  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  and  surpassed, 
if  possible,  his  two  predecessors  in  his  esteem  for  our  saint, 
whom  he  detained  some  time  at  Rome  to  take  his  advice  ;  and 
he  appointed  him  apostolic  visitor  of  the  dioceses  of  all  his 
suffragans.  In  1575  St.  Charles  went  to  Rome  with  the  most 
edifying  devotion  to  gain  the  jubilee,  and,  in  the  following  year, 
opened  it  at  Milan.  With  all  his  zeal  he  was  not  able  to  hinder 
the  exhibition  of  profane  diversions  of  tilts  and  tournaments 
that  very  year.  Whilst  the  people  were  taken  up  in  them  he 
clearly  foretold  the  plague,  which  broke  out  before  they  were 
over.  The  news  of  this  calamity  reached  the  saint  at  Lodi, 
whither  he  was  gone  to  assist  the  bishop  of  that  see  at  his  death, 
as  it  was  his  custom  to  do  toward  all  his  suffraofans.  The  ci'overnor 
fled  to  Vigevano,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  nobility  left  the  town. 


no  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

St.  Charles  made  haste  thither,  visited  the  pesthouse,  whither 
the  infected  were  sent  by  the  magistrates,  and  provided  both  the 
sick  and  the  poor  with  every  succor  spiritual  and  corporal.  He 
preached  almost  every  day,  and  never  ceased  admonishing  his 
fellow  laborers  to  contemn  life  in  such  a  cause,  himself  exhort- 
ing the  sick  and  administering  the  sacraments.  For  the  relief 
of  those  that  were  destitute  he  melted  down  all  his  plate,  and 
gave  all  his  furniture,  even  the  straw  bed  on  which  he  lay,  taking 
his  rest  on  the  boards. 

St.  Charles  made  twice  the  visitation  of  his  whole  diocese, 
and  once  of  his  province  :  he  took  a  journey  into  the  Valteline, 
and  into  the  country  of  the  Grisons,  where  he  animated  the 
Catholics  to  the  practice  of  piety,  and  converted  many  Zuing- 
lianists.  The  diocese  of  Milan  is  filled  with  monuments  of  his 
charity  and  zeal,  and  in  that  city  itself  he  founded  a  convent  of 
Capuchinesses  (in  which  a  daughter  of  his  uncle,  John  Baptist 
Borromeo,  embraced  that  austere  Order,  and  died  in  the  odor 
of  sanctity),  one  of  Ursulines,  for  the  instruction  of  poor  girls, 
who  were  educated  there  gratis ;  an  hospital  for  beggars,  into 
which  all  the  poor  were  received  ;  another  of  convalescents  who 
were  dismissed  out  of  the  great  hospital,  etc.  After  he  had 
established  the  college  of  the  Jesuits  at  Milan,  in  which  gram- 
mar, philosophy  and  theology  are  taught,  he  committed  a 
college  which  he  founded  for  the  Switzers,  his  six  seminaries 
(three  in  the  city,  and  three  in  other  parts  of  his  diocese),  and 
all  the  other  houses  which  he  instituted,  to  the  care  of  his  Ob- 
lats  ;  except  a  house  at  Pavia,  which  he  gave  to  the  regular 
clerks  of  Somascha,  so  called  from  a  place  of  that  name  between 
Bergamo  and  Milan,  where  their  founder,  St.  Jerom  ^miliani, 
a  nobleman  of  Venice,  established  their  chief  seminary. 

In  the  next  paroxysm  of  his  fever,  the  physicians  found  the 
state  of  his  health  desperate  ;  he  received  the  news  with  a  sur- 
prising serenity,  received  the  viaticum  and  extreme  unction  with 
great  devotion,  and  with  these  words,  Ecce  venio,  "  Behold  I 
come,"  expired  in  the  first  part  of  the  night  between  the  3d 
and  4th  of  November.  He  left  by  his  will  his  plate  to  his 
cathedral,  his  library  to  his  canons,  and  his  manuscripts  to  the 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  Ill 

Bishop  of  Vercelli,  and  declared  the  general  hospital  his  heir. 
His  funeral  he  ordered  to  be  made  as  privately  as  might  be, 
and  chose  for  his  burial-place  a  vault  near  the  choir,  with  this 
inscription,  which  remains  there  to  this  day,  in  a  small  marble 
stone  :  "  Charles,  Cardinal  of  the  title  of  St.  Praxedes,  Arch- 
bishop of  Milan,  desiring  to  be  recommended  to  the  frequent 
prayers  of  the  clergy,  peopfe,  and  the  devout  sex,  living,  chose 
for  himself  this  monument."  There  follows  this  addition  :  "  He 
lived  forty-six  years,  one  month  and  one  day  ;  governed  this 
church  twenty-four  years,  eight  months,  twenty-four  days,  and 
died  November  the  4th,  in  1584."  St.  Charles  was  solemnly 
canonized  by  Paul  V.  in  16 10. 

SAINT    FRANCIS    OF    SALES. 
Bishop  and  Confessor. 

The  parents  of  this  saint  were  Francis,  Count  of  Sales  and 
Frances  of  Sionas.  The  saint  was  born  at  Sales,  three  leagues 
from  Annecy,  the  seat  of  that  noble  family,  and  his  mother  was 
delivered  of  him  when  she  was  but  se^en  months  advanced  in 
her  pregnancy.  Hence  he  was  reared  with  dif^culty,  and  was  so 
weak,  that  his  life,  during  his  infancy,  was  often  despaired  of  by 
his  physicians.  However,  he  escaped  the  danger,  and  grew 
robust :  he  was  very  beautiful,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  counte- 
nance won  the  affections  of  all  who  saw  him  :  but  the  meekness 
of  his  temper,  the  pregnancy  of  his  wit,  his  modesty,  tractable- 
ness,  and  obedience,  were  far  more  valuable  qualifications.  The 
countess  could  scarce  suffer  the  child  out  of  her  sight,  lest  any 
tincture  of  vice  might  infect  his  soul.  Her  first  care  was  to 
inspire  him  with  the  most  profound  respect  for  the  church  and 
all  holy  things,  and  she  had  the  comfort  to  observe  in  him  a 
recollection  and  devotion  at  his  prayers  far  above  his  age.  She 
read  to  him  the  lives  of  the  saints,  adding  recollections  suited 
to  his  capacity  ;  and  she  took  care  to  have  him  with  her  when 
she  visited  the  poor,  making  him  the  distributor  of  her  alms, 
and  to  do  such  little  offices  for  them  as  he  was  able.  He 
would  set  by  his  own    meat    for  their   relief,  and  when  he  had 


112  GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

nothing  left  to  bestow  on  them,  would  beg  for  them  of  all  his 
relations.  His  horror  of  a  lie,  even  in  his  infancy,  made  him 
prefer  any  disgrace  or  chastisement  to  the  telling  of  the  least 
wilful  untruth. 

He  showed  an  early  inclination  for  the  ecclesiastical  state, 
and  obtained  his  father's  consent,  though  not  without  some 
reluctance,  for  his  receiving  tonsure  in  the  year  1578,  and  the 
eleventh  of  his  age.  He  was  sent  afterwards,  under  the  care  of 
a  virtuous  priest,  his  preceptor,  to  pursue  his  studies  in  Paris, 
his  mother  having  first  instilled  into  him  steady  principles  of 
virtue,  a  love  of  prayer,  and  a  dread  of  sin  and  its  occasions. 
She  often  repeated  to  him  those  words  of  Queen  Blanche  to  her 
son,  St.  Louis,  King  of  France — "  I  had  rather  see  you  dead 
than  hear  you  had  committed  one  mortal  sin." 

On  his  arrival  at  Paris,  he  entered  the  Jesuits'  schools,  and 
went  through  his  rhetoric  and  philosophy  with  great  applause. 
His  chief  resort  during  his  stay  at  Paris  was  to  some  churches, 
that  especially  of  St.  Stephen  des  Grez,  as  being  one  of  the 
most  retired.  Here  he  made  a  vow  of  perpetual  chastity,  put- 
ting himself  under  the  special  patronage  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
He  was  now  eighteen  years  old,  when  his  father  recalled  him 
from  Paris,  and  sent  him  to  Padua,  to  study  the  law,  where  his 
master  was  the  celebrated   Guy  Pancirola ;   this  was  in  the  year 

1554- 

All  persons  were  charmed  with  the  young  count,  but  none  so 
much  as  the  great  Antony  Favre,  afterwards  first  president 
of  the  parliament  of  Chamberry,  and  Claudius  Cranier,  the 
learned  and  truly  apostolic  Bishop  of  Geneva,  who  already  con- 
sulted him  as  an  oracle.  His  father  had  a  very  good  match  in 
view  for  him,  and  obtained  in  his  behalf  from  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  patents  creating  him  counsellor  of  the  parliament  of  Cham- 
berry.  Francis,  modestly,  but  very  firmly,  refused  both,  yet  durst 
not  propose  to  his  parents  his  design  of  receiving  holy  orders  ;  for 
the  tonsure  was  not  an  absolute  renouncing  of  the  world.  At 
last  he  discovered  it  to  his  pious  preceptor,  Deage,  and  begged 
of  him  to  mention  it  to  his  father,  but  this  he  declined,  and 
used    his   utmost  endeavors  to  dissuade  the  young  count  from 


GREAT    DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAFIII    IN    EVERV   AGE.  II3 

such  a  resolution,  as  he  was  the  eldest  son,  and  destined  by  the 
order  of  nature  for  another  state.  Francis  answered  all  his  rea- 
sonings, but  could  not  prevail  on  him  to  charge  himself  with  the 
commission.  He  had  then  recourse  to  a  cousin,  Louis  of  Sales, 
a  priest  and  canon  of  Genev^a,  who  obtained  the  consent  of  his 
parents,  but  not  without  the  greatest  difficulty.  His  cousin  also 
obtained  for  him  from  the  pope,  without  his  knowledge,  the  pro- 
vostshlp  of  the  church  of  Geneva,  then  vacant,  but  the  young 
clergyman  held  out  a  long  time  before  he  would  accept  of  it. 
At  last  he  yielded,  and  took  possession  of  that  dignity,  and  was 
in  a  short  time  after  promoted  to  holy  orders  by  his  diocesan, 
who  employed  him  in  preaching.  His  first  sermons  gained  him 
an  extraordinary  reputation,  and  were  accompanied  with  incredi- 
ble success.  The  Calvinists  ascribed  principally  to  his  meekness 
the  wonderful  conversions  he  made  amongst  them.  They  were 
certainly  the  most  obstinate  of  people  at  that  time  near  Geneva, 
yet  St.  Francis  converted  no  less  than  seventy-two  thousand. 

Before  the  end  of  this  first  year  of  his  ministry,  in  1 591,  he 
erected  at  Annecy  a  confraternity  of  the  Holy  Cross,  the  associ- 
ates of  which  were  obliored  to  instruct  the  isfnorant,  to  comfort 
and  exhort  the  sick  and  prisoners,  and  to  beware  of  all  law-suits, 
which  seldom  fail  to  shipwreck  Christian  charity.  A  Calvinisti- 
cal  minister  took  occasion  from  this  institution  to  write  against 
the  honor  paid  by  Catholics  to  the  cross.  Francis  answered  him 
by  his  book  entitled,  "The  Standard  of  the  Cross."  At  this 
time  fresh  matter  presented  itself  for  the  exercise  of  the  saint's 
zeal.  The  Bishop  of  Geneva  was  formerly  lord  of  that  city, 
paying  an  acknowledgment  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  While 
these  two  were  disputing  about  the  sovereignty,  the  Genevans 
expelled  them  both,  and  formed  themselves  into  a  republic  in 
alliance  with  the  Switzers  ;  and  their  city  became  the  centre  of 
Calvinism.  Soon  after,  the  Protestant  canon  of  Bern  seized  the 
country  of  Vaux,  and  the  republic  of  Geneva,  the  duchy  of 
Chablais,  with  the  bailiwicks  of  Gex,  Terni,  and  Gaillard  ;  and 
there  by  violence  established  their  heresy,  which  from  that  time 
had  kept  quiet  possession  for  sixty  years.  The  Duke  Charles 
Emmanuel    had    recovered    these   territories,  and,  resolving  to 


114  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

restore  the  Catholic  religion,  wrote,  in  1594,  to  the  Bishop  of 
Geneva,  to  recommend  that  work  to  him.  The  wise  ones 
according  to  this  world  regarded  the  undertaking  as  impractica- 
ble :  and  the  most  resolute,  whether  ecclesiastics  or  religious, 
were  terrified  at  its  difficulties  and  dangers.  Francis  was  the 
only  one  that  offered  himself  for  the  work,  and  was  joined  by 
none  but  his  cousin-german,  Lewis  de  Sales.  The  tears  and 
remonstrances  of  his  parents  and  friends  to  dissuade  him  from 
the  undertaking  made  no  impression  on  his  courageous  soul. 
He  set  out  with  his  cousin  on  the  9th  of  September,  in  1594. 
Being  arrived  on  the  frontiers  of  Chablais,  they  sent  back  their 
horses  the  more  perfectly  to  imitate  the  apostles.  On  his 
arrival  at  Thonon,  the  capital  of  Chablais,  situate  on  the  lake 
of  Geneva,  he  found  in  it  only  seven  Catholics.  After  having 
commended  their  souls  to  God,  and  earnestly  implored  his  mercy 
through  the  intercession  of  the  guardian  angels  and  tutelar 
saints  of  the  country,  he  was  obliged  to  take  up  his  quarters  in 
the  castle  of  Allingens,  where  the  governor  and  garrison  were 
Catholics,  two  leagues  from  Thonon,  whither  he  went  every 
day,  visiting  also  the  neighboring  country.  The  Calvinists  for 
a  long  time  shunned  him,  and  some  even  attempted  his  life. 
Two  assassins,  hired  by  others,  having  missed  him  at  Thonon, 
lay  in  wait  to  murder  him  on  his  return  ;  but  a  guard  of  sol- 
diers had  been  sent  to  escort  him  safe,  the  conspiracy  having 
taken  wind.  The  saint  obtained  their  pardon,  and  overcome  by 
his  lenity  and  formed  by  his  holy  instructions,  they  both  became 
very  virtuous  converts.  His  first  converts  were  among  the 
soldiers,  whom  he  brought  over  not  only  to  the  faith  but  also  to 
an  entire  change  of  manners  and  strict  virtue,  from  habits  of 
swearing,  duelling,  and  drunkenness.  He  was  near  four  years, 
however,  without  any  great  fruit  among  the  inhabitants  till  the 
year  1597,  when  God  was  pleased  to  touch  several  of  them  with 
his  grace.  The  harvest  daily  increased  both  in  town  and  coun- 
try so  plentifully  that  a  supply  of  new  laborers  from  Annecy  was 
necessary,  and  the  bishop  sent  some  Jesuits  and  Capuchins  to 
carry  on  the  good  work  with  Francis,  and  under  his  direction. 
In  1598  the  public  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  was  restored, 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OP^   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  II 5 

and  Calvinism  banished  by  the  duke's  orders  over   all  Chablais, 
and  the  two  bailiwicks  of  Terni  and  Gaillard. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry  in  these  parts,  the 
violent  measures,  base  cowardice  in  declining  all  dispute,  and 
the  shameful  conduct  of  the  ministers  in  other  respects,  set  the 
saint's  behavior  and  his  holy  cause  in  a  still  more  shining  light. 
The  invincible  firmness  and  constancy  of  the  saint  appeared  in 
the  recovery  of  the  revenues  of  the  curacies  and  other  benefices 
which  had  been  eiven  to  the  orders  of  St.  Lazarus  and  St. 
Maurice  ;  the  restoration  of  which,  after  many  difficulties,  he 
effected  by  the  joint  authority  of  the  pope  and  the  Duke  of 
Savoy.  In  1569  he  celebrated  mass  on  Christmas  Day  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Hippolytus  at  Thonon,  and  had  then  made  seven 
or  eight  hundred  converts.  From  this  time  he  charged  himself 
with  the  parish  of  the  town,  and  established  two  other  Catholic 
parishes  in  the  country.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1599  he 
had  settled  zealous  clergymen  in  all  the  parishes  of  the  whole 
territory. 

The  honors  the  saint  received  from  the  pope,  the  Duke  of 
Savoy,  the  Cardinal  of  Medicis,  and  all  the  church,  and  the 
high  reputation  which  his  virtues  had  acquired  him,  never  made 
the  least  impression  on  his  humble  mind,  dead  to  all  motions  of 
pride  and  vanity.  His  delight  was  with  the  poor:  the  most 
honorable  functions  he  left  to  others,  and  chose  for  himself  the 
meanest  and  most  laborious.  Every  one  desired  to  have  him 
for  their  director  wherever  he  went  :  and  his  extraordinary 
sweetness,  in  conjunction  with  his  eminent  piety,  reclaimed  as 
many  vicious  Catholics  as  it  converted  heretics.  In  1599,  he 
went  to  Annecy  to  visit  his  diocesan,  Granier,  who  had  pro- 
cured him  to  be  made  his  coadjutor.  The  fear  of  resisting 
God,  in  refusing  this  charge,  when  pressed  upon  him  by  the 
Pope,  in  conjunction  with  his  bishop  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  at 
last  extorted  his  consent  ;  but  the  apprehension  of  the  obliga- 
tions annexed  to  episcopacy  was  so  strong,  that  it  threw  him 
into  an  illness  which  had  like  to  have  cost  him  his  life.  On  his 
recovery  he  set  out  for  Rome  to  receive  his  bulls,  and  to  confer 
with  his  holiness  on   matters  relating  to  the  mission   to  Savoy. 


Il6  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN   EVERY    AGE. 

He  was  highly  honored  by  all  the  great  men  at  Rome,  and 
received  of  the  Pope  the  bulls  for  being  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Nicopolis,  and  Coadjutor  of  Geneva.  On  this  occasion  he  made 
a  visit  of  devotion  to  Loretto,  and  returned  to  Annecy  before  the 
end  of  the  year  1599.  Here  he  preached  the  Lent  the  year  fol- 
lowing, and  assisted  his  father  during  his  last  sickness,  heard  his 
general  confession,  and  administered  to  him  the  rites  of  the 
church. 

Henry  IV.  was  charmed  with  his  preaching,  and  consulted 
him  several  times  in  matters  relating  to  the  direction  of  his  con- 
science. There  was  no  project  of  piety  going  forward  about 
which  he  was  not  advised  with.  He  promoted  the  establishment 
of  the  Carmelite  nuns  in  France,  and  the  introduction  of  F. 
Berulle's  congregation  of  the  oratory.  The  king  himself 
earnestly  ende'avored  to  detain  him  in  France,  by  promises  of 
twenty  thousand  livres  pension,  and  the  first  vacant  bishopric  ; 
but  Francis  said,  God  had  called  him  against  his  will  to  the 
bishopric  of  Geneva,  and  he  thought  it  his  obligation  to  keep  it 
till  his  death  ;  that  the  small  revenue  he  had  sufficed  for  his 
maintenance,  and  more  would  only  be  an  incumbrance.  The 
king  was  astonished  at  his  disinterestedness,  when  he  under- 
stood that  the  bishopric  of  Geneva,  since  the  revolt  of  that  city, 
did  not  yield  the  incumbent  above  four  or  five  thousand  livres, 
that  is,  not  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  pounds  a  year. 

After  a  nine  months'  stay  in  Paris,  he  set  out  with  the  king's 
letters,  and  heard  on  the  road  that  Granier,  Bishop  of  Geneva, 
was  dead.  He  hastened  to  Sales  Castle,  and  as  soon  as  clear  of 
the  first  visits,  made  a  twenty  days'  retreat  to  prepare  himself 
for  his  consecration.  He  redoubled  his  fasts,  austerities,  and 
prayers,  as  the  time  of  his  consecration  drew  nearer.  This  was 
performed  on  the  3d  of  December,  1603. 

The  city  of  Dijon  having  procured  leave  from  the  duke  of 
Savoy,  the  saint  preached  the  Lent  there  in  1604,  with  wonder- 
ful fruit ;  but  refused  the  present  offered  him  by  the  city  on  that 
occasion.  Being  solicited  by  Henry  IV.  to  accept  of  a  consider- 
able abbey,  the  saint  refused  it ;  alleging  that  he  dreaded  riches 
as  much  as  others  could  desire  them  ;  and  that  the  less  he  had 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE    FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE.  II7 

of  them  the  less  he  would  have  to  answer  for.  That  king- 
offered  to  name  him  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal  at  the  next  pro- 
motion ;  but  the  saint  made  answer  that  though  he  did  not 
despise  the  offered  dignity,  he  was  persuaded  that  great  titles 
would  not  sit  well  upon  him,  and  might  raise  fresh  obstacles  to  his 
salvation.  He  was  also  thought  of  at  Rome  as  a  very  fit  person 
to  be  promoted  to  that  dignity,  but  was  himself  the  only  one  who 
everywhere  opposed  and  crossed  the  design.  Being  desired  on 
another  occasion  by  the  same  king  to  accept  of  a  pension,  the 
saint  begged  his  majesty  to  suffer  it  to  remain  in  the  hands  of 
his  comptroller  till  he  should  call  for  it ;  which  handsome  refusal 
much  astonished  that  great  prince,  who  could  not  forbear  saying, 
"  That  the  Bishop  of  Geneva,  by  the  happy  independence  in 
which  his  virtue  had  placed  him,  was  far  above  him,  as  he  by 
his  royal  dignity  was  above  his  subjects,"  The  saint  preached 
the  next  Lent  at  Chamberry,  at  the  request  of  the  parliament, 
which  notwithstanding  at  that  very  time  seized  his  temporalities 
for  refusing  to  publish  a  monitory  at  its  request,  the  saint  alleg- 
ine  that  it  was  too  trifling  an  affair,  and  that  the  censures  of  the 
church  were  to  be  used  more  reservedly.  To  the  notification  of 
the  seizure  he  only  answered  obligingly  that  he  thanked  God  for 
teaching  him  by  it  that  a  bishop  is  to  be  altogether  spiritual. 
He  neither  desisted  from  preaching  nor  complained  to  the  duke, 
but  heaped  most  favors  on  such  as  most  insulted  him,  till  the 
parliament  being  ashamed  granted  him  of  their  own  accord  a 
replevy.  But  the  great  prelate  found  more  delight  in  preaching 
in  small  villages  than  amidst  such  applause,  though  he  every- 
where met  with  the  like  fruit  ;  and  he  looked  on  the  poor  as  the 
object  of  his  particular  care.  His  Stewart  often  found  it  difficult 
to  provide  for  his  family  by  reason  of  his  great  alms,  and  used 
to  threaten  to  leave  him.  The  saint  would  answer  :  "You  say 
right  ;  I  am  an  incorrigible  creature,  and  what  is  worse,  I  look 
as  if  I  should  long  continue  so."  Or  at  other  times,  pointing  to 
the  crucifix  :  "  How  can  we  deny  anything  to  a  God  who  reduced 
himself  to  this  condition  for  the  love  of  us !  " 

He  wrote  the  book  entitled  "  The   Spirit  of  St.    Francis    of 
Sales,"  consisting  of   many  of   his  ordinary  sayings  and  actions 


Il8  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF  THE   FAITH    IN   EVERY   AGE. 

in  which  his  spirit  shines  with  great  advantage,  discovering  a 
perpetual  recollection  always  absorbed  in  God,  and  a  constant 
overflowing  of  sweetness  and  divine  love.  His  writings  to  this 
day  breath  the  same  ;  every  word  distils  that  love  and  meekness 
with  which  his  heart  was  filled.  It  is  this  which  makes  his 
epistles,  which  we  have  to  the  number  of  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine,  in  seven  books,  to  be  an  inestimable  treasure  of  moving 
instructions,  suitable  to  all  sorts  of  persons  and  circumstances. 

His  incomparable  book,  "  The  Introduction  to  a  Devout  Life," 
was  originally  letters  to  a  lady  in  the  world,  which,  at  the  press- 
ing instances  of  many  friends,  he  formed  into  a  book,  and  finished, 
to  show  that  devotion  suited  Christians  in  a  secular  life  no  less 
than  in  cloisters.  Villars,  the  Archbishop  of  Vienna,  wrote  to  him 
upon  it — "  Your  book  charms,  inflames,  and  puts  me  in  raptures, 
as  often  as  I  open  any  part  of  it."  The  author  received  the  like 
applause  and  commendations  from  all  parts,  and  it  was  immedi- 
ately translated  into  all  the  languages  of  Europe.  Henry  IV. 
of  France  was  extremely  pleased  with  it  ;  his  queen,  Mary  of 
Medicis,  sent  it  richly  bound  and  adorned  with  jewels  to  James 
I.  of  England,  who  was  wonderfully  taken  with  it  and  asked  his 
bishops  why  none  of  them  could  write  with  such  feeling  and 
unction.  His  book  of  "  The  Love  of  God  "  cost  him  much  more 
reading,  study  and  meditation.  In  it  he  paints  his  own  soul. 
His  other  works  are  sermons,  which  are  not  finished  as  they 
were  preached,  except  perhaps  that  on  the  "  Invention  of  the 
Cross."  We  have  also  his  "  Preparation  for  Mass,"  his  "  In- 
structions for  Confessors,"  a  collection  of  his  "  Maxims,  Pious 
Breathings  and  Sayings,"  wrote  by  the  Bishop  of  Bellay,  some 
"  Fragments,"  and  his  "  Entertainments  to  his  Nuns  of  the 
Visitation,"  in  which  he  recommends  to  them  the  most  perfect 
interior  self-denial,  a  disengagement  of  affections  from  all. things 
temporal,  and  obedience.  The  institution  of  that  order  may  be 
read  in  the  "  Life  of  B.  Frances  Chantal."  All  his  regulations 
tend  to  instil  a  spirit  of  piety,  charity,  meekness,  and  simplicity. 
He  subjects  his  order  to  the  bishop  of  each  place,  without  any 
general.  Pope  Paul  V.  approved  it,  and  erected  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  Visitation  into  a  reliofious  order. 


GREAT  DEFENDERS   OF  THE  FAITH   IN   EVERY  AGE.  II9 

He  had  indeed  a  heart  which  was  not  able  to  refuse  anything 
to  those  in  want.  He  often  gave  to  beggars  the  waistcoat  off 
his  own  back,  and  sometimes  the  cruets  of  his  chapel.  The 
pious  cardinal,  Henry  de  Gondi,  Bishop  of  Paris,  used  all  man- 
ner of  arguments  to  obtain  his  consent  to  be  his  coadjutor  in 
the  see  of  Paris,  but  he  was  resolved  never  to  quit  the  church 
which  God  had  first  committed  to  his  charofe. 

The  saint  had  ever  an  entire  confidence  in  the  divine  prov- 
idence, was  ever  full  of  joy,  and  resigned  to  all  the  appoint- 
ments of  heaven,  to  which  he  committed  all  events.  He  had 
a  sovereign  contempt  of  all  earthly  things,  whether  riches, 
honors,  dangers,  or  sufferings.  He  considered  only  God  and 
hi^  honor  in  all  things  ;  his  soul  perpetually  breathed  nothing 
but  his  love  and  praises ;  nor  could  he  contain  this  fire  within 
his  breast,  for  it  discovered  itself  in  his  countenance,  which, 
especially  whilst  he  said  mass,  or  distributed  the  blessed  eucha- 
rist,  appeared  shining,  as  it  were,  with  rays  of  glory,  and  breath- 
ing holy  fervor. 

In  the  year  1622,  he  received  an  order  from  the  Duke  of  Savoy 
to  go  to  Avignon  to  wait  on  Louis  XHL,  who  had  just  finished 
the  civil  wars  in  Languedoc.  Finding  himself  indisposed  he 
took  his  last  leave  of  his  friends,  saying  he  should  see  them  no 
more,  which  drew  from  them  floods  of  tears.  At  Avignon  he 
was  at  his  prayers  during  the  king's  triumphant  entry,  and  never 
went  to  the  window  to  see  any  part  of  that  great  pomp.  He 
was  obliged  to  attend  the  king  and  the  Cardinal  of  Savoy  to 
Lyons,  where  he  refused  all  the  grand  apartments  offered  him 
by  the  intendant  of  the  province  and  others,  to  lodge  In  the 
poor  chamber  of  the  gardener  to  the  Monastery  of  the  Visita- 
tion, as  he  was  never  better  pleased  than  when  he  could  most 
imitate  the  poverty  of  his  Saviour.  He  received  from  the  king 
and  queen-mother,  and  from  all  the  princes,  the  greatest  marks 
of  honor  and  esteem,  and  though  indisposed,  continued  to 
preach  and  perform  all  his  functions,  especially  of  Christmas 
Day,- and  St.  John's  in  the  morning.  After  dinner  he  began  to 
fall  gradually  into  an  apoplexy  ;  was  put  to  bed  by  his  servant, 
and  received  extreme  unction  :    but  as  he  had  said  mass  tha^ 


120  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY   AGE. 

day,  and  his  vomiting  continued,  it  was  thought  proper  not  to 
give  him  the  viaticum.  His  apoplexy  increasing,  though  slowly, 
he  seemed  at  last  to  lose  his  senses,  and  happily  expired  on  the 
feast  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  the  28th  of  December,  at  eight 
o'clock  at  night,  in  the  year  1622,  the  fifty-sixth  of  his  age,  and 
the  twentieth  of  his  episcopacy.  He  was  canonized  in  1665  by 
Alexander  VU.,  his  feast  fixed  to  the  29th  of  January,  on  whi,ch 
day  his  body  was  conveyed  to  Annecy.  His  heart  was  kept  in 
a  leaden  case,  in  the  Church  of  the  Visitation  at  Lyons  ;  it  was 
afterwards  exposed  in  a  silver  one,  and  lastly  in  one  of  gold, 
given  by  King  Louis  XI H.  Many  miracles — as  the  raising  to 
life  of  two  persons  who  were  drowned,  the  curing  of  the  blind, 
paralytic,  and  others — were  authentically  attested  to  have  been 
wrought  by  his  relics  and  intercession,  not  to  mention  those  he 
had  performed  in  his  lifetime,  especially  during  his  missions. 
Pope  Alexander  VII.,  then  Cardinal  Chigi,  and  plenipotentiary 
in  Germany,  Louis  XIII.,  Louis  XIV.,  and  others  attributed 
their  cures  in  sickness  to  this  saint's  patronage. 

Meekness  was  the  favorite  virtue  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales. 
He  once  was  heard  to  say  that  he  had  employed  three  years  in 
studying  it  in  the  school  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  his  heart  was 
still  far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  progress  he  had  made.  If 
he,  who  was  meekness  itself,  imagined,  nevertheless,  that  he 
had  possessed  so  little  of  it,  what  shall  we  say  of  those  who, 
upon  every  trifling  occasion,  betray  the  bitterness  of  their 
hearts  in  angry  words  and  aclions  of  impatience  and  outrage  ? 
Our  saint  was  often  tried  in  the  practise  of  this  virtue,  especially 
when  the  hurry  of  business  and  the  crowds  that  thronged  on 
him  for  relief  in  their  various  necessities,  scare  allowed  him  a 
moment  to  breathe. 

SAINT   PATRICK. 
Bishop,  Confessor  and  Apostle  of  Ireland. 

If  the  virtue  of  children  reflects  an  honor  on  their  parents, 
much  more  justly  is  the  name  of  St.  Patrick  rendered  illustrious 
by  the  innumerable  lights  of  sanctity  with  which  the  church  of 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN    EVERY   AGE.  121 

Ireland,  planted  by  his  labors  in  the  most  remote  corner  of  the 
then  known  world,  shone   during   many  ages  ;  and  by  the  colo- 
nies of    saints  with  which  it  peopled  many  foreign  countries  ; 
for,    under    God,    its   inhabitants    derived    from    their   glorious 
apostle  the  streams  of  that  eminent  sanctity  by  which  they  were 
*long  conspicuous  to   the  whole  world.     St.  Patrick  was  born  in 
the  decline  of  the  fourth  century  ;  and  as  he  informs  us  in   his 
"  Confession,"  in  a  village  called  Bonaven  Tabernise,  being  the 
same  as  the  present  Boulougne-Sur-Mer,  in  France.      His  father 
was  of  a  good  family,  named  Calphurnius,  and  his  mother  Con- 
chessa,  a  near  relative  to  St.  Martin  of  Tours.     At  fifteen  years 
of  age  he  committed  a  fault,  which  appears   not  to  have  been  a 
great  crime,  yet  was  to  him  a  subject  of  tears  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.      He  says,  that  when  he  was  sixteen,  he  lived  still 
ignorant  of  God,  meaning  of  the  devout  knowledge  and  fervent 
love  of  God,  for  he  was  always  a  Christian  ;  he  never  ceased  to 
bewail  this  neglect,  and  wept  when  he  remembered  that  he  had 
been  one  moment  of  his  life  insensible   of  the   divine  love.      In 
his  sixteenth  year  he  was  carried  into  captivity  by  certain  bar- 
barians, together  with  many  of  his  father's   vassals   and  slaves 
taken  upon  his  estate.     They  took  him  into   Ireland,  where  he 
was  obliged  to  keep  cattle  on  the  mountains  and  in  the  forests, 
in  hunger  and  nakedness,  amidst  snows,  rain,  and  ice.      Whilst 
he  lived  in  this  suffering  condition,  God  had  pity  on  his  soul, 
and  quickened  him  to  a  sense  of  his   duty  by  the  impulse  of  a 
stronof  interior  ori"ace.     The  youno-   man   had   recourse   to   him 
with  his  whole  heart   in   fervent   prayer   and  fasting  ;  and   from 
that  time  faith  and  the  love   of   God   acquired   continually  new 
strength  in  his  tender  soul.      He   prayed  often  in   the  day,  and 
also  many  times  in  the  night,  breaking  off  his  sleep  to  return  to 
the    divine    praises.      His    afflictions  were    to    him   a  source  of 
heavenly  benedictions,  because  he  carried  his  cross  with  Christ, 
that  is,  with  patience,  resignation,  and  holy  joy.     St.   Patrick, 
after  six  months  spent   in  slavery  under  the  same  master,  was 
admonished  by  God  in  a  dream   to   return  to  his  own  country, 
and  informed  that  a  ship  was   then   ready  to  sail   thither.      He 
repaired  immediately  to   the  sea-coast,  though   at   a  great  dis- 


122  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE. 

tance,  and  found  the  vessel ;  but  could  not  obtain  his  passage, 
probably  for  want  of  money.  Thus  new  trials  ever  await  the 
servants  of  God.  The  saint  returned  towards  his  hut,  praying 
as  he  went ;  but  the  sailors,  though  pagans,  called  him  back  and 
took  him  on  board.  After  three  days'  sail  they  made  land,  but 
wandered  twenty-seven  days  through  deserts,  and  were  a  long' 
while  distressed  for  want  of  provisions,  finding  nothing  to  eat. 
Patrick  had  often  entertained  the  company  on  the  infinite  power 
of  God  ;  they  therefore  asked  him,  why  he  did  not  pray  for 
relief.  Animated  by  a  strong  faith,  he  assured  them  that  if  they 
would  address  themselves  with  their  whole  hearts  to  the  true 
God,  he  would  hear  and  succor  them.  They  did  so,  and  on 
the  same  day  met  with  a  herd  of  swine.  From  that  time  pro- 
visions never  failed  them,  till,  on  the  twenty-seventh  day,  they 
came  into  a  country  that  was  cultivated  and  inhabited.  During 
their  distress,  Patrick  refused  to  touch  meats  which  had  been 
offered  to  idols.  Some  years  afterwards,  he  was  again  led  cap- 
tive, but  recovered  his  liberty  after  two  months.  When  he  was 
at  home  with  his  parents,  God  manifested  to  him  by  divers 
visions,  that  he  destined  him  to  the  great  work  of  the  conver- 
sion of  Ireland.  He  thought  he  saw  all  the  children  of  that 
country  from  the  wombs  of  their  mothers  stretching  out  their 
hands,  and  piteously  crying  to  him  for  relief. 

The  authors  of  his  life  say,  that  after  his  second  captivity,  he 
travelled  into  Gaul  and  Italy,  and  had  seen  St.  Martin,  St.  Ger- 
manus  of  Auxerre,  and  Pope  Celestine,  and  that  he  received  his 
mission,  and  the  apostolical  benediction  from  this  pope,  who  died 
in  432.  But  it  seems,  from  his  confession,  th^  he  was  ordained 
deacon,  priest,  and  bishop,  for  his  mission  in  his  own  country. 
It  is  certain  that  he  spent  many  years  in  preparing  himself  for 
those  sacred  functions.  Great  opposition  was  made  against  his 
episcopal  consecration  and  mission,  both  by  his  own  relations 
and  by  the  clergy.  These  made  him  great  offers,  in  order  to 
detain  him  among  them,  and  endeavored  to  affright  him  by 
exaggerating  the  dangers  to  which  he  exposed  himself  amidst 
the  enemies  of  the  Romans  and  Britons,  who  did  not  know  God. 
Some  objected,  with  the  same  view,  the  fault  which  he  had  com* 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IX   EVERY   AGE.  1 23 

mitted  thirty  years  before,  as  an  obstacle  to  his  ordination.  All 
these  temptations  threw  the  saint  into  great  perplexities,  and  had 
like  to  have  made  him  abandon  the  work  of  God.  But  the 
Lord,  whose  will  he  consulted  by  earnest  prayer,  supported  him 
and  comforted  him  by  a  vision — so  that  he  persevered  in  his 
resolution.  He  forsook  his  family,  sold,  as  he  says,  his  birth- 
right and  dignity,  to  serve  strangers,  and  consecrated  his  soul 
to  God,  to  carry  his  name  to  the  end  of  the  earth.  He  was 
determined  to  suffer  all  things  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
holy  design,  to  receive  in  the  same  spirit  both  prosperity  and 
adversity,  and  to  return  thanks  to  God  equally  for  the  one  as 
for  the  other,  desiring  only  that  his  name  might  be  glorified, 
and  his  divine  will  accomplished  to  his  own  honor.  In  this  dis- 
position he  passed  into  Ireland,  to  preach  the  gospel,  where  the 
worship  of  idols  still  generally  reigned.  He  travelled  over  the 
whole  island,  penetrating  into  the  remotest  corners,  without 
fearing  any  dangers,  and  often  visited  each  province.  Such  was 
the  fruit  of  his  preachings  and  sufferings,  that  he  consecrated  to 
God,  by  baptism,  an  infinite  number  of  people,  and  labored 
effectually  that  they  might  be  perfected  in  his  service  by  the 
practice  of  virtue.  He  ordained  every  where  clergymen  ; 
induced  women  to  live  in  holy  widowhood  and  continence  ;  con- 
secrated virgins  to  Christ,  and  instituted  monks.  Great  num- 
bers embraced  these  states  of  perfection  with  extreme  ardor. 
Many  desired  to  confer  earthly  riches  on  him  who  had  commu- 
nicated to  them  the  goods  of  heaven  ;  but  he  made  it  a  capital 
duty  to  decline  all  self-interest,  and  whatever  might  dishonor  his 
ministry.  He  tcok  nothing  from  the  many  thousands  whom  he 
baptized,  and  often  gave  back  the  little  presents  which  some  laid 
on  the  altar,  choosing  rather  to  mortify  the  fervent  than  to  scan- 
dalize the  weak  or  the  infidels.  On  the  contrary,  he  gave  freely 
of  his  own,  both  to  Pagans  and  Christians,  distributed  large 
alms  to  the  poor  in  the  provinces  where  he  passed  ;  made  pres- 
ents to  the  kings,  judging  that  necessary  for  the  progress  of  the 
gospel  ;  and  maintained  and  educated  many  children  whom  he 
trained  up  to  serve  at  the  altar.  He  always  gave  till  he  had  no 
more  to  bestow,  and   rejoiced   to  see   himself  poor  with  Jesus 


124  GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH   IN   EVERY    AGE. 

Christ,  knowing  poverty  and  afflictions  to  be  more  profitable  to 
him  than  riches  and  pleasures.  The  happy  success  of  his  labors 
cost  him  many  persecutions. 

St.  Patrick  wrote  his  Confession  as  a  testimony  of  his  mission, 
when  he  was  old.  It  is  solid,  full  of  good  sense  and  piety, 
expresses  an  extraordinary  humility  and  a  great  desire  of 
martyrdom,  and  is  written  with  spirit.  The  author  was  per- 
fectly versed  in  the  holy  scriptures.  He  confesses  everywhere 
his  own  faults  with  a  sincere  humility,  and  extols  the  great  mer- 
cies of  God  towards  him  in  this  world,  who  had  exalted  him, 
though  the  most  undeserving  of  men  ;  yet,  to  preserve  him  in 
humility,  afforded  him  the  advantage  of  meeting  with  extreme 
contempt  from  others,  that  is  from  the  heathens.  He  confesses, 
for  his  humiliation,  that,  among  other  temptations,  he  felt  a 
great  desire  to  see  again  his  own  country,  and  to  visit  the  saints 
of  his  acquaintance  in  Gaul ;  but  durst  not  abandon  his  people  ; 
and  says,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  had  declared  to  him  that  to  do  it 
would  be  criminal.  He  tells  us  that  a  little  before  he  wrote  this, 
he  himself  and  all  his  companions  had  been  plundered  and  laid 
in  irons,  for  his  having  baptized  the  son  of  a  certain  king  against 
the  will  of  his  father,  but  were  released  after  fourteen  days. 
He  lived  in  the  daily  expectation  of  such  accidents,  and  of  mar- 
tyrdom, but  feared  nothing,  having  his  hope  as  a  firm  anchor 
fixed  in  heaven,  and  reposing  himself  with  an  entire  confidence 
in  the  arms  of  the  Almighty.  He  says,  that  he  had  lately  bap- 
tized a  very  beautiful  young  lady  of  quality,  who  some  days 
after  came  to  tell  him,  that  she  had  been  admonished  by  an 
angel  to  consecrate  her  virginity  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  she  might 
render  herself  the  more  acceptable  to  God.  He  gave  God 
thanks,  and  she  made  her  vows  with  extraordinary  fervor  six 
days  before  h^  wrote  this  letter. 

St,  Patrick  held  several  councils  to  settle  the  discipline  of  the 
church  which  he  had  planted.  The  first,  the  acts  of  which  are 
extant  under  his  name  in  the  editions  of  the  councils,  is  certainly 
genuine.  Its  canons  regulate  several  points  of  discipline,  espe- 
cially relating  to  penance.  St.  Bernard  and  the  tradition  of  the 
country  testify,  that  St.  Patrick  fixed  his  metropolitan   see  at 


GREAT   DEFENDERS   OF   THE   FAITH    IN    EVERY   AGE.  12$ 

Armagh.  He  established  some  other  bishops,  as  appears  by  his 
Council  and  other  monuments.  He  not  only  converted  the 
whole  country  by  his  preaching  and  wonderful  miracles,  but  also 
cultivated  this  vineyard  with  so  fruitful  a  benediction  and 
increase  from  heaven,  as  to  render  Ireland  a  most  flourishing 
garden  in  the  church  of  God,  and  a  country  of  saints.  And 
those  nations  which  had  for  many  ages  esteemed  all  other  bar- 
barians, did  not  blush  to  receive  from  the  utmost  extremity  of 
the  uncivilized  or  barbarous  world,  their  most  renowned  teachers 
and  guides  in  the  greatest  of  all  sciences,  that  of  the  saints. 

Many  particulars  are  related  of  the  labors  of  St.  Patrick,  which 
we  pass  over.  In  the  first  year  of  his  mission  he  attempted  to 
preach  Christ  in  the  general  assembly  of  the  kings  and  states  of 
all  Ireland,  held  yearly  at  Taraghe,  or  Themoria,  in  East-Meath, 
the  residence  of  the  chief  king,  styled  the  monarch  of  the  whole 
island,  and  the  principal  seat  of  the  Druids  or  priests,  and  their 
paganish  rites.  The  son  of  Neill,  the  chief  monarch,  declared 
himself  against  the  preacher :  however,  he  converted  several, 
and,  on  his  road  to  that  place,  the  father  of  St.  Benen,  or  Ben- 
io^nus,  his  immediate  successor  in  the  see  of  Armaofh.  He  after- 
wards  converted  and  baptized  the  Kings  of  Dublin  and  Munster, 
and  the  seven  sons  of  the  King  of  Connaught,  with  the  greatest 
part  of  their  subjects,  and  before  his  death  almost  the  whole 
island.  He  founded  a  monastery  at  Armagh  ;  another  called 
Domnach-Padraig,  or  Patrick's  Church  ;  also  a  third,  named 
Sabhal  Padraig,  and  filled  the  country  with  churches  and  schools 
of  piety  and  learning  ;  the  reputation  of  which,  for  the  three 
succeeding  centuries,  drew  many  foreigners  into  Ireland. 
Nennius,  Abbot  of  Bangor,  in  620,  in  his  history  of  the  Britons, 
published  by  the  learned  Thomas  Gale,  says  that  St.  Patrick 
continued  his  missions  over  all  the  provinces  of  Ireland,  during 
forty  years  ;  that  he  restored  sight  to  many  blind,  health  to  the 
sick,  and  raised  nine  dead  persons  to  life.  He  died  and  was 
buried  at  Down,  in  Ulster.  His  body  was  found  there  in  a 
church  of  his  name  in  1 185,  and  translated  to  another  part  of 
the  same  church.  His  festival  is  marked  on  the  17th  of  March, 
in  the  Martyrology  of  Bede,  etc. 


A  DEFENCE 


OF 


CATHOLIC  FAITH  AND  DOCTRINE 


THE  FUNDAMENTALS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  FAITH. 

Every  person  received  into  the  Church  must  believe  and  pro- 
fess as  follows  :  I  believe  in  one  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible: 
and  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  and 
born  of  the  Father  before  all  ages  :  God  of  God  ;  Light  of  Light ; 
true  God  of  true  God  ;  begotten,  not  made,  consubstantial  to 
the  Father,  by  whom  all  things  were  made.  Who,  for  us  men, 
and  for  our  salvation,  came  down  from  heaven,  and  was  incarnate 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  was  made  man. 
Who  was  crucified  also  for  us  under  Pontius  Pilate  :  who  suf- 
fered and  was  buried,  and  the  third  day  rose  again,  according  to 
the  Scriptures  :  who  ascended  into  heaven  ;  sits  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  and  is  to  come  again  with  glory  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead  ;  of  whose  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.  And 
in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Lord  and  life-giver,  who  proceeds  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son ;  who  together  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  is  adored  and  glorified  ;  who  spoke  by  the  prophets  :  and 
(I  believe)  One  Holy,  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  :  I  con- 
fess one  Baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  I  look  for  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the  life  of  the  world  to  come. 

I  most  steadfastly  admit  and  embrace  Apostolical  and  ecclesi- 
astical Traditions,  and  all  other  observances  and  constitutions 
of  the  same  Church. 


2  A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

I  also  admit  the  holy  Scripture  according  to  that  sense,  which 
our  holy  mother  the  Church  has  held,  and  does  hold  ;  to  which 
it  belongs  to  judge  of  the  true  sense  and  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  neither  will  I  ever  take  and  interpret  them  otherwise 
than  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Fathers. 

I  also  profess,  that  there  are  truly  and  properly  seven  Sacra- 
ments of  the  new  law,  instituted  by  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  and 
necessary  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  though  not  all  for  every 
one  :  to  wit,  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Eucharist,  Penance,  Extreme 
Unction,  Orders,  and  Matrimony  ;  and  that  they  confer  grace: 
and  that  of  these  Baptism,  Confirmation,  and  Orders,  cannot  be 
reiterated  without  sacrilege.  And  I  also  receive  and  admit  the 
received  and  approved  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church,  used 
in  the  solemn  administration  of  all  the  aforesaid  Sacraments. 

I  embrace  and  receive  all  and  every  one  of  the  things,  which 
have  been  defined  and  declared  in  the  holy  council  of  Trent, 
concerning  original  sin  and  justification. 

I  profess  likewise,  that  in  the  Mass  there  is  offered  to  God,  a 
true,  proper,  and  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the 
dead.  And  that  in  the  most  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Eucharist,  there 
are  truly,  really,  and  substantially,  the  Body  and  Blood,  together 
with  the  Soul  and  Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  and  that 
there  is  made  a  conversion  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread 
into  the  body,  and  of  the  whole  substance  of  the  wine  into  the 
blood  :  which  conversion  the  Catholic  Church  calls  Transubstan- 
tiation.  I  also  confess,  that  under  either  kind  alone,  Christ  is 
received  whole  and  entire,  and  a  true  Sacrament. 

I  constantly  hold  that  there  is  a  Purgatory,  and  that  the  souls 
therein  detained  are  helped  by  the  suffrages  of  the  faithful. 

Likewise,  that  the  Saints  reisfninsf  togfether  with  Christ  are  to 
be  honored  and  invocated  ;  and  that  they  offer  prayers  to  God 
for  us  ;  and  that  their  relics  are  to  be  had  in  veneration. 

I  most  firmly  assert,  that  the  Images  of  Christ,  of  the  Mother 
of  God,  ever  Virgin,  and  also  of  other  Saints,  may  be  had  and 
retained,  and  that  due  honor  and  veneration  are  to  be  given 
them. 

I  also  affirm  that  the  power  of  indulgences  was  left  by.  Chri'st 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE    OF   HIS   FAITH.  3 

in  the  Church,  and  that  the  use  of  them  is  most  wholesome  to 
Christian  people. 

I  acknowledge  the  Holy,  Catholic,  Apostolic  Roman  Church 
for  the  mother  and  mistress  of  all  churches,  and  I  promise  true 
obedience  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  successor  to  St.  Peter,  Prince 
of  the  Apostles,  and  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  likewise  undoubtedly  receive  and  profess  all  other  things  de- 
livered, defined  and  declared  by  the  sacred  canons  and  general 
councils,  and  particularly  by  the  holy  council  of  Trent.  And  I 
condemn,  reject,  and  anathematize  all  things  contrary  thereto, 
and  all  heresies  which  the  Church  has  condemned,  rejected,  and 
anthematizedo 

I,  N.  N.,  do  at  this  present  freely  profess,  and  sincerely  hold 
this  true  Catholic  Faith,  without  which  no  one  can  be  saved  : 
and  I  promise  most  constantly  to  retain  and  confess  the  same 
entire  and  inviolate,  with  God's  assistance,  to  the  end  of  my 
life. 


OF  CHRIST  S  TRUE  CHURCH  UPON  EARTH. 

What  do  you  believe  and  profess  concerning  the  article  of  the 
Church  ? 

A.  It  is  contained  in  those  words  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  "  I 
believe  in  one,  holy,  catholic  and  apostolic  Church,"  which 
means 

I.  That  Jesus  Christ  has  always  a  true  Church  upon  earth.  2. 
That  this  Church  is  always  one,  by  the  union  of  all  her  members 
in  one  faith  and  communion.  3.  That  she  is  always  pure  and 
holy  in  her  doctrine  and  terms  of  communion,  and  consequently 
free  from  pernicious  errors.  4.  That  she  is  Catholic,  that  is  uni- 
versal, by  being  the  Church  of  all  ages,  and  more  or  less  of  all 
nations.  5.  That  this  Church  must  have  in  her  a  succession 
from  the  apostles,  and  a  lawful  mission  derived  from  them.  6. 
Which  follows  that  this  true  Church  of  Christ  cannot  be  any  of 
the  Protestant  sects,  but  must  be  the  ancient  Church,  communi- 
cating with  the  Pope  or  Bishop  of  Rome. 


4  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

Q.  What  proof  is  there  that  Christ  has  always  a  true  Church 
upon  earth  ? 

A.  Many  plain  texts  of  scripture,  in  which  it  is  promised,  or 
foretold,  that  the  Church,  or  kingdom,  established  by  Christ, 
should  stand  until  the  end  of  the  world.  Matt.  xvi.  i8,  "Thou 
art  Peter  (J.  e.  a  rock,)  and  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my  church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Matt,  xxviii. 
lo,  20,  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them, 
etc.,  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you  ;  and  behold  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world."  Ps.  Ixxii.  5,  7,  '  They  shall  fear  thee  as  long  as 
the  sun  and  moon  endure  throughout  all  generations.  In  his 
days  (that  is,  after  the  coming  of  Christ)  shall  the  righteous 
flourish,  and  abundance  of  peace,  so  long  as  the  moon  endureth." 
Dan.  ii.  44,  "In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven 
set  up  a  kingdom  (the  Churchy  or  kingdom  of  Christ)  which  shall 
never  be  destroyed — and  it  shall  stand  for  ever." 

Again  the  Creed  and  every  article  thereof  must  be  always 
true ;  and  therefore  there  must  always  be  a  Holy  Catholic 
Church. 

Q.  Can  you  prove  that  Christ's  Church  upon  earth  is  always 
visible  ? 

A.  Yes,  from  many  texts  of  Scripture,  as  Isa.  ii.  i,  2,  3,  etc.,  and 
Mich.  iv.  1 ,  2,  where  the  Church  of  Christ  is  described  as  "  a  moun- 
tain upon  the  top  of  mountains,  exposed  to  the  view  of  all  nations 
flowing  into  it."  And,  Dan.  ii.  35,  as  "  a  great  mountain  filling 
the  whole  earth."  Matt.  v.  14,  as  "a  city  set  on  a  hill,  which  can- 
not be  hid."  Isa.  Ix.  11,  12,  as  "a  city  whose  gates  shall  be 
open  continually  ;  and  shall  not  be  shut  day  nor  night,  that  men 
may  bring  thither  the  forces  of  the  Gentiles,  and  that  their  kings 
may  be  brought."  Isa.  Ixii.  6,  "  Upon  the  walls  of  which  city 
God  has  set  watchmen  which  shall  never  hold  their  peace  day 
nor  night." 

THAT  THERE  CAN  BE  BUT  ONE  TRUE  CHURCH    OF  CHRIST. 

Q.  What  proof  can  you  give  that  Christ's  Church  upon  earth 
must  be  one  ? 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  5 

A.  Many  texts  of  Scripture.  Song  of  Solomon,  vi.  9,  10,  "  My 
dove,  my  undefiled  is  but  one."  "  Fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners."  John  x.  16,  "  Other  sheep 
I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold  (viz.  the  Gentiles,  who  were 
then  divided  from  the  Jews),  them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they 
shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shep- 
herd." Ephes.  iv.  4,  5,  "  There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  as 
you  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling,  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism."  In  fine,  as  we  have  seen  already,  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  a  kingfdom  which  shall  stand  for  ever,  and  therefore 
must  be  always  one.  For,  "  Every  kingdom  divided  against 
itself  is  brought  to  desolation,  and  every  city  or  house  divided 
against  itself  shall  not  stand." — Matt.  xii.  25. 

Q.   May  not  persons  be  saved  in  any  religion  ? 

A.  No,  certainly  ;  St.  Paul  tells  us,  Heb.  xi.  6,  "That  without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God."  And  St.  Peter  assures  us, 
Acts  iv.  12,  "  That  there  is  no  other  name  under  heaven  given 
to  men  by  which  we  may  be  saved.,  but  the  name  of  Jesus."  And 
Christ  himself  tells  us,  Mark  xvi.  16,  '"  He  that  believeth  not, 
shall  be  condemned."  So  that  it  is  manifest  from  the  holy  Scrip- 
ture, that  true  faith  is  necessary  to  salvation.  Now  true  faith, 
in  order  to  please  God  and  save  our  souls,  must  be  entire,  that 
is  to  say,  we  must  believe  without  exception,  all  such  articles  as 
by  God  and  His  Church  are  proposed  to  be  believed  :  and  he 
that  voluntarily  and  obstinately  disbelieves  any  one  of  these 
articles,  is  no  less  void  of  true  saving  faith,  than  he  that  dis- 
believes them  all.  As  St.  James  tells  us,  with  regard  to  prac- 
tical duties,  chap.  ii.  10,  "  Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law, 
yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all."  Hence  St.  Paul, 
Gal.  V.  20,  reckons  heresies,  that  is,  false  religions,  amongst  those 
works  of  the  flesh,  of  which  he  pronounces,  "  that  they  who  do 
such  things  shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  And  God, 
himself,  Isa.  ix.  12,  tells  His  Church,  "the  nation  and  kingdom 
that  will  not  serve  thee,  shall  perish." 

O;  Are  all  who  are  out  of  the  way  of  salvation  guilty  of 
mortal  sin  ? 

A.   No  ;  only  all   such    as  through  obstinacy,  negligence,  or 


6  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

indifference  of  matters  of  religion,  will  not  hear  the  true  Church 
and  her  pastors,  are  guilty  of  mortal  sin  against  faith.  Matt, 
xi.  18,  "  If  he  neglect  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as 
a  heathen  and  a  publican."  Luke  x.  16,  "  He  that  heareth  you 
(the,  pastors  of  the  Church),  heareth  me  :  and  he  that  despiseth 
you,  despiseth  me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  me,  despiseth  him 
that  sent  me." 

Q.  But  what  do  you  think  of  those  whose  conscience  persuades 
them  they  are  in  the  true  Church  ? 

A.  If  this  error  of  theirs  proceeds  from  invincible  ignorance, 
they  may  be  excused  from  the  sin  of  heresy  ;  provided  that  in 
the  sincere  disposition  of  their  hearts  they  would  gladly 
embrace  the  truth,  if  they  could  find  it  out,  in  spite  of  all 
opposition  of  interest,  passion,  etc.  But  if  this  error  of  their 
conscience  be  not  invincible,  but  such  as  they  might  discover,  if 
they  were  in  earnest,  in  this  great  matter,  their  conscience  will 
not  excuse  them. 

THE    church    of     CHRIST     MUST    ALWAYS     BE    HOLY      IN     HER    DOC- 
TRINE   AND    PRACTICE    AND    CANNOT    ERR. 

O.  What  proof  is  there  for  this  ? 

A.  ist,  Because  as  we  have  seen  above  from  Matt.  xvi.  18, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  cannot  tell  us  a  lie,  has  promised, 
that  His  Church  should  be  built  upon  a  rock,  proof  against  all 
floods  and  storms,  like  the  house  of  the  wise  builder,  of  whom 
He  speaks.  Matt.  vii.  25  ;  and  that  the  gates  of  hell,  that  is,  the 
powers  of  darkness,  should  never  prevail  against  it. — Therefore 
the  Church  of  Christ  could  never  cease  to  be  holy  in  her  doc- 
trine ;  could  never  fall  into  idolatry,  superstition,  or  any  hereti- 
cal errors  whatsoever. 

2dly,  Because  Christ,  who  is  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  light, 
John  xiv.  6,  has  promised,  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20,  to  the  pastors 
and  teachers  of  His  Church,  to  be  with  them  always,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  Therefore  they  could  never  go  astray  by 
pernicious  errors. 

3dly,  Because  our  Lord  has  promised  to  the  same  teachers, 
John  xiv.  16,  17,  "I  will  pray  to  the  Father,  and  He  will  give 
you  another  comforter,    that   he   may  abide  with  you    for  ever. 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  7 

even  the  Spirit  of  Truth  :"  and  ver.  26,  he  assures  them  that 
this  Spirit  of  Truth  "  will  teach  them  all  things;"  and,  chap, 
xvi.  13,  that  he  "shall  guide  them  into  all  truth."  How  then 
could  it  be  possible  that  the  whole  body  of  these  pastors  and 
teachers  of  the  Church,  who,  by  virtue  of  these  promises  were 
to  be  for  ever  guided  into  all  truth,  by  the  Spirit  of  Truth, 
should  at  any  time  fall  from  the  truth  by  errors  in  faith? 

4thly,  Because,  Isa.  lix.  20,  21,  God  has  made  a  solemn 
covenant,  that  after  the  coming  of  our  Redeemer,  his  Spirit  and 
his  words,  that  is,  the  whole  doctrine  which  this  Redeemer  was 
to  teach,  should  be  for  ever  maintained  by  His  Church,  throuo-h 
all  generations. 

5thly,  Because  the  Church  of  Christ  is  represented,  Isa. 
Ixxxv.  8,  as  a  highway,  a  way  of  holiness,  a  way  so  plain  and 
secure,  that  even  fools  should  not  err  therein.  How  then  could 
it  ever  be  possible  that  the  Church  itself  should  err  ? 

6thly,  Because  pernicious  errors  in  faith  and  morals  must 
needs  be  such  as  to  provoke  God's  indignation  :  now,  God 
Almighty  has  promised  to  His  Church,  Isa.  liv.  9,  10,  "  As  I 
have  sworn  that  the  waters  of  Noah  should  no  more  go  over  the 
earth,  so  have  I  sworn,  that  I  would  not  be  wroth  with  thee  nor 
rebuke  thee :  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be 
removed  :  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  hath  mercy  on  thee."  So  that  as  we  are  assured  that  there 
shall  not  be  a  second  flood  ;  so  we  are  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
shall  never  draw  upon  herself  the  wrath  of  God,  by  teaching 
errors  contrary  to  faith. 

In  fine,  the  Church  is  called  by  St.  Paul,  i  Tim.  iii.  15,  "  The 
pillar  and  ground  of  truth,"  therefore  she  cannot  uphold  perni- 
cious errors.  From  all  which  it  is  manifest,  that  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  infallible  in  all  matters  relating  to  faith,  so  that  she 
can  neither  add  nor  retrench  from  what  Christ  taueht. 

THE    church    of    CHRIST    MUST    BE    CATHOLIC    OR    UNIVERSAL. 

Q.   What  is  meant  by  this  ? 

A.   Not  only  that  the  Church  of  Christ  shall  always  be  known 


2  A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS    FAITH. 

by  the.  name  of  Catholic,  by  which  she  is  called  in  the  Creed ; 
but  that  she  shall  also  be  truly  Catholic  or  Universal  by  being 
the  Church  of  all  ages,  and  of  all  nations. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  she  must  be  the  Church  of  all  ages 
and  nations? 

A.  Because  the  true  Church  of  Christ  must  be  that  which 
had  its  beginning  from  Christ ;  and  as  he  promised  was  to  con- 
tinue until  the  end  of  the  world.     See  Sect,  i,  and  3. 

And  from  many  texts  of  Scripture,  in  which  the  true  Church 
of  Christ  is  always  represented  as  a  numerous  congregation 
spread  through  the  world.  Gen.  xxii.  18,  "In  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  Ps.  ii.  8,  "  Ask  of  me, 
and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance  ;  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  Ps.  xxii.  27, 
"  All  the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remember  and  turn  unto  the 
Lord,  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  nation  shall  worship  before 
thee."  Isa.  xlix.  6,  "  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldstbe  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob. — I  will  also  give  thee 
for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth."  Isa.  liv.  i,  2.  3,  and  Mai.  i.  11, 
"  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  to  the  going  down  of  the 
same,  my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  Gentiles."  See  Isa. 
ii.  2,  3;  Mich,  iv.,  i,  2  ;  Dan.  ii.  31,  etc. 

THE    CHURCH  OF    CHRIST    MUST    ALSO    BE    APOSTOLICAL    AND  DERIVE 
HER    MISSION    FROM    THE    APOSTLES. 

Q.   What  proof  have  you  for  this  ? 

A.  1st,  Because  only  those  that  can  derive  their  lineage  from 
the  apostles  are  the  heirs  of  the  apostles  :  and  consequently, 
they  alone  can  claim  a  right  to  the  Scriptures,  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Sacraments,  or  any  share  in  the  pastoral  ministry  : 
it  is  their  proper  inheritance,  which  they  have  received  from  the 
apostles,  and  the  apostles  from  Christ.  "  As  my  Father  hath 
sent  me,  even  so  I  send  you." — John  xx.  21. 

idly.  Because  Christ  promised  to  the  apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors, "  That  he  would  be  with  them  always,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world." — Matt,  xxviii.  20.     "And  that  the  Holy  Ghost, 


A   CATHOLIC'S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  9 

the  spirit  of  truth,  should  abide  with  them  for  ever." — John  xvi. 
17. 

THE    CATHOLIC    CHURCH    ALONE    IS    THE     TRUE    CHURCH    OF    CHRIST. 

Q.   What  proof  have  you  of  this  ? 

A.  From  what  has  been  already  said.  For,  ist,  The  true 
Church  of  Christ  can  be  no  other  than  that  which  has  always 
had  a  visible  being  in  the  world  ever  since  Christ's  time  ;  as  we 
have  already  seen.  She  was  founded  by  Christ  himself,  with 
express  promises,  "  That  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail 
against  her." — Matt.  xvi.  i8.  "She  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed." — Dan.  ii.  41.  Therefore  the 
true  Church  of  Christ,  can  be  no  other  than  the  Catholic,  which 
alone  has  always  had  a  visible  being  in  the  world  ever  since 
Christ's  time  :  not  the  Protestant,  nor  any  other  modern  sect, 
which  only  came  into  the  world  since  the  year  1500.  For  those 
sects  that  came  into  the  world  1500  years  after  Christ,  came  into 
the  world  1500  years  too  late  to  be  the  religion  or  Church  of 
Christ. 

2dly,  The  true  Church  of  Christ,  in  virtue  of  the  promises 
both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  was  to  continue  pure  and 
holy  in  all  ages,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  as  we  have  seen. 
Sect,  iii.,  and  consequently,  could  never  stand  in  need  of  a  Prot- 
estant reformation  :  therefore  that  which  was  of  old,  the  true 
Church  of  Christ,  must  still  be  so  ;  and  it  is  in  vain  to  seek  for 
the  true  Church  amongst  any  of  the  sects  or  pretenders  to 
reformation  ;  because  they  all  build  upon  a  wrong  foundation, 
that  is,  upon  the  supposition  that  the  Church  of  Christ  was  for 
many  ages  gone  astray. 

3dly,  The  true  Church  of  Christ  must  be  Catholic  or  Univer- 
sal ;  she  must  not  only  be  the  Church  of  all  ages,  but  also  more 
or  less  the  Church  of  all  nations,  as  we  also  have  seen,  Sect.  iv. 
She  must  be  apostolical,  by  a  succession  and  mission  derived 
from  the  apostles,  as  we  have  also  seen.  Sect.  v.  Now  these 
characters  cannot  agree  to  any  of  our  modern  sects,  but  only  to 
the  old  religion,  which  alone  is  the  Church  of  all  ages,  and  more 
or  less  of  all  nations  :  and  which  descends  in  an  uninterrupted 


lO  A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

succession,  continued  in  the  same  communion,  from  the  apostles, 
down  to  these  our  days.  Therefore,  the  old  religion  alone  is 
the  true  Church  of  Christ ;  which  can  be  but  one,  and  in  one 
communion,  as  we  have  seen,  Sect.  ii. 

SCRIPTURE    AND    TRADITION. 

What  is  it  necessary  to  believe  concerning  the  Scripture  ? 

A.  That  it  is  to  be  received  as  the  infallible  word  of  God. 

Q.  Do  you  look  upon  the  Scripture  to  be  clear  and  plain  in 
all  points  wherein  our  salvation  is  so  far  concerned,  that  the  mis- 
understanding and  misinterpreting  of  it  may  endanger  our 
eternal  welfare  ? 

A.  No  :  for  St.  Peter  assures  us,  2  Pet.  iii.  16,  "That  in  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  there  are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood, 
which  they  that  are  unlearned  and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do 
also  the  other  Scriptures,  to  their  own  destruction." 

Hence  we  must  take  the  meaning  and  interpretation  of  the 
Scripture  from  the  hand  from  which  we  received  the  book  itself, 
the  Church. 

Q.  Why  may  not  every  Christian  interpret  the  Scripture 
according  to  his  own  private  judgment,  without  regard  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  Church? 

A.  1st,  Because,  "  No  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is  of  private 
interpretation." — 2  Pet.  i.  20.  2dly,  Because  as  men's  judgments 
are  as  different  as  their  faces,  such  liberty  as  this,  must  needs 
produce  as  many  religions  almost  as  men.  sdly,  Because  Christ 
has  left  His  Church  and  her  pastors  and  teachers  to  be  our 
guides  in  all  controversies  relating  to  religion,  and  consequently 
in  the  understanding  of  holy  writ,  Eph.  iv.  11,  12,  etc.  "He 
gave  some  apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists, 
and  some  pastors  and  teachers  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints, 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Son  of  God  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.  That  we  henceforth  be 
no  more  children  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with  every 
wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men  and  cunning  craftiness, 


A   CATHOLICS   DEFEN'CE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  II 

whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive  ;  but  speaking  the  truth  in 
love,  many  grow  up  in  Him  in  all  things  which  is  the  head,  even 
Christ."  Hence,  St.  John,  in  his  first  epistle.  Chap.  v.  6,  gives 
us  this  rule  for  the  trying  of  spirits  :  "  He  that  knoweth  God, 
heareth  us  (the  pastors  of  the  Church),  he  that  is  not  of  God, 
heareth  not  us ;  by  this  we  know  the  spirit  of  truth,  and  the 
spirit  of  error." 

Q.  Why  does  the  Church,  in  her  profession  of  faith,  oblige 
her  children  never  to  take  or  interpret  the  Scripture  otherwise 
than  according  to  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  holy  Fathers? 

A.  To  arm  them  against  the  danger  of  novelty  and  error  : 
Prov.  xxii.  28,  "  Remove  not  the  ancient  landmark  which  thy 
fathers  have  set." 

APOSTOLICAL    AND     ECCLESIASTICAL    TRADITIONS. 

Q.   Whai  is  to  be  understood  by  apostolical  traditions  ? 

A.  All  points  of  faith  or  Church  discipline  taught  or  estab- 
lished by  the  apostles,  and  carefully  preserved  in  the  Church 
ever  since. 

Q.  What  difference  is  there  between  apostolical  and  ecclesias- 
tical traditions  ? 

A.  Apostolical  traditions  are  those  which  had  their  origin  or 
institution  from  the  apostles,  such  as  infants'  baptism,  the  Lord's 
day,  receiving  the  sacrament,  fasting,  etc.  Ecclesiastical  tradi- 
tions are  such  as  had  their  institution  from  the  Church,  as 
holidays  and  fasts  ordained  by  the  Church. 

Q.  How  can  we  know  what  traditions  are  apostolical  and 
what  are  not  ? 

A.  In  the  same  manner  and  by  the  same  authority  by  which 
we  know  what  Scriptures  are  truly  apostolical,  and  what  not ; 
that  is  by  the  authority  of  the  apostolic  Church,  guided  by  the 
unerring  Spirit  of  God. 

O.  But  why  should  not  the  Scripture  alone  be  the  rule  of  our 
faith,  without  having  recourse  to  apostolical  traditions  ? 

A.  Because  without  the  help  of  apostolical  tradition,  we  cannot 
so  much  as  tell  what  is  Scripture,  and  what  not.  2.  Because 
infants'  baptism,  and  several  other  necessary  articles,  are  either 


12  A   catholic's   defence   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

not  at  all  contained  in  Scripture,  or  at  least  are  not  plain  in  Scrip- 
ture without  the  help  of  tradition. 

Q.   What  Scripture  can  you  bring  in  favor  of  tradition  ? 

A.  "Therefore,  brethren,  be  steadfast,  and  hold  the  traditions 
which  ye  have  been  taught,  whether  by  word  or  our  epistle," 
2  Thes.  ii.  15.  "Ask  thy  father  and  he  will  shew  thee;  thy 
elders  and  they  will  tell  thee,"  Deut.  xxxii.  7.  See  Ps.  xix.  5,  6, 
7  ;   I  Cor.  xi.  2  ;    2  Thes.  iii.  6  ;  2  Tim.  i.  13,  ii.  2,  iii.  14. 

THE    ORDINA^XES    AND    CONSTITUTIONS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

O.  What  proof  have  you  of  the  necessity  of  making  pro- 
fession of  and  embracinof  all  the  ordinances  and  constitutions  of 
the  Church  ? 

A.  Christ  has  commanded,  "  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
me,  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  me." — Luke  x.  5,  16. 
"  As  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  I  send  you." — John  xx.  21. 
Hence,  St.  Paul,  Heb.  xiii.  17,  tells  us,  "Obey  them  that  have 
the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourself." 

Q.  Why  does  the  Church  command  so  many  holy  days  to  be 
kept  :  is  it  not  enough  to  keep  the  Sunday  holy  ? 

A.  God,  in  the  old  law,  did  not  ordain  it  enough  to  appoint 
the  weekly  Sabbath,  but  also  ordained  several  other  festivals,  as 
that  of  the  Passover,  in  memory  of  the  delivery  of  His  people, 
from  the  Egyptian  bondage,  that  of  the  weeks  or  Pentecost, 
that  of  Tabernacles,  etc.,  and  the  Church  has  done  the  same  in 
the  new  law,  to  celebrate  the  memory  of  the  chief  mysteries  of  our 
redemption,  and  to  bless  God  in  His  saints.  And  in  this  Protest- 
ants seem  to  agree  with  us,  by  appointing  almost  all  the  same 
holydays  in  their  Common  Prayer-Book. 

Q.  Is  it  not  said  in  the  law,  Exod.  xx.  9,  "  Six  days  shalt 
thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work,"  etc.;  why  then  derogate  from  this 
part  of  the  commandment  ? 

A.  This  was  to  be  understood  in  case  no  holyday  came  in  the 
week  ;  otherwise  the  law  would  contradict  itself,  when  in  the 
23d  chap,  of  Leviticus,  it  appoints  so  many  other  holydays 
besides  the  Sabbath,  with  command  to  abstain  from  all  servile 
works  on  them. 


A  catholic's  defenxe  of  his  faith.  13 

Q.  As  to  fasting  days,  do  you  look  upon  it  as  sinful  to  eat 
meat  on  these  days  without  necessity  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  because  it  is  a  sin  to  disobey  the  Church,  "  if  he 
neMect  to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  a  heathen  and 
a  publican.''      Matt,  xviii.  17. 

O.  Does  not  Christ  say,  Matt.  xv.  11,  "That  which  goeth 
into  the  mouth  does  not  defile  a  man  ?  " 

A.  True  :  it  is  not  any  uncleanness  in  the  meat,  as  many 
ancient  heretics  imagined,  or  any  dirt  or  dust  which  may  stick 
to  it,  by  eating  it  without  first  washing  the  hands  (of  which  case 
our  Lord  speaks  in  the  text  here  quoted),  which  can  defile  the 
soul :  for  every  creature  of  God  is  good,  and  whatsoever  cor- 
poral filth  enters  in  at  the  mouth  is  cast  forth  into  the  draught : 
but  that  which  defiles  the  soul,  when  a  person  eats  meats  on  a 
fasting  day,  is  the  disobedience  of  the  heart,  in  transgressing 
the  precept  of  the  Church  of  God.  Just  as  when  Adam  ate  of 
the  forbidden  fruit,  it  was  not  the  apple  which  entered  in  by  the 
mouth,  but  the  disobedience  to  the  law  of  God,  which  defiled 
him. 

THE    SACRAMENTS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

What  is  a  Sacrament  ? 

A.  An  institution  of  Christ  conslstinp;  in  an  outward  sien  or 
ceremony,  which  gives  grace  to  the  soul  of  the  worthy  receiver. 

Q.   How, many  such  Sacraments  do  you  find  in  Scripture? 

A.  These  seven.  Baptism,  Confirmation,  Eucharist,  Penance, 
Extreme-Unction  (or  the  anointing  of  the  sick).  Holy  Orders, 
and  Matrimony. 

Q.  What  Scripture  have  you  for  Baptism  ? 

A.  John  iii.  5,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
spirit,  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God."  Matt,  xxviii.  ig, 
"Go  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  this  commission  given  to  the 
apostles  of  baptizing  Christians  is  to  be  understood  of  Baptism 
administered  in  water  ? 

A.   From  the  belief  and  practice  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  all 


14  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

ages,  and  of  the  apostles  themselves  ;  who  administered  Bap^ 
tism  in  water  ;  Acts  iii.  36,  38,  "  See  here  is  water,  said  the 
eunuch  to  St.  Philip,  what  does  hinder  me  to  be  baptized?  and 
they  went  down  both  into  the  water,  both  Philip  and  the  eunuch  ; 
and  he  baptized  him."  Acts  x.  47,  48,  "  Can  any  man  forbid 
water,"  said  St.  Peter,  "  that  these  should  not  be  baptized  who 
have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  we  ?  and  he  commanded 
them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  Confirmation  ? 

A.  A  Sacrament,  wherein  by  the  invocation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  imposition  of  the  bishop's  hands,  with  unction  of 
holy  chrism,  a  person  receives  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  a  strength  in  the  professing  of  his  faith. 

Q.   What  Scripture  have  you  for  Confirmation  ? 

A.  Acts  viii.  15,  16,  where  Peter  and  John  confirmed  the 
Samaritans.  "  They  prayed  for  them  that  they  might  receive 
the  Holy  Ghost — Then  laid  they  their  hands  on  them  and  they 
received  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Q.  What  Scripture  have  you  for  the  Eucharist  or  Supper  of 
our  Lord  ? 

A.  We  have  the  history  of  its  institution  set  down  at  large, 
Matt,  xxvi.,  Mar.  xiv.,  Luke  xxii..  i  Cor.  xi.  And  that  this 
Sacrament  was  to  be  continued  in  the  Church  till  the  Lord 
comes,  that  is,  till  the  day  of  judgment,  we  learn  from  St.  Paul, 
I  Cor.  xi.  26. 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  ? 

A.  The  confession  of  sins  with  a  sincere  repentance,  and  the 
priest's  absolution. 

O.  What  Scripture  proves  that  the  bishops  and  priests  of  the 
Church  have  power  to  absolve  the  sinner  that  confesses  his  sins 
with  a  sincere  repentance? 

A.  John  XX.  22,  23,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whose 
sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  and  whose  sins 
ye  retain,  they  are  retained."  Matt,  xviii.  18,  "Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven  :  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven." 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  15 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  from  the  texts  above  quoted,  of  John 
XX.  22,  23,  and  Matt,  xviii.  18,  the  necessity  of  the  faithful  con- 
fessing their  sins  to  the  pastors  of  the  Church,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  absolution  and  remission  of  them  ? 

A.  Because  in  the  texts  above  quoted,  Christ  has  made  the 
pastors  of  His  Church  His  judges  in  the  court  of  conscience, 
with  commission  and  authority  to  bind  or  to  loose,  to  forgive 
or  to  retain  sins,  according  to  the  merits  of  the  cause,  and 
the  disposition  of  the  penitents.  Now  as  no  judge  can  pass 
sentence  without  having  a  full  -knowledge  of  the  cause  ;  which 
cannot  be  had  in  this  kind  of  causes  which  regfards  men's  con- 
sciences,  but  by  their  own  confessions  ;  it  clearly  follows,  that 
He  who  has  made  the  pastors  of  His  Church  the  judges  of 
men's  consciences,  has  also  laid  an  obligation  upon  the  faithful, 
to  lay  open  the  state  of  their  consciences  to  them,  if  they  hope 
to  have  their  sins  remitted.  Nor  would  our  Lord  have  given 
to  His  Church  the  power  of  retaining  sins,  much  less  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Matt.  xvi.  19,  if  such  sins  as  exclude 
men  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven  might  be  remitted  independ- 
ently of  the  keys  of  the  Church. 

O.  Have  you  any  other  texts  of  Scripture,  which  favor  the 
Catholic  doctrine  and  practice  of  confession  ? 

A.  Yes :  we  find  in  the  old  law,  which  was  a  figure  of  the 
law  of  Christ,  that  such  as  were  infected  with  the  leprosy, 
which  was  a  figfure  of  sin,  were  obligfed  to  show  themselves  to 
the  priests,  and  subject  themselves  to  their  judgment,  see  Lev. 
xiii.  and  xiv.  and  Matt.  viii.  4.  Which  according  to  the  holy 
Fathers,  was  an  emblem  of  the  confession  of  sins  in  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Penance.  And  in  the  same  law,  a  special  confession  of 
sins  was  expressly  prescribed.  Numb.  v.  6,  7,  "  When  a  man  or 
woman  shall  commit  any  sin  that  men  commit,  to  do  a  trespass 
against  the  Lord,  and  that  person  be  guilty  :  then  they  shall 
confess  their  sins  which  they  have  done."  The  same  is  pre- 
scribed in  the  New  Testament,  James  v.  16,  "Confess  your  sins 
oneto  another  ;"  that  is,  to  the  priests  or  elders  of  the  Church, 
whom  the  apostle  has  ordered  to  be  called  for,  14.  And  this 
was  evidently   the  practice  of  the  first  Christians.     Acts  xix.  18, 


i6  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

*'  Many  that  believed,  came  and  confessed  and  shewed  their 
deeds." 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  Extreme-Unction  ? 

A.  You  have  both  the  full  description  and  proof  of  it,  James 
V.  14,  15  :  "Is  any  sick  among  you,  let  him  call  for  the  priests 
of  the  Church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with 
oil  in  the  nam.e  of  the  Lord  :  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save 
the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up,  and  if  he  has  com- 
mitted sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him. 

Q.   What  is  Holy  Orders? 

A.  A  Sacrament  instituted  by  Christ,  by  which  bishops, 
priests,  etc.,  are  consecrated  to  their  respective  functions,  and 
receive  grace  to  discharge  them  well. 

Q.  When  did  Christ  institute  the  Sacrament  of  Holy 
Orders  ? 

A.  At  His  Last  Supper,  when  He  made  His  apostles  priests, 
by  giving  them  the  power  of  consecrating  the  bread  and  wine 
into  His  body  and  blood,  Luke  xxii.  19,  "Do  this  in  remem- 
brance of  Me."  To  which  he  added,  after  His  resurrection, 
the  power  of  forgiving  the   sins   of  the  penitent,  John    xx.  22, 

23- 

Q.   What   Scripture  proof  have   you  that  Holy  Orders  give 

grace  to  those  that  receive  them  worthily  ? 

A.  The  words  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy,  whom  he  had  ordained 
priest  by  imposition  of  hands,  2  Tim.  i.  6,  "  Stir  up  the  gift  of 
God,  which  is  in  thee  by  the  imposition  of  my  hands ; "  and  i 
Tim.  iv.  14,  "  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which  was 
given  thee  by  prophecy,  with  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of 
the  priesthood." 

O.   When  was  Matrimony  instituted  ? 

A.  By  God  Almighty  in  Paradise,  between  our  first  parents; 
and  this  institution  was  confirmed  by  Christ  in  the  new  law, 
Matt.  xix.  4,  5,  6,  where  He  concludes,  "  What  God  hath  joined 
together  let  no  man  put  asunder." 

Q.   How  do  you  prove  that  Matrimony  is  a  Sacrament? 

A.  Because  it  is  a  conjunction  made  and  sanctified  by  God 
himself,  and  not  to  be  dissolved  by  any  power  of  man  ;  as  being 


A   CATHOLIC'S    DEFENCE   OF   FIIS   FAITH.  I7 

a  sacred  sign  or  mysterious  representation  of  the  indissoluble 
union  of  Christ  and  His  Church.  Ephes.  v.  31,  32,  "For  this 
cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  be 
joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh.  This 
is  a  great  mystery  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the  Church." 

Q.  Why  does  not  the  Church  allow  of  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy  ? 

A.  Because  upon  their  entering  into  Holy  Orders,  they  make  a 
vow  or  solemn  promise  to  God  and  the  Church  to  live  contin- 
ently :  now  the  breach  of  such  a  vow  as  this  would  be  a  great  sin, 
witness  St.  Paul,  i  Tim.  v.  11,  12,  where  speaking  of  widows 
that  are  for  marrying  after  having  made  such  a  vow  as  this,  he 
says  they  "  have  damnation,  because  they  have  cast  off  their 
first  faith,"  that  is  their  solemn  engagement  made  to  God. 

O.  Why  does  the  Church  receive  to  Holy  Orders  only  those 
making  this  vow  ? 

A.  Because  she  does  not  think  it  proper  that  they,  who  by 
their  office  and  functions  ought  to  be  wholly  devoted  to  the 
service  of  God,  and  the  care  of  souls,  should  be  diverted  from 
these  duties  by  the  distractions  of  a  married  life  ;  i  Cor.  vii.  32, 
33,  "  He  that  is  unmarried  careth  for  the  things  that  belong 
to  the  Lord,  how  he  may  please  the  Lord.  But  he  that  is 
married  careth  for  the  things  that  are  of  the  world,  how  he 
may  please  his  wife." 

Q.  Why  are  so  many  ceremonies  used  in  administering  the 
Sacraments  ? 

A.  To  stir  up  devotion  in  the  people,  and  reverence  to  the 
sacred  mysteries  ;  to  instruct  the  faithful  concerning  the  effects 
and  graces  given  by  the  Sacraments  ;  and  to  perform  things 
relating  to  God's  honor  and  the  salvation  of  souls  with  a  becom- 
ing decency.  Christ  frequently  used  the  like  ceremonies.  For 
instance,  in  curing  the  man  that  was  deaf  and  dumb,  Mark  vii. 
^;^,  34;  in  curing  him  that  was  born  blind,  John  ix.  6,  7;  in 
breathing  upon  His  apostles  when  He  gave  them  the  Holy 
Ghost,  John  xx.  22,  etc. 


1 8  A  CATHOLIC' S  DEFENCE  OF   HIS   FAITH. 

THE    REAL     PRESENCE     IN     THE     MOST     HOLY     SACRAMENT    OF    THB 

EUCHARIST. 

What  is  your  belief  concerning  this  article  ? 

A.  "  That  in  the  most  holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist, 
there  is  truly,  really,  and  substantially  the  Body  and  Blood, 
together  with  the  soul  and  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  that  there  is  a  conversion  (or  change)  of  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  the  bread  into  His  body,  and  of  the  whole  substance 
of  the  wine  into  His  blood,  which  conversion  (or  change)  the 
Catholic  Church  calls  Transubstantiation." 

Q.  What  proofs  have  you  for  this  ? 

A.  1st,  Matt.  xxvi.  26,  "As  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took 
bread  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  disciples, 
and  said,  Take,  eat ;  this  is  My  body.  And  he  took  the  cup, 
and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to  them,  and  said,  Drink  ye  all  of 
it,  for  this  is  My  Blood  of  the  New  Testament  which  is  shed 
for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."  Mark  xiv.  22,  24,  "Take, 
eat;  this  is  My  Body.  This  is  My  Blood  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  shall  be  shed  for  many."  Luke  xxii.  19,  "  This  is 
My  Body  which  is  given  for  you  ;  this  do  in  remembrance  of 
Me.  This  cup  is  shed  for  you."  i  Cor.  xi.  24,  25,  "  Take,  eat; 
this  is  My  Body  which  is  broken  for  you."  "  This  cup  is  the 
New  Testament  in  My  Blood,"  which  words  of  Christ,  repeated 
in  so  many  places,  cannot  be  verified,  without  offering  violence 
to  the  text,  any  other  way  than  by  a  real  change  of  the  bread 
and  wine  into  His  Body  and  Blood. 

2dly,  I  Cor.  x.  16,  "The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it 
not  the  communion  of  the  Blood  of  Christ  ?  The  bread  which 
we  break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  Body  of  Christ?" 
Which  Interrogation  of  the  apostle  is  certainly  equivalent  to  an 
affirmation  ;  and  evidently  declares,  that  in  the  blessed  Sacra- 
ment we  really  receive  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ. 

3dly,  I  Cor.  xi.  27,  29,  "Whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread  or 
drink  the  cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord.  He  that  eateth  and  drinketh 
unworthily  eateth  and  drinketh   damnation    to  himself  not  dis- 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.        "  19 

cerning  the  Body  of  the  Lord."  Now,  how  should  a  person  be 
guilty  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord,  by  receiving  unwor- 
thily,  if  what  he  received  were  only  bread  and  wine,  and  not 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  the  Lord  ?  Or  where  should  be  the 
crime  of  not  discerning  the  Body  of  the  Lord,  if  the  Body  of 
the  Lord  were  not  there  ? 

4thly,  John  vi.  51,  etc.,  "The  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My 
flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  The  Jews 
therefore  debated  among  themselves,  saying.  How  can  this  man 
give  us  His  flesh  to  eat?  Then  Jesus  said  unto  them, 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat  the  Flesh  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  and  drink  His  Blood,  ye  shall  have  no  life  in  you. 
Whosoever  eateth  My  Flesh,  and  drinketh  I\Iy  Blood,  hath  eter- 
nal life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For  My  Flesh 
is  meat  indeed,  and  My  Blood  is  drink  indeed.  He  that  eateth 
My  Flesh,  and  drinketh  My  Blood,  dwelleth  in  Me,  and  I  in 
him.  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  Me,  and  I  live  by  the 
Father  :  so  he  that  eateth  Me,  even  he  shall  live  by  Me.  This 
is  that  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  not  as  your  fathers 
did  eat  manna  and  are  dead  :  he  that  eateth  of  this  bread  shall 
live  for  ever." 

O.  Are  we  not  commanded,  Luke  xxii.  19,  to  receive  the 
Sacrament  in  remembrance  of  Christ  ? 

A.  Yes,  we  are  :  and  St.  Paul,  i  Con  xi.  26,  lets  us  know 
what  it  is  that  is  to  be  the  object  of  our  remembrance  when  we 
receive,  when  he  tells  us,  "Ye  do  show  (or  show  forth)  the 
Lord's  death  till  he  come."  But  this  remembrance  is  no  wavs 
opposite  to  the  real  presence  of  Christ's  Body  and  Blood  :  on 
the  contrary,  what  better  remembrance  than  to  receive  under 
the  sacramental  veil  the  same  Body  and  Blood  in  which  he 
suffered  for  us  ? 

O.  Why  blame  Protestants  for  taking  this  Sacrament  in 
remembrance  of  Christ  ? 

A.  We  don't  blame  them  for  taking  it  in  remembrance  of 
Him  :  but  for  taking  it  as  a  bare  remembrance,  so  as  to  exclude 
the  reality  of  His  Body  and  Blood.  We  blame  them  for  taking 
the  remembrance  and  leaving  out  the  substance  :  whereas  the 
words  of  Christ  require  that  they  should  acknowledge  both. 


20  A   catholic's   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

Q.  But  how  can  the  Sacrament  contain  the  real  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ  ? 

A.  Because  nothing  is  impossible  to  God :  and  it  is  the 
highest  rashness,  not  to  say  blasphemy,  for  poor  worms  of  the 
earth  to  dispute  the  power  of  God. 

COMMUNION    UNDER   ONE    KIND. 

What  do  you  profess  concerning  this  point  ? 

A.  "  That  under  either  kind  alone,  Christ  is  received  whole 
and  entire,  and  a  true  Sacrament." 

Q.  What  proofs  have  you  for  this  ? 

A.  Because  as  we  have  seen  the  bread,  by  consecration,  is 
truly  and  really  changed  into  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  wine, 
into  His  blood  :  now  both  faith  and  reason  tell  us  that  the 
living  body  of  the  Son  of  God  cannot  be  without  His  blood, 
nor  His  blood  without  His  body:  nor  His  body  and  blood 
without  His  soul  and  divinity.  True,  He  shed  His  blood  for 
us,  in  His  passion  ;  and  His  soul  at  His  death  was  parted  from 
His  body :  but  now  He  is  risen  from  the  dead  immortal  and 
impassible,  and  can  shed  His  blood  no  more,  nor  die  any  more. 
"  Christ  being  raised  from  the  dead,"  says  the  Apostle,  Rom.  vi. 
9,  "  dieth  no  more  ;  death  hath  no  more  dominion  over  Him." 
Hence  whosoever  receives  the  body  of  Christ,  receives  Christ 
Himself  whole  and  entire  :  there  is  no  receiving  Him  by  parts. 

O.  But  does  not  Christ  say,  John  vi.  53,  "Except  ye  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life 
in  you." 

A.  True,  but  according  to  the  Catholic  doctrine  we  do  this, 
though  we  receive  under  one  kind  alone,  because  under  either 
kind  we  receive  both  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ ;  whereas  our 
adversaries  that  make  this  objection  receive  neither  one  nor  the 
other,  but  only  a  little  bread  and  wine  ;  besides,  this  objection 
does  not  sound  well  in  the  mouth  of  Protestants,  because  they 
say  thosewords  of  Christ  were  not  spoken  of  the  Sacrament, 
but  only  of  faith. 

O.  Are  not  all  Christians  commanded  to  drink  of  the  cup, 
Matt.  xvi.  27,  "  Drink  ye  all  of  it." 


A   CATHOLIC'S   DEFENCE   OF   FlIS   FAITH.  21 

A.  No  :  that  command  was  only  addressed  to  the  twelve 
apostles,  who  were  the  all  that  were  then  present,  and  they  all 
drank  of  It,  Mark  xiv.  23. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  those  words  are  not  to  be  understood 
as  a  command  directed  to  all  Christians  ? 

A.  Because  the  Church  of  Christ,  which  is  the  best  interpre- 
ter of  His  word,  never  understood  them  so  ;  and  therefore  from 
the  very  beginning,  on  many  occasions,  she  gave  the  holy  com- 
munion in  one  kind  ;  for  instance,  to  children,  to  the  sick,  to 
the  faithful  in  time  of  persecution  to  be  carried  home  with 
them,  etc.,  as  appears  from  the  most  certain  monuments  of 
antiquity. 

Q.  But  are  not  the  faithful  thus  deprived  of  a  great  part  of 
the  grace  of  this  Sacrament? 

A.  No  ;  because  under  one  kind  they  receive  the  same,  as 
they  would  do  under  both  :  insomuch  as  they  receive  Christ 
Himself  whole  and  entire,  the  author  and  fountain  of  grace. 

Q.  Why  then  should  the  priest  in  the  Mass  receive  in  both 
kinds  any  more  than  the  rest  of  the  faithful  ? 

A.  Because  the  Mass  being  a  sacrifice,  in  which,  by  the 
institution  of  our  Lord,  the  shedding  of  His  blood  and  His 
death  were  to  be  in  a  lively  manner  represented  ;  it  is  requisite 
that  the  priest,  who  as  the  minister  of  Christ,  offers  this  sacri- 
fice, should,  for  the  more  lively  representing  of  the  separation  of 
Christ's  blood  from  His  body,  consecrate  and  receive  in  both 
kinds,  as  often  as  he  says  Mass,  whereas,  at  other  times  neither 
priest  nor  bishop,  nor  the  pope  himself,  even  upon  their  death- 
bed, receive  any  otherwise  than  the  rest  of  the  faithful,  viz.,  in 
one  kind  only. 

O.  Have  you  any  texts  of  Scripture  that  favor  Communion 
in  one  kind  ? 

A.  Yes  :  ist,  all  such  texts  as  promise  everlasting  life  to 
them  that  receive,  though  but  in  one  kind;  as,  John  vl.  51, 
**  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for 
the  life  of  tlic  world,"  ver.  57,  "he  that  eateth  Me,  even  he 
shall  live  by  Me,"  ver.  58,  "  He  that  eateth  of  this  bread,  shall 
live  forever." 


23  A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

2dly.  All  such  texts  as  make  mention  of  the  faithful  receiving 
the  holy  communion  under  the  name  of  breaking  of  bread, 
without  any  mention  of  the  cup;  as,  Acts  ii.  42,  "  They  con- 
tinued steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and 
in  the  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers  ; "  ver.  46,  "  Continu- 
ing daily  with  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  breaking  bread 
from  house  to  house  ; "  Acts  xx.  7,  "  Upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  when  the  disciples  came  together  to  break  bread;"  Luke 
xxiv.  30,  31,  "He  took  bread  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  and 
gave  to  them ;  and  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knev/ 
Him,  and  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight;"  i  Cor.  xiv.  17,  "we 
being  many,  are  one  bread,  and  one  body,  for  we  are  partakers 
of  that  one  bread." 

3dly.  I  Cor.  xi.  27;  where  the  apostle  declares,  that  whosoever 
receives  under  either  kind  unworthily,  is  guilty  both  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  "  Whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread, 
or  drink  this  cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  the  Lord."  Where  the  Protestant  transla- 
tors have  evidently  corrupted  the  text  by  putting  in  and  drink, 
instead  of  or  drink,  as  it  is  in  the  orginal. 

Q.   Why  not  give  communion  to  all  in  both  kinds? 

A.  ist,  Because  of  the  danger  of  spilling  the  blood  of  Christ, 
which  could  hardly  be  avoided,  if  all  were  to  receive  the  cup. 
2dly,  Because  considering  how  soon  wine  decays,  the  sacrament 
could  not  well  be  kept  for  the  sick  in  both  kinds.  3dly,  Because 
some  constitutions  can  neither  endure  the  taste  nor  smell  of 
wine.  4thly,  Because  true  wine  in  some  countries  is  very  hard 
to  be  met  with.  5thly,  In  fine,  in  opposition  to  those  heretics 
that  deny  that  Christ  is  received  whole  and  entire  under  either 
kind. 

THE    MASS. 

What  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  relation  to 
the  Mass? 

A.  That  In  the  Mass  there  Is  offered  to  God  a  true,  proper, 
and  propitiatory  sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead. 

O.   What  do  you  mean  by  the  Mass  ? 


1 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  23 

A.  The  consecration  and  oblation  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  under  the  sacramental  veils  or  appearances  of  bread  and 
wine  :  so  that  the  Mass  was  instituted  by  Christ  himself  at  His 
Last  Supper  :  Christ  Himself  said  the  first  Mass,  and  ordained 
that  His  apostles  and  their  successors  should  do  the  like.  *'  Do 
this  in  remembrance  of  Me." — Luke  xxii. 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  ? 

A.  A  sacrifice  for  obtaining  mercy,  or  by  which  God  is  moved 
to  mercy. 

Q.    How  do  you  prove  that  the  Mass  is  such  a  sacrifice  ?  . 

A.  Because  in  the  Mass,  Christ  Himself,  as  we  have  seen. 
Chap,  iv.,  is  really  present,  and  by  virtue  of  the  consecration  is 
there  exhibited  and  presented  to  the  eternal  Father  under  the 
sacramental  veils,  which  by  their  separate  consecration  repre- 
sent His  death.  Now,  what  can  more  move  God  to  mercy  than 
the  oblation  of  His  only  Son,  there  really  present,  and  under 
this  figure  of  death  representing  to  his  Father  that  death 
which  He  suffered  for  us. 

Q.   What  Scripture  do  you  bring  for  this  ? 

A.  The  words  of  consecration  as  they  are  related  by  St. 
Luke,  Chap.  xxii.  19,  20,  "This  is  My  body  which  is  given  for 
you.  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in  My  blood,  which  (cup) 
is  shed  for  you."  For  if  the  cup  be  shed  for  us,  that  is,  for  our 
sins,  it  must  needs  be  propitiatory,  at  least  by  applying  to  us 
the  fruits  of  the  bloody  sacrifice  of  the  cross. 

Q.  What  other  texts  of  the  Scripture  do  the  Fathers  apply 
to  the  sacrifice  of  the  Mass  ? 

A.  The  words  of  God  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  prophet, 
Malachi,  ver.  10,  11,  where  rejecting  the  Jewish  sacrifices.  He 
declares  His  acceptance  of  that  sacrifice  or  pure  offering  which 
should  be  made  to  Him  in  every  place  among  the  Gentiles. 
2dly,  Those  words  of  the  Psalmist,  Ps.  ex.  4,  "  Thou  art  a  priest 
forever  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech  :"  why  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  Melchisedech,  say  the  holy  Fathers,  but  by 
reason  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  Eucharist,  prefigured  by  that  bread 
and  wine  offered  by  Melchisdech,  Gen.  xiv.  18. 

O.  Why  does  the  Church  celebrate  the  Mass  in  the  Latin 
tongue,  which  the  people  for  the  most  part  does  not  understand  ? 


24 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE    OF   HIS   FAITH. 


A.  I  St,  Because  it  is  the  ancient  language  of  the  Church  used 
in  the  pubUc  liturgy  in  all  ages,  in  the  western  parts  of  the 
world.  2dly,  For  a  greater  uniformity  in  the  public  woi'ship  ; 
that  so  a  Christian,  in  whatsoever  country  he  chances  to  be, 
may  fetill  find  the  liturgy  performed  in  the  same  manner,  and  in 
the  same  language  to  which  he  is  accustomed  at  home.  3dly, 
To  avoid  the  changes  which  all  vulgar  languages  are  daily 
exposed  to.  4thly,  Because  the  Mass  being  a  sacrifice,  which 
the  priest  as  minister  of  Christ  is  to  offer,  and  the  prayers  of 
the  Mass  being  most  suited  to  this  end,  it  is  enough  that  they 
be  in  a  language  which  he  understands.  Nor  is  this  any  way 
injurious  to  the  people,  who  are  instructed  to  accompany  him 
in  every  part  of  the  sacrifice,  by  prayers  accommodated  to  their 
devotion,  which  they  have  in  their  ordinary  prayer-books. 

Q.   What  is  the  best  manner  of  hearing  Mass  ? 

A.  The  Mass  beingr  instituted  for  a  standing^  memorial  of 
Christ's  death  and  passion,  and  being  in  substance  the  same 
sacrifice  as  that  which  Christ  offered  upon  the  cross,  because 
both  the  priest  and  the  victim  is  the  same  Jesus  Christ :  there 
can  be  no  better  manner  of  hearing  Mass,  than  by  meditating  on 
the  death  and  passion  of  Christ  there  represented  ;  and  putting 
one's  self  in  the  same  dispositions  of  faith,  hope,  charity,  repent- 
ance, etc.,  as  we  should  have  endeavored  to  excite  in  ourselves, 
had  we  been  present  at  His  passion  and  death  on  Mount  Cal- 
vary ? 

Q.  What  are  the  ends  for  which  this  sacrifice  is  offered  to 
God? 

A.  Principally  these  four,  which  both  priest  and  people  ought 
to  have  in  view,  i.  For  God's  own  honor  and  glory.  2.  In 
thanksgiving  for  all  His  blessings,  conferred  on  us  through  Je- 
sus Christ,  our  Lord.  3.  In  satisfaction  for  our  sins  through 
His  blood.  4.  For  obtaining  grace,  and  all  necessary  blessings 
from  God. 


PURGATORY. 


What  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  concerning  this  point  ? 
A.   We  constantly  hold,  that  there  is  a  Purgatory  ;  and  that 


A   CATHOLIC'S    DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  2$ 

the  souls  therein  detained  are  helped  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
faithful ;  that  is,  by  the  prayers  and  alms  offered  for  them,  and 
principally  by  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass. 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  Purgatory  ? 

A.  A  middle  state  of  souls,  who  depart  this  life  in  GodV. 
grace,  yet  not  without  some  lesser  stains  or  guilt  of  punishment, 
which  retard  them  from  entering  heaven.  But  as  to  the  partic- 
ular place  where  these  souls  suffer,  or  the  quality  of  the  torments 
which  they  suffer,  the  Church  has  decided  nothing. 

Q.   What  sort  of  Christians  then  go  to  Purgatory  ? 

A.  1st,  Such  as  die  guilty  of  lesser  sins,  which  we  commonly 
call  venial  ;  as  many  Christians  do,  who  either  by  sudden  death 
or  otherwise,  are  taken  out  of  this  life  before  they  have  repented 
of  these  ordinary  failings.  2dly,  Such  as  have  been  formerly 
guilty  of  greater  sins,  and  have  not  made  full  satisfaction  for 
them  to  the  divine  justice. 

Q.  Why  do  you  say  that  those  who  die  guilty  of  lesser  sins  go 
to  Purgatory? 

A.  Because  such  as  depart  this  life  before  they  have  repented 
for  these  venial  frailties  and  imperfections,  cannot  be  supposed 
to  be  condemmed  to  the  eternal  torments  of  hell,  since  the  sins 
of  which  they  are  guilty  are  but  small,  which  even  God's  best 
servants  are  more  or  less  liable  to.  Nor  can  they  go  straight  to 
heaven  in  this  state,  because  the  Scripture  assures  us,  Apoc. 
xxi.  17,  "There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  thither  anything  that  de- 
fileth." 

Now  every  sin,  be  it  ever  so  small,  certainly  defileth  the  soul. 
Hence  our  Saviour  assures  us,  that  we  are  to  render  an  account 
even  for  every  idle  word,  Matt.  xii.  36. 

Q.    Upon  what  then  do  you  ground  your  belief  of  Purgatory  ? 

A.   Upon  Scripture,  tradition,  and  reason. 

Q.   How  upon  Scripture  ? 

A.  Because  the  Scripture  in  many  places  assures  us,  that, 
"  God  will  render  to  every  one  according  to  his  works,"  Ps.  IxII. 
12;  Matt.  xvi.  27;  Rom  ii.  6;  Apoc.  xxii.  12.  Nowthiswould 
not  be  true,  if  there  was  no  such  thing  as  Purgatory,  for  how 
would  God  render  to  every  one  according  to  his  works,  if  such 


26  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

as  die  in  the  guilt  of  any,  even  the  least  sin,  which  they  have 
not  taken  care  to  blot  out  by  repentance,  would  nevertheless  go 
straiorht  to  heaven. 

Q.  Have  you  any  other  text  which  the  Fathers  and  ecclesias- 
tical writers  interpret  of  Purgatory  ? 

A.  Yes;  i  Cor.  iii.  13,  14,  15,  "Every  man's  work  shall  be 
made  manifest.  For  the  day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be 
revealed  by  fire.  And  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of 
what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide  which  he  hath  built 
thereupon  (that  is  upon  the  foundation  which  is  Jesus  Christ, 
ver.  1 1),  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any  man's  work  shall  be 
burnt  he  shall  suffer  loss  :  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved,  yet  so  as 
by  fire y  From  which  text  it  appears,  that  such  as  in  their  faith, 
and  in  the  practice  of  their  lives,  have  stuck  to  the  foundation, 
which  is  Jesus  Christ,  so  as  not  to  forfeit  his  grace  by  mortal 
sin  ;  though  they  have  otherwise  been  guilty  of  great  imperfec- 
tion, by  building,  wood,  hay  and  stubble  (ver.  12),  upon  this 
foundation  ;  it  appears,  I  say,  that  such  as  these,  according  to 
the  Apostle,  must  pass  through  a  fiery  trial  at  the  time  that 
"  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest ;  "  which  is  not  till  the 
next  life  ;  and  that  they  shall  be  saved  indeed,  yet  so  as  by  fire, 
that  is  by  passing  first  through  Purgatory. 

2dly.  Matt.  v.  25,  26,  "  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly, 
whilst  thou  art  in  the  way  with  him :  lest  at  any  time  the  ad- 
versary deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to 
the  officer,  and  thou  be  cast  into  prison.  Verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  out  of  thence,  till  thou  hast 
paid  the  uttermost  farthing."  Which  text,  St.  Cyprian,  one  of 
the  most  ancient  Fathers,  understands  of  the  prison  of  Purga- 
tory, Epis.  52,  ad  Antoninum. 

3dly.  Matt.  xii.  32,  "  Whosoever  speaketh  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world,  nor  in 
the  world  to  come."  Which  last  words  plainly  imply  that  some 
sins  which  are  not  forgiven  in  this  world  may  be  forgiven  in  the 
world  to  come  :  otherwise  why  should  our  Saviour  make  any 
mention  of  forgiveness  in  the  world  to  come  ?  Now  if  there 
maybe  any  forgiveness  of  sins  in  the  world  to  come,  there  must 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  27 

be  a  Purgatory  ;  for  In  hell  there  is  no  forgiveness,  and  in  heaven 
no  sin. 

Besides,  a  middle  place  is  also  implied,  i  Pet.  iii.  18,  19,  20, 
where  Christ  is  said  by  His  Spirit  to  have  gone  and  preached 
to  the  spirits  In  prison  vi^hlch  some  time  were  disobedient,  etc. 
Which  prison  could  be  no  other  than  Purgatory  :  for  as  to 
the  spirits  that  were  in  the  prison  of  hell,  Christ  did  not  cer- 
tainly preach  to  them. 

Q.  How  do  you  ground  the  belief  of  Purgatory  upon  tradi- 
tion ? 

A.  Because,  both  the  Jewish  Church  long  before  our  Saviour's 
comingj  and  the  Christian  Church,  from  the  very  beginning  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  nations  offered  prayers  and  sacrifice  for  the 
repose  and  relief  of  the  faithful  departed :  as  appears  in  regard 
to  the  Jews  from  2  Machab.  xil.,  where  this  practice  is  approved 
of,  which  books  of  Machabees,  the  Church,  says  St.  Augustine, 
L.  18,  de  Civ.  Dei.,  c,  accounts  canonical,  though  the  Jews  do 
not.  In  reofard  to  the  Christian  Church,  the  same  Is  evident 
from  all  the  Fathers  and  the  most  ancient  liturgies.  Now  such 
prayers  as  these  evidently  imply  the  belief  of  a  Purgatory  :  for 
souls  in  heaven  stand  in  no  need  of  prayers,  and  those  in  hell 
cannot  be  bettered  by  them. 

Q.    How  do  you  ground  the  belief  of  Purgatory  upon  reason  ? 

A.  Because  reason  clearly  teaches  these  two  things:  ist, 
That  all  and  every  sin,  how  small  soever,  deserves  punishment. 
2dly,  That  some  sins  are  so  small,  either  through  the  levity  of 
the  matter,  or  for  want  of  full  deliberation  in  the  action,  as  not 
to  deserve  eternal  punishment.  From  whence  it  is  plain,  that 
besides  the  place  of  eternal  punishment,  which  we  call  hell,  there 
must  be  also  a  place  of  temporal  punishment  for  such  as  die  with 
little  sins,  and  this  we  call  Purgatory. 

THE    VENERATION    AND    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS. 

What  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  as  to  the  veneration 
and  invocation  of  saints? 

A.  We  are  taught,  ist,  That  there  is  an  honor  and  veneration 
due  to  the  angels  and  saints.      2dly,  That  they  offer  up  prayers 


2Z  A   CATHOLIC'S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 

to  God  for  us.  3dly,  That  it  is  good  and  profitable  to  invoke 
them,  that  is,  to  have  recourse  to  their  intercession  and  prayers. 
4thly,  That  their  reHcs  are  to  be  had  in  veneration. 

THE    VENERATION    OF    THE    ANGELS    AND    SAINTS. 

Q.  What  proofs  have  you  that  honor  and  veneration  are  due 
to  the  ano'els  and  saints  ? 

A.   Because  they  are  God's  angels  and  saints,  that  is  to  say 
most  faithful  servants,  and  messengers  and  favorites  of  the  King 
of  kings,  who  having  highly  honored  Him,  are  now  highly  hon- 
ored by  Him,  as   He  has  promised,  i   Sam.   ii.   36,  "Them  that 
honor  Me  I  will  honor." 

2dly,  Because  they  have  received  from  their  Lord  most  emi- 
nent and  supernatural  gifts  of  grace  and  glory,  which  make 
them  truly  worthy  of  our  honor  and  veneration,  and  therefore 
we  give  it  them  as  their  due,  according  to  that  of  the  apostle, 
Rom.  xiii.  7,  "  Honor  to  whom  honor  is  due." 

3dly,  Because  the  angels  of  God  are  our  guardians,  tutors  and 
governors  :  as  appears  from  many  texts  of  Scripture,  Ps.  xci. 
II,  12,  "  He  shall  give  His  angels  charge  over  thee  to  keep  thee 
in  all  thy  ways  ;  they  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands,  lest  thou 
dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone."  Matt,  xviii.  10,  "  Take  heed 
that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones  ;  for  I  say  unto  you, 
that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of  My 
Father  who  is  in  heaven."  Heb.  i.  14,  "Are  they  not  all  min- 
istering spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be 
heirs  of  salvation.''  It  is  therefore  evidently  the  will  of  God 
that  we  should  have  a  religious  veneration  for  these  heavenly 
guardians.  Exod.  xxiii.  20,  21,  "  Behold  I  sent  an  angel  before 
thee  to  keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  thee  into  the  place 
which  I  have  prepared  :  beware  of  him,  and  obey  his  voice,  pro- 
voke him  not,  for  My  name  is  in  him." 

4thly,  Because  God  has  promised  to  his  saints  a  power  over 
all  nations,  Apoc.  ii.  26,  27,  "  He  that  overcometh  and  keepeth 
My  words  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the  na- 
tions, and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron — even  as  I  re- 
ceived of  my  Father."     Apoc.  v.  10,  "  Tho'.i  hast  made  us  unto 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  29 

our  God  kings  and  priests,  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 
Therefore,  all  nations  ought  to  honor  the  saints,  as  having  re- 
ceived from  God  this  kingly  power  over  them. 

5thly,  Because  we  have  instances  in  Scripture  of  honor  and 
veneration  paid  to  the  angels  by  the  servants  of  God :  See 
Joshua  V.  14,  15. 

6thly,  Because  the  Church  in  all  ages  has  paid  this  honor  and 
veneration  to  the  saints  by  erecting  churches  and  keeping  holy- 
days  in  their  memory;  a  practice  which  the  English  Protestants 
have  also  retained. 

Q.  Do  you  then  worship  the  angels  and  saints  as  Gods,  or 
give  them  the  honor  that  belongs  to  God  alone? 

A.  No,  God  forbid,  for  this  would  be  high  treason  against 
His  divine  majesty. 

Q.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  honor  which  you  give 
to  God,  and  that  which  you  give  to  the  saints  ? 

A.  There  is  no  comparison  between  the  one  and  the  other. 
We  honor  God  with  a  sovereign  honor,  as  the  supreme  Lord 
and  Creator  of  all  things,  as  our  first  beginning  and  our  last 
end  :  we  believe  in  Him  alone  :  we  hope  in  Him  alone  ;  we  love 
Him  above  all  things.  To  Him  alone  we  pay  our  homage  of 
divine  adoration,  praise  and  sacrifice.  But  as  for  the  saints  and 
angels,  we  only  reverence  them  with  relative  honors,  as  belong- 
ing to  Him,  for  His  sake,  and  upon  account  of  the  gifts  which 
they  have  received  from  Him. 

Q.   Do  you  not  give  a  particular  honor  to  the  Virgin  Mary? 

A.  Yes,  we  do,  by  reason  of  her  eminent  dignity  of  mother  of 
God,  for  which  "all  generations  shall  call  her  blessed,"  Luke  i. 
48.  As  also  by  reason  of  that  fullness  of  grace  which  she 
enjoyed  in  this  life,  and  the  sublime  degree  of  glory  to  which 
she  is  raised  in  heaven.  But  still  even  this  honor  which  we 
give  to  her  is  infinitely  inferior  to  that  which  we  pay  to  God,  to 
whom  she  is  indebted  for  all  her  dignity,  grace,  and  glory. 

THE    SAINTS    AND    ANGELS    PRAY    TO    GOD    FOR    US. 

Q.  What  proofs  have  you  for  this? 

A.    1st,  from    Zacharias  i.   12,  where  the  prophet    heard    an 


30 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS    FAITH. 


angel  praying  for  Jerusalem,  and  the  cities  of  Judah.  "The 
angel  of  the  Lord  answered,  and  said,  O  Lord  of  hosts,  how 
long  wilt  thou  not  have  mercy  on  Jerusalem,  and  on  the  cities 
of  Judah,  against  which  thou  hast  had  indignation  these  three 
score  and  ten  years  ? 

2dly,  From  Apoc.  v.  8,  "  The  four  and  twenty -elders  fell 
down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps,  and 
golden  vials  full  of  odor,  which  are  the  prayers  of  saints."  And 
Apoc.  viii.  4,  "The  smoke  of  the  incense  of  the  prayers  of  the 
saints  ascended  up  before  God  out  of  the  angel's  hand."  From 
which  texts,  it  is  evident,  that  both  the  saints  and  angels  offer 
up  to  God  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  that  is,  of  the  faithful  upon 
earth. 

3dly,  Because  we  profess  in  the  Creed  the  communion  of 
saints  ;  and  St.  Paul,  Heb.  xii.  speaking  of  the  children  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  tells  them,  that  they  have  a  fellowship  with 
the  saints  in  heaven:  "You  are  come  unto  Mount  Sion,  and 
unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to 
an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first-born  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator," 
etc.  •  Therefore  the  children  of  the  Church  of  Christ  upon  earth 
are  fellow-members  with  the  saints  in  heaven,  of  the  same  body, 
under  the  same  head,  which  is  Christ  Jesus.  Hence  the  same 
apostle,  Gal.  iv.  29,  calls  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  our  mother^ 
and  Ephes.  ii.  19,  tells  us  that  we  are  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints.  Therefore  the  saints  in  heaven  have  a  care  and  solici- 
tude for  us  as  being  members  of  the  same  body,  it  being  the 
property  of  the  members  of  the  same  body  to  be  solicitous  for 
one  another,  i  Cor.  xii.  25,  26.  Consequently  the  saints  in 
heaven  pray  for  us. 

4thly,  Because  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostle, 
I  Cor.  xiii.  8,  it  is  the  property  of  the  virtue  of  charity  not  to 
be  lost  in  heaven,  as  faith  and  hope  are  there  lost ;  charity, 
saith  St.  Paul,  never  faileth.  On  the  contrary,  this  heavenly 
virtue  is  perfected  in  heaven,  where  by  seeing  God  face  to  face, 
the  soul  is  inflamed  with  a  most  ardent  love  for  God,  and   for 


A   CATHOLICS   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  3 1 

His  sake,  loves  exceedingly  His  children,  brethren  here  below  ; 
how  then  can  the  saints  in  heaven  having  so  perfect  a  charity 
for  us,  not  pray  for  us,  since  the  very  first  thing  that  charity 
prompts  a  person  to  do,  is  to  seek,  to  succor,  and  assist  those 
whom  he  loves. 

5thly,  Because  we  find,  Luke  xvi.  27,  28,  the  rich  glutton  in 
hell  petitioning  in  favor  of  his  five  brethren  here  upon  earth  : 
how  much  more  are  we  to  believe,  that  the  saints  in  heaven  inter- 
cede  for  their  brethren  here  ? 

6thly,  Because,  Apoc.  vi.  10,  the  souls  of  the  martyrs  pray 
for  justice  against  their  persecutors  who  had  put  them  to  death  ; 
how  much  more  do  they  pray  for  mercy  for  the  faithful  children 
of  the  Church  ? 

7thly,  In  fine,  because  our  Lord,  Luke  xvi.  9,  tells  us,  "make 
to  yourselves  friends  of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness  ;  that 
when  you  fail,  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting  habita- 
tions." Where  he  gives  us  to  understand,  that  the  servants  of 
God,  whom  we  have  helped  by  our  alms,  after  they  themselves 
have  got  to  heaven,  help  and  assist  us  enter  into  that  everlast- 
ing kingdom. 

THE    INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS. 

Q.  What  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  this 
point  ? 

A.  That  petitions  or  requests  should  be  made  for  the  prayers 
and  intercession  of  the  saints  for  us. 

Q.   Do  Catholics  pray  to  saints  ? 

A.  If  by  praying  to  saints,  we  mean  addressing  ourselves  to 
them,  as  to  the  authors  or  disposers  of  grace  and  glory,  or  in 
such  manner  as  to  suppose  they  have  any  power  to  help  us 
independently  of  God's  good  will  and  pleasure,  we  do  not  pray 
to  them  ;  but  if  by  praying  to  saints,  we  mean  no  more  than 
desiring  them  to  pray  to  God  for  us,  in  this  sense  we  hold  it 
both  good  and  profitable  to  pray  to  the  saints. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  it  is  good  and  profitable  to  desire 
the  saints  and  angels  in  heaven  to  pray  to  God  for  us  ? 

A.    Because  it  is  good  and  profitable  to  desire  the  servants  of 


32 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 


God  here  upon  eartli  to  pray  for  us  ;  "  for  the  prayer  of  a  right- 
eous man  availeth  much,"  James  v.  i6.  Moses  by  his  prayers 
obtained  mercy  for  the  children  of  Israel,  Exod.  xxxii.  ii,  14; 
and  Samuel  by  his  prayers  defeated  the  Philistines,  i  Sam.  vii. 
8,  9,  10.  Hence  St.  Paul,  in  almost  all  his  epistles,  desires  the 
faithful  to  pray  for  him,  Rom.  xv.  30  ;  Eph.  vi.  18,  16  ;  i  Thess. 
V.  25  ;  Heb.  xiii.  13.  And  God  himself,  Job  xlii.  8,  commanded 
Eliphaz  and  his  two  friends  to  go  to  Job,  that  Job  should  pray 
for  them,  promising  to  accept  of  his  prayers.  Now  if  it  be 
acceptable  to  God,  and  good  and  profitable  to  ourselves,  to  seek 
the  prayers  and  intercession  of  God's  servants  here  on  earth, 
must  it  not  be  much  more  so  to  seek  the  prayers  and  intercession 
of  the  saints  in  heaven  ;  since  both  their  charity  for  us  and  their 
intercession  with  God  is  much  greater  now  than  when  they  were 
here  upon  earth  ? 

Q.  But  does  it  not  argue  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  infinite 
goodness  of  God  and  the  superabounding  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Redeemer,  to  address  ourselves  to  the  saints  for 
their  prayers  and  intercession  ? 

A.  No  more  than  to  address  ourselves  to  our  brethren  here 
below,  as  Protestants  do  when  they  desire  the  prayers  of  the 
congregation  ;  since  we  desire  no  more  of  the  saints,  than  what 
we  desire  of  our  brethren  here  below,  viz.  that  they  would  pray 
for  us  and  with  us  to  the  infinite  goodness  of  God,  who  is  both 
our  Father  and  their  Father,  our  Lord  and  their  Lord,  by  the 
merits  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  both  our  Mediator  and 
their  Mediator.  For  though  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  mer- 
its of  Christ  be  infinite  ;  yet  as  this  is  not  to  exempt  us  from 
frequent  prayer  for  ourselves,  so  much  recommended  in  Scrip- 
ture, so  it  is  no  reason  for  our  being  backward  in  seeking  the 
prayers  of  others,  whether  in  heaven  or  earth,  that  so  God  may 
have  the  honor  and  wc  the  benefit  of  so  many  more  prayers. 

O.  But  is  there  no  danger,  by  acting  thus,  of  giving  to  the 
saints  the  honor  which  belongs  to  God  alone  ? 

A.  No  ;  it  is  evident,  that  to  desire  the  prayers  and  interces- 
sion of  the  saints  is  by  no  means  giving  them  an  honor  which 
belongs  to  God  alone  :  so  far  from  it,  that   it  would  even   be  a 


A   CATHOLIC'S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS    FAITH.  33 

blasphemy  to  beg  of  God  to  pray  for  us  ;  because,  whosoever 
desires  any  one  to  pray  for  him  for  the  obtaining  of  a  grace  or 
blessing,  supposes  the  person  to  whom  he  thus  addresses  him- 
self to  be  inferior  and  dependent  of  some  other,  by  whom  this 
grace  or  blessing  is  to  be  bestowed. 

Q.  Have  you  any  reason  to  think  that  the  saints  and  angels 
have  any  knowledge  of  your  addresses  or  petitions  made  to 
them  ? 

A.  Yes,  we  have,  ist,  Because  our  Lord  assures  us.  Luke  xv. 
lO,  *'  that  there  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God,  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth."  For  if  they  rejoice  at  our  repent- 
ance, consequently  they  have  a  knowledge  of  our  repentance  ; 
and  if  they  have  a  knowledge  of  our  repentance,  what  reason 
can  we  have  to  doubt  of  their  knowing  our  petitions  also?  and 
what  is  said  of  the  angels  is  also  to  be  understood  of  the  saints 
of  whom  our  Lord  tells  us,  Luke  xx.  36,  "  that  they  are  equal 
unto  the  anofels." 

2dly.  Because  the  angels  of  God  are  always  amongst  us,  and 
therefore  cannot  be  ignorant  of  our  requests;  especially  since. 
as  we  have  seen  from  Apoc.  v.  8  and  viii.  4,  both  angels  and 
saints  offer  up  our  prayers  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  there- 
fore must  needs  know  them. 

3dly.  Because  it  appears  from  x\poc.  xl.  15  and  Apoc.  x.  i 
and  2,  that  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  know  what  passeth  upon 
earth.  Hence  St.  Paul,  i  Cor.  iv.  9,  speaking  of  himself  and 
his  fellow-apostles,  saith,  "  we  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the 
world,  and  to  angels  and  to  men." 

4thly.  We  cannot  suppose  that  the  saints  and  angels,  who 
enjoy  the  light  and  glory,  can  be  ignorant  of  such  things,  as  the 
prophets  and  servants  of  God  in  this  world  have  often  known 
by  the  light  of  grace,  and  even  the  very  devils  by  the  light  of 
nature  alone  :  since  the  light  of  glory  is  so  much  more  perfect 
than  the  light  of  grace  or  nature,  according  to  the  apostle,  i 
Cor.  xiii.  12,  "  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly  ;  but  then 
face  to  face:  now  I  know  in  part;  but  then  I  shall  know  even 
as  also  I  am  known  ;  "  that  is,  by  a  most  perfect  knowledge. 
Hence,  i  John  iii.  2,  it  is  written,  "we  shall  be  like  him  (God) 


34  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  Now  it  is  certain  that  the  ser- 
vants of  God  in  this  world,  by  a  special  light  of  grace,  have  often 
known  things  that  passed  at  a  great  distance,  as  Elisha,  2  Kings 
v.,  knew  what  passed  between  Naaman  and  his  servant  Gehazi, 
and,  2  Kings  vi..  what  was  done  in  the  king  of  Syria's  private 
chamber.  It  is  also  certain  that  the  devils,  by  the  mere  light  of 
nature,  know  what  passes  amongst  us,  as  appears  in  many 
places  in  the  book  of  Job,  and  by  their  being  our  accusers, 
Apoc.  xii.  10.  Therefore  we  cannot  reasonably  question,  but 
that  the  saints  in  heaven  know  the  petitions  which  we  address 
unto  them. 

5thly.  In  fine,  because  it  is  weak  reasoning  to  argue  from 
our  corporeal  hearing  (the  object  of  which,  being  sound,  that 
is,  a  motion  or  undulation  of  the  air,  cannot  reach  beyond  a 
certain  distance)  concerning  the  hearing  of  spirits,  which  is  in- 
dependent of  sound,  and  consequently  independent  of  distance: 
though  the  manner  of  it  be  hard  enough  to  explicate  to  those 
who  know  no  other  hearing  but  that  of  the  corporeal  ear. 

Q.  Have  you  any  other  warrant  in  Scripture  for  the  invoca- 
tion of  anofels  and  saints  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  we  have  the  example  of  God's  best  servants.  Thus 
Jacob,  Gen.  xlviii.  15,  16,  begs  the  blessing  of  his  angel  guar- 
dian for  his  two  grandsons,  Ephraim  and  Manasses.  "  God, 
before  whom  my  fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God 
which  fed  me  all  my  life  long  until  this  day,  the  angel  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads."  The  same  Jacob, 
Osee,  xii.  4,  "wept  and  made  supplication  to  an  angel,"  and  St. 
John,  Apoc.  i.  4,  writing  to  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  peti- 
tions for  the  intercession  of  the  seven  angels  in  their  favor. 
"  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace  from  Him  who  is,  and  who  was, 
and  who  is  to  come,  and  the  seven  spirits  which  are  before  His 
throne." 

concerning  relics. 

O.  What  is  meant  by  relics  of  the  Saints? 
A.  The  bodies  or  bones  of  saints;  or  anything  else  that  has 
belonsfed  to  them. 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  35 

Q.  What  grounds  have  you  for  paying  a  veneration  to  the 
rehcs  ot  the  saints  ? 

A.  Besides  the  ancient  tradition  and  practice  of  the  first 
ages,  attested  by  the  best  monuments  of  antiquity,  we  have 
been  warranted  to  do  so  by  many  illustrious  miracles  done  at 
the  tombs  and  by  the  relics  of  the  saints  (see  St.  Augustine,  L. 
22,  of  the  City  of  God,  chap,  viii.),  which  God,  who  is  truth 
and  sanctity  itself,  would  never  have  effected  if  this  honor 
paid  to  the  precious  remnants  of  his  servants  was  not  agreeable 
to  Him. 

Q.  Have  you  any  instance  in  Scripture  of  miracles  done  by 
relics  ? 

A:  Yes,  we  read,  2  Kings  xiii.  21,  of  a  dead  man  raised  to 
life  by  the  bones  of  the  prophet  Elisha  :  and,  Acts  xix.  12, 
"  From  the  body  of  Paul  were  brought  unto  the  sick,  handker- 
chiefs or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed  from  them,  and  the 
evil  spirits  went  out  of  them." 

concerning  images. 

What  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  concerninor  Images  ? 

A.  That  the  Images  or  pictures  of  Christ,  of  His  blessed 
Mother,  ever  Virgin,  and  of  other  saints,  are  to  be  had  and 
retained ;  and  that  due  honor  and  veneration  are  to  be  elven  to 
them. 

Q.   Do  you  not  worship  Images  ? 

A.  No,  by  no  means;  if  by  worship  you  mean  divine  honor: 
for  this  we  do  not  give  to  the  highest  angel  or  saint,  not  even 
to  the  Virgin  Mary,  much  less  to  images. 

Q.   Do  you  not  pray  to  Images  ? 

A.  No,  we  do  not ;  because,  as  both  our  catechism  and  com- 
mon sense  teach  us,  they  can  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor  help  us. 

Q.   Why  then  do  you  pray  before  an  Image  or  crucifix? 

A.  Because  the  sight  of  a  good  picture  or  Image,' for  exam- 
ple, of  Christ  upon  the  cross,  helps  to  enkindle  devotion  In  our 
hearts  towards  Him  that  has  loved  us  to  that  excess  as  to  lay 
down  His  life  for  the  love  of  us. 

Q.  Are  you  not  taught   to  put  your  trust  and  confidence  in 


3^ 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 


imao^es,  as  the  heathens  did  in  their  idols  ;  as  if  there  were  a 
certain  virtue,  power,  or  divinity  residing  in  them  ? 

A.  No,  we  are  expressly  taught  the  contrary  by  the  Council 
of  Trent,  Session  25. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  it  is  lawful  to  make  or  keep  the 
imase  of  Christ  and  His  saints  ? 

A.  Because  God  Himself  commanded  Moses,  Exod.  xxv.  18, 
19,  20,  21,  to  make  two  cherubims  of  beaten  gold,  and  place 
them  at  the  two  ends  of  the  mercy-seat,  over  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  in  the  very  sanctuary.  "And  there,"  says  He,  ver.  22, 
"  will  I  meet  with  thee,  and  I  will  commune  with  thee  from 
above  the  mercy-seat,  from  between  the  two  cherubims  which 
are  upon  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  of  all  things  which  I  will 
give  thee  in  commandment  unto  the  children  of  Israel,"  God 
also  commanded,  Numb.  xxi.  8,  9,  a  serpent  of  brass  to  be 
made,  for  the  healing  of  those  who  were  bit  by  the  firey  ser- 
pent :  which  serpent  was  an  emblem  of  Christ,  John  iii.  14,  15. 

Q.  But  is  it  not  forbidden,  Exod.  xx.  4,  to  make  the  likeness 
of  any  thing  in  heaven  above  or  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the 
waters  under  the  earth  ? 

A.  It  is  forbidden  to  make  to  ourselves  any  such  image  or 
likeness  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  make  it  our  God,  or  put  our  trust  in 
it,  or  give  it  the  honor  which  belongs  to  God  :  which  is  explained 
by  the  following  words,  "  Thou  shalt  not,,^bow  down  thyself  to 
them,"  that  is,  thou  shalt  not  adore  them.  Tor  so  both  the  Sept- 
uacrint  and  the  Vulorate  translate  it,  "  nor  serve  them." 
Otherwise,  if  all  likenesses  were  forbidden  by  this  command- 
ment we  should  be  obliged  to  fling  down  our  sign-posts  and 
deface  our  coin. 

Q.  What  kind  of  honor  do  Catholics  give  to  the  images  of 
Christ  and  His  saints? 

A.   A  relative  honor. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  a  relative  honor? 

A.  By  a  relative  honor,  I  mean  an  honor  which  Is  given  to  a 
thing,  not  for  any  intrinsic  excellence  or  dignity  in  the  thing 
itself,  but  barely  for  the  relation  it  has  to  something  else  ;  as 
when  courtiers  bow  to  the  chair  of  state  or  Christians  to  the 


A   CATHOLICS   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  3/ 

name  of  Jesus,  which  Is  an  image  or  remembrance  of  our  Saviour 
to  the  ear,  as  the  crucifix  is  to  the  eye. 

Q.  Have  you  any  instances  of  this  relative  honor  allowed  by 
Protestants  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  in  the  honor  they  give  to  the  name  of  Jesus,  to 
their  churches,  to  the  altar,  to  the  Bible,  to  the  symbols  of  bread 
and  wine  in  the  Sacrament.  Such  also  was  the  honor  which 
the  Jews  gave  to  the  ark  and  cherubims,  and  which  Moses  and 
Joshua  gave  to  the  land  on  which  they  stood,  as  being  holy 
ground.      Exod.  iii.  5;  Josh.  v.  15,  etc. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  there  is  a  relative  honor  due  to 
the  images  or  pictures  of  Christ  and  His  saints  ? 

A.  From  the  dictates  of  common  sense  and  reason,  as  well  as 
of  piety  and  religion,  which  teach  us  to  express  our  love  and 
esteem  for  the  persons  whom  we  honor,  by  setting  a  value  upon 
all  things  that  belong  to  them,  or  have  any  relation  to  them  : 
thus,  a  loyal  subject,  a  dutiful  child,  a  loving  friend,  value  the 
pictures  of  their  king,  father,  or  friend  ;  and  those  who  make  no 
scruple  of  abusing  the  image  of  Christ,  would  severely  punish 
the  man  that  would  abuse  the  image  of  their  king. 

Q.  Does  your  Church  allow  of  images  of  God  the  Father,  or 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity  ? 

A.  Our  profession  of  faith  makes  no  mention  of  such  images 
as  these;  yet  we  do  not  think  them  unlawful,  provided  that  they 
be  not  understood  to  bear  any  likeness  or  resemblance  of  the 
divinity,  which  cannot  be  expressed  in  colors,  or  represented  by 
any  human  workmanship.  For  as  Protestants  make  no  diffi- 
culty of  painting  the  Holy  Ghost  under  the  figure  of  a  dove, 
because  He  appeared  so  when  Christ  was  baptized.  Matt.  iii.  16, 
so  we  make  no  difficulty  of  painting  God  the  Father  under  the 
figure  of  a  venerable  old  man,  because  He  appeared  in  that 
manner  to  the  prophet  Daniel  vii.  9. 

CONCERNING    INDULGENCES. 

What  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  concerning  indul- 
gences ? 

A.   Not  leave  to  commit  sin,  nor  pardon  for  sins   to  come  : 


38  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

but  only  a  releasing,  by  the  power  of  the  keys  committed  to  the 
Church,  the  debt  of  temporal  punishment  which  may  remain 
due  upon  account  of  our  sins,  after  the  sins  themselves,  as  to 
the  guilt  and  eternal  punishment,  have  been  already  remitted  by 
contrition,  confession,  and  absolution. 

Q.  Can  you  prove  from  Scripture  that  there  is  a  punishment 
often  due  upon  account  of  our  sins,  after  the  sins  themselves 
have  been  remitted  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  this  evidently  appears  in  the  case  of  King  David, 
2  Kings  xii.,  where,  although  the  prophet  Nathan,  upon  his 
repentance,  tells  him,  ver.  13,  "the  Lord  hath  put  away  thy 
sin,"  yet  he  denounces  unto  him  many  terrible  punishments,  10, 
II,  12,  14,  which  should  be  inflicted  by  reason  of  this  sin,  which 
accordingly  afterwards  ensued. 

The  power  of  granting  indulgences  was  left  by  Christ  to  the 
Church.  Matt.  xvi.  19,  "I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kino-dom  of  heaven  :  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth, 
shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on 
earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  And  we  have  an  instance  in 
Scripture  of  St.  Paul's  granting  an  indulgence  to  the  Corinthian 
whom  he  had  put  under  penance  for  incest.      2  Cor.  ii.  10. 

THE    SUPREMACY    AND    INFALLIBILITY    OF    THE    POPE. 

What  is  the  Catholic  doctrine  as  to  the  Pope's  supremacy? 

A.  1st.  That  St.  Peter,  by  divine  commission,  was  head  of 
the  Church  under  Christ.  2dly.  That  the  Pope  or  Bishop  of 
Rome,  as  successor  to  St.  Peter,  is  at  present  head  of  the 
Church,  and  Christ's  vicar  upon  earth. 

Q.   How  do  you  prove  St.  Peter's  supremacy? 

A.  ist.  From  what  our  Lord  He  Himself  declared,  Matt.  xvi. 
18,  when  He  told  him,  "Thou  art  Peter  (that  is  a  rock)  and 
upon  this  rock  will  I  build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

2dly.  From  the  following  words,  Matt.  xvi.  19,  "I  will  give 
unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  what- 
soever thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  39 

3dly.  From  Luke  xxii.  31,  32,  in  which  text  our  Lord  not  only 
declared  His  particular  concern  for  Peter  in  praying  for  him  that 
his  faith  mio;ht  not  fail :  but  also  committed  to  him  the  care  of 
his  brethren,  the  other  apostles,  in  charging  him  to  confirm  or 
strengthen  them. 

4thly.  From  John  xxi.  15,  etc.,  in  which  text  our  Lord,  in  a 
most  solemn  manner,  thrice  committed  to  Peter  the  care  of  His 
whole  fiock,  of  all  His  sheep  without  exception,  that  is,  of  His 
whole  Church. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  this  commission  given  to  Peter 
descends  to  the  Pope  or  Bishop  of  Rome  ? 

A.  Because  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Fathers,  and  the 
tradition  of  the  Church  in  all  ages,  the  bishops  of  Rome  are  the 
successors  of  St.  Peter,  who  translated  his  chair  from  Antioch  to 
Rome,  and  died  Bishop  of  Rome.  Hence  the  See  of  Rome  in 
all  ages  was  called  the  See  of  Peter,  the  chair  of  Peter,  and 
absolutely  the  See  Apostolic  :  and  in  that  quality  has  from  the 
beginning  exercised  jurisdiction  over  all  other  churches,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  best  records  of  church  history. 

Besides,  supposing  the  supremacy  of  St.  Peter,  which  we  have 
proved  above  from  plain  Scripture,  it  must  consequently  be 
allowed  that  his  supremacy,  which  Christ  established  for  the 
better  government  of  His  Church,  and  maintaining  of  unity,  was 
not  to  die  with  Peter,  no  more  than  the  Church,  which  He 
promised  should  stand  for  ever.  For  how  can  any  Christian 
imagine,  that  Christ  should  appoint  a  head  for  the  government 
of  His  Church  and  maintaining  of  unity  during  the  apostles' 
times;  and  design  another  kind  of  government  for  succeeding 
ages,  when  there  was  like  to  be  so  much  more  need  of  a  head  ? 
Therefore  we  must  grant  that  St.  Peter's  supremacy  was  by  suc- 
cession to  descend  to  somebody.  Now  I  would  willingly  know 
who  has  so  fair  a  title  to  his  succession  as  the  Bishop  of  Rome  ? 

Q.   What  do  you  mean  by  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope? 

A.  I  mean  that  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  cannot  err  in  ques- 
tions- of  faith  or  morals  in  his  official  decisions  on  these  matters 
as  head  of  the  Church. 

Q.  How  do  you  prove  that  the  Pope  has  this  extraordinary 
privilege  ? 


40 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 


A.  Because  the  last  General  Council  of  the  Vatican  has 
defined  it  as  an  article  of  faith,  and  has  thus  interpreted  the 
texts  already  quoted  :  "  1  have  prayed  for  thee  (Peter)  that  thy 
faith  fail  not;  and  when  thou  art  converted  strengthen  thy 
brethren  ;  "  and  also,  "  Feed  my  lambs,  feed  my  sheep."  The 
sheep  and  the  lambs  are  the  whole  Church,  bishops,  priests,  and 
people.  If  the  Pope  could  err  in  feeding  them,  he  would  poison 
with  false'doctrine  instead  of  nourishing  the  flock  of  Christ. 

O.  Can  you  add  anything  more  in  confirmation  of  all  the 
foreeoinor  tenets  ? 

A.  I  shall  add  no  more  than  this,  that  having  already  proved 
in  the  first  chapter,  that  the  Church  in  communion  with  Rome 
is  the  true  and  only  Church  of  Christ,  and  consequently  her 
councils  and  pastors  the  guides  of  divine  appointment,  which 
Christ  has  established  to  be  our  conductors  in  the  way  to  a 
happy  eternity  ;  it  follows  that  we  should  without  further  hesita. 
tion  believe  and  profess,  what  this  Church  and  her  pastors  believe 
and  profess  ;  and  condemn  and  reject,  what  they  condemn  and 
reject. 

Q.  Why  do  you  In  your  profession  of  faith  make  a  declaration 
of  receiving  in  particular  the  doctrine  of  the  Council  of  Trent? 

A.  Because  this  was  the  general  council  called  in  opposition 
to  the  new  doctrines  of  Luther  and  Calvin  ;  and  therefore  we 
particularly  declare  our  assent  to  the  decrees  of  this  council,  as 
being  levelled  against  those  heresies  which  have  been  most  prev- 
alent in  these  three  last  ages. 

[Since  the  Council  of  Trent  we  have  had  the  Council  of  the 
Vatican,  which  is  still  unfinished.] 


WHY    catholic's    OBJECT    TO    PROTESTANT    RELIGION. 

Because  the  Protestant  religion  is  a  new  religion,  which  had 
no  being  in  the  world  until  1500  years  after  Christ,  and  therefore 
it  comes  1500  years  too  late  to  be  the  true  Church  of  Christ. 
Martin  Luther  laid  the  first  foundation  of  the  Protestant  religion 
in  the  year  151  7,  and  his  followers  took  the  name  of  Protestants 
in  the  year  1529;  before  which  time  neither  the  name  nor  the 
relif^ion  was  ever  heard  of  in  the  Christian  world.     And  we  defy 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  FAriH.  41 

all  the  learned  men  amoncrst  them,  to  name  so  much  as  one 
single  name  before  Luther,  who  held  throughout  their  39 
articles,,  or  any  other  entire  system  of  Protestancy,  as  it  is  now 
professed  in  any  country  upon  earth.  Now,  how  can  that  be 
Christ's  Church  which  for  so  many  ages  had  no  being  in  the 
world,  since  all  Christians  are  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  the 
true  Church  of  Christ  can  be  no  other  than  that  which  had  its 
beginning  from  Christ,  and,  as  He  promised,  was  to  stand  for- 
ever ?     See  St.  Matt.  xvi.  18  and  xxviii.  20. 

2.  Because  the  Protestant  religion  cannot  be  true  except  the 
whole  Scripture,  both  of  the  New  and  Old  Testament,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  be  false,  which  in  so  many  places  assures 
us  that  the  Church  of  Christ  should  never  go  astray  ;  for  every 
one  knows  that  the  Protestant  religion  pretends  to  be  a  refor- 
mation of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  it  is  evident  there  could  be 
no  room  for  a  reformation  of  the  Church  of  Christ  except  the 
Church  was  gone  astray  ;  so  that  the  whole  building  of  their 
pretendedly  reform  Church  is  founded  upon  this  supposition  of 
the  whole  Church,  before  the  time  of  Luther,  having  been  cor- 
rupted by  damnable  errors.  "  Laity  and  clergy,"  says  their 
homily  book,  approved  by  the  39  articles,  Article  35,  "  learned 
and  unlearned,  all  ages,  sects,  and  degrees  of  men,  women,  and 
children  of  whole  Christendom  (and  horrible  and  most  dreadful 
things  to  think)  have  been  at  once  drowned  in  abominable 
idolatry  ;  of  all  other  vices  most  detested  by  God  and  damnable 
to  man,  and  that  for  the  space  of  eight  hundred  years  and  more.'' 
— Horn,  of  Pearl  of  Idolatry,  Part  3. 

Now,  I  say  if  this  be  true,  which  is  the  main  foundation  of 
the  Protestant  Church,  Scripture,  which  so  often  promises  that 
Christ's  Church  shall  never  be  corrupted  by  errors  in  matters  of 
faith,  much  less  be  for  so  many  ages  overwhelmed  with  abomi- 
nable idolatry,  must  be  false.  Thou  art  Peter,  says  our  Lord, 
St.  Matt.  xvi.  18,  and  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  My  Church, 
and  the  gates  of  hell,  the  powers  of  darkness,  shall  not  prevail 
against  it.  Therefore  the  Church  of  Christ  could  never  go  as- 
tray. Go,  teach  all  nations,  says  the  same  Lord  to  the  apostles 
and  their  successors,  the  pastors  of  the  Church,  St.  Matt,  xxviii. 


42 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFEN'CE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 


19,  and  behold  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  Therefore  the  Church  of  Christ  could  never  fall  into 
errors,  because  Christ,  who  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life, 
St.  John  xiv.  6,  has  promised  His  presence  and  assistance  to 
her  teachers,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  see  also  St.  John, 
xiv.  10,  17,  where  Christ  promises  to  the  same  pastors  and 
teachers  of  the  Church,  the  Comforter,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  to 
abide  with  them  for  ever  ;  to  teach  them  all  things,  ver.  26,  and 
to  guide  them  into  all  Truth,  Chap.    xvi.  13.     And    Isaias,  lix. 

20,  21,  where  God  promises  that  after  the  coming  of  our  Re- 
deemer, the  Church  shall  never  err.  "  This  is  My  covenant 
with  them,  saith  the  Lord,  My  Spirit,  that  is  upon  thee,  and  My 
words,  which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  depart  out  of 
thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the 
mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the  Lord  ;  from  henceforth  for 
ever. 

See  also  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  Psalms  Ixxii, 
5,  7  ;  Psalms  Ixxxix.  3,  4,  27,  28,  29,  31,  32,  2,3'  34.  35-  3^,  37  y 
Isaias  ix,  6,  7,  chap.  Ix.  11,  12,  25,  26,  chap.  Ixii.  6;  Jeremias 
xxxi.  36,  ;^y,  chap,  xxxiii.  14,  15,  16,  17,  18,  19,  20,  21  ;  Ezekiel 
xxxvii.  16;  Ephesians,  Iv.  11,  12,  13,14,  chap.  v.  23,  24;  i  Tim- 
othy, iii.  14,  15. 

3.  Because  the  first  foundation  of  the  Protestant  religion  was 
laid  by  an  insupportable  pride,  in  one  man,  viz.,  Luther  (who  is 
acknowledged  to  have  been  in  the  beginning  all  alone),  presum- 
ing' to  stand  out  ao^ainst  the  whole  Church  of  God  ;  therefore 
instead  of  following  him,  or  the  religion  invented  by  him,  we 
ought,  by  the  rule  of  the  Gospel,  St.  Matt.  xix.  17,  to  look  upon 
him  as  no  better  than  a  heathen  and  a  publican.  "  If  he  neg- 
lect to  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  a  heathen  and  a 
publican." 

4.  Because  Luther  and  the  first  Protestants,  when  they  began 
to  set  up  their  new  religion,  and  disclaimed  all  the  authority 
and  doctrine  of  all  Churches  then  upon  the  earth,  could  not  say 
the  Creed  without  telling  a  lie,  when  they  came  to  that  article  : 
**I  believe  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  the  communion  of  saints." 

5.  Because   the   Protestant  Church  has  not   those  marks,  by 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENXE   OF   HIS   FAITH.  43 

which  the  Nicene  Creed  directs  us  to  the  true  Church  of  Christ : 
it  is  not  One,  Holy,  CathoHc  and  ApostoHcal. 

1.  'Tis  not  one  ;  because  the  different  branches  of  the  pre- 
tended reformation  are  divided  from  one  another  in  faith  and 
communion  :  nay,  scarce  any  two  single  men  among  them  all, 
are  throughout  of  the  same  sentiments  in  religion,  and  no  won- 
der, since  every  man's  private  spirit  is  with  them  the  ultimate 
judge  of  controversies  ;  so  that  it  is  not  possible  they  should 
ever  be  brought  to  a  unity  in  religion. 

2.  Their  Church  is  not  holy  ;  neither  in  her  doctrine,  which, 
especially  in  the  first  reformers,  was  shamefully  scandalous  in 
the  encouraging  lust  and  breaking  of  vows ;  blasphemous  in 
charging  God  with  being  the  author  of  sin  ;  and  notoriously 
wicked  in  their  notions  of  free-will  and  predestination  ;  nor  is 
she  holy  in  the  lives,  either  of  her  first  teachers  (none  of  which 
were  remarkable  for  sanctity  ;  and  the  greatest  part  of  them  in- 
famous for  their  vices)  or  of  their  followers,  who,  as  many  of  the 
chief  Protestant  writers  have  freely  owned,  instead  of  growing 
better  than  they  were  before,  by  embracing  the  reformed  re- 
ligion, grew  daily  worse  and  worse. 

3.  Their  Church  is  not  Catholic  :  they  are  sensible  this  name 
belongs  not  to  them  ;  therefore  they  have  taken  to  themselves 
another  name,  viz.  :  that  of  Protestants.  And,  indeed,  how 
should  their  Church  be  Catholic  or  universal,  which  implies  be- 
ing in  all  ages,  and  all  nations,  since  it  had  no  being  for  fifteen 
ages  ;  and  is  unknown  in  most  nations  ? 

4.  Their  Church  is  not  Apostolical,  since  it  neither  was 
founded  by  any  of  the  Apostles,  nor  has  any  succession  of  doc- 
trine, communion,  or  lawful  mission  from  the  Apostles. 

5.  Because  Luther  (the  first  preacher  of  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion) had  no  marks  of  being,  actuated  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
but  bore  many  evident  badges  of  the  spirit  of  Satan  ;  witness  his 
furious  and  violent  temper,  which  could  not  brook  the  least  con- 
tradiction ;  of  which  many  Protestants  have  loudly  complained  ; 
witness  his  scandalous  marriagfe  with  a  nun  ;  and  his  no  less 
scandalous  dispensation,  by  which  he  allowed  Philip,  Landgrave 
of   Hesse,  to   have   two  wives  at  once,  contrary  to  the  Gospel ; 


44  A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith. 

witness  his  frequent  conferences  with  the  devil ;  in  one  of  which, 
as  we  learn  from  his  own  mouth,  T.  7.,  Fol.  228.,  etc.,  he  was 
taught  no  small  part  of  his  reformation,  to  wit,  his  abolishing 
the  Mass,  by  the  father  of  lies.  Now,  who  would  venture  to 
follow  that  man  for  his  master  in  religion,  who  owns  himself  to 
have  been  taught  by  Satan  ? 

6.  Because  the  first  steps  towards  introducing  the  Protestant 
religion  into  England  were  made  by  King  Henry  the  Vlllth,  a 
most  wicked  prince,  "  who  never  spared  woman  in  his  lust,  nor 
man  in  his  wrath  ;  "  and  the  first  foundations  of  that  religion  in 
England,  were  cemented  by  blood,  lust  and  sacrilege,  as  every 
one  knows  that  knows  the  history  of  those  times.  To  this  first 
beginning,  the  progress  was  answerable  in  the  days  of  King  Ed- 
ward VI.,  during  which  the  reformation  was  carried  on  with  a 
high  hand  by  Somerset  and  Dudley  in  conjunction  with  the 
Council,  and  Parliament  upon  interested  views,  not  without 
great  confusion,  and  innumerable  sacrileges,  as  their  own  his- 
torian. Dr.  Heylin,  is  forced  to  acknowledge. 

7.  Because  Protestancy  was  settled  upon  its  present  bottom 
in  this  kingdom,  by  act  of  Parliament,  in  the  first  year  of  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  opposition  "to  all  the  bishops,  to 
the  whole  convocation  of  the  clergy,  and  to  both  the  Universi- 
ties ;  that  is,  in  one  word,  in  opposition  to  the  whole  body  of 
the  clergy  of  the  kingdoms,  as  may  be  seen  in  Fuller,  L.  6.  etc. 
Heylin,  pp.  284,  286.  How  then  can  it  be  called  the  Church  of 
England,  or  any  Church  at  all,  seeing  it  was  introduced  and 
established,  only  by  the  authority  of  mere  laymen,  in  opposition 
to  the  Church  ? 

8.  Because  it  is  visible  to  any  unprejudiced  eye,  that  there"  is 
not  so  much  devotion,  zeal  or  religion  amongst  Protestants  as 
there  is  amongst  Catholics.  We  never  hear  of  any  instances  of 
extraordinary  sanctity  amongst  them  ;  the  evangelical  counsel  of 
voluntary  renunciation  of  the  goods  and  pleasures  of  this  life,  is 
a  lancruao:e  which  none  of  them  understood  ;  one  of  the  first 
feats  of  their  reformation,  was  pulling  down  all  houses  con- 
secrated to  retirement  and  prayer. 

9.  Because    all    kinds  of  arguments    make    for  the    Catholic 


A   CATHOLIC  S   DEFENCE   OF   HIS   FAITH. 


45 


Church,  and  against  Protestants  :  ours  is  the  Church  in  which  all 
the  Saints  both  Hved  and  died  :  our  reHgion  has  been  in  every 
age  confirmed  by  innumerable,  undoubted  miracles.  We  alone 
communicants,  inherit  the  chair  of  Peter,  to  whom  Christ 
committed  the  care  of  His  flock,  St.  John  xxi.  We  alone 
inherit  the  name  of  Catholics,  appropriated  in  the  Creed,  to  the 
true  Church  of  Christ.  By  the  ministry  of  our  preachers  alone 
nations  of  infidels  have,  in  every  age,  been  converted  to  Christ. 
In  a  word,  antiquity,  perpetual  visibility,  apostolical  succession 
and  mission,  and  all  other  properties  of  the  true  Church,  are 
visibly  on  our  side. 

10.  Because  even  in  the  judgment  of  Protestants,  we  must  be 
on  the  safer  side.  They  allow  that  our  Church  does  not  err  in 
fundamentals,  that  she  is  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  :  that  we  have  ordinary  mission,  succession  and  orders 
from  the  Apostles  of  Christ ;  they  all  allow  that  there  is  salva- 
tion in  our  communion  :  and  consequently  that  our  Church 
wants  nothing  necessary  to  salvation.  We  can  allow  them 
nothing  of  it  at  all ;  without  doing  wrong  to  truth,  and  our  own 
consciences.  We  are  convinced  that  they  are  guilty  of  a  funda- 
mental error  in  this  article  of  the  Church,  which,  if  they  had 
believed  aright,  they  would  never  have  pretended  to  reform  her 
doctrine.  We  are  convinced  that  they  are  schismatics,  by  sepa- 
rating themselves  from  the  communion  of  the  Church  of  Christ ; 
and  heretics,  by  dissenting  from  her  doctrine  in  many  substantial 
articles  ;  and  consequently,  that  they  have  no  pait  in  the  Church 
of  Christ ;  no  lawful  mission,  no  succession  from  the  Apostles,  no 
authority  at  all  to  preach  the  Word  of  God,  or  administer 
the  sacraments :  in  fine,  no  share  in  the  promise  of  Christ's 
heavenly  kingdom,  excepting  the  case  of  invincible  ignorance, 
from  which  the  Scripture,  in  so  many  places,  excludes  heretics 
and  schismatics. 

1 1.  Because  the  Protestant  religion,  though  we  are  to  suppose 
the  professors  of  it  to  be  excused  by  invincible  ignorance  from 
the  -guilt  of  heresy  and  schism,  lays  them,  nevertheless,  under 
most  dreadful  disadvantages,  which  needs  highly  endanger 
their    everlasting   salvation  ;  the    more,   because    it   is  at   least 


46  A  catholic's  defenxe  of  his  faith. 

highly  probable  they  have  no  true  orders  amongst  them.  Hence 
they  have  no  true  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord. 
They  have  no  part  in  the  great  Eucharistical  Sacrifice,  no  com. 
munion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  bishops'  imposition  of  hands 
in  confirmation  ;  no  power  of  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  given  to  the  Church,  St.  Matt.  xvi.  19^  and  St.  John, 
xxix.  22,  23,  for  absolving  sinners,  etc.  Add  to  this,  that  their 
religfion  robs  them  of  the  Communion  of  the  Saints  in  Heaven, 
by  teaching  them  not  to  seek  their  prayers  or  intercession  :  it 
encourages  them  by  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone, 
Art.  1 1,  to  be  no  ways  solicitous  for  redeeming  their  past  sins  by 
good  works  and  penitential  austerities:  it  robs  them  when  they 
are  sick  of  that  great  blessing,  both  corporeal  and  spiritual, 
promised,.  St.  James  v.,  to  the  anointing  of  the  sick:  and  when 
they  are  dead,  no  prayers  must  be  said  for  them  for  fear  of 
superstition.  In  fine,  the  Scriptures,  which  are  put  in  their  hands, 
are  corrupted,  the  good  works  their  Church  prescribes  or  advises, 
such  as  fasting,  keeping  holydays,  confession,  etc.,  are  entirely 
neglected,  and  both  ministers  and  people  run  out  into  a  wide 
easy  way  of  living,  with  little  or  no  apprehension  for  their  future 
state.  Whereas  the  true  servants  of  God,  in  imitation  of  the 
Apostles  and  other  Saints,  have  always  led  a  life  of  mortification 
and  self-denial,  and  have  always  strove  to  work  out  their  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling. 

12.  Because  the  Protestant  religion  can  afford  us  no  certainty 
in  matters  of  faith.  Their  Church  owns  herself  fallible  even  in 
fundamentals.  Since  she  only  pretends  to  be  part  of  the  Uni- 
versal Church,  according  to  her  principles,  she  may  fall  into 
errors  destructive  of  salvation.  What  security,  then,  can  she 
give  her  followers  that  she  is  not  actually  leading  them  on  in  the 
way  of  eternal  damnation  ?  She  has  no  infallible  certainty  of 
the  certainty  of  the  Scripture  itself,  which  she  pretends  to  make 
her  only  rule  of  faith  :  from  whence  can  she  pretend  to  have  the 
certainty?  Not  from  the  Scripture  itself ;  for  this  would  be  run- 
ning round  in  a  circle.  Besides,  there  is  no  part  of  Scripture 
that  tells  us  what  books  are  Scripture  and  what  not  ;  much  less 
is  there  any  part  of  Scripture  that  assures  us  that  the  English 


A  catholic's  defence  of  his  faith.  47 

Protestant  Bible,  for  example,  is  agreeable  to  what  the  prophets 
and  apostles  wrote  so  many  ages  ago,  or  that  there  is  so  much 
as  one  single  word  in  it '  uncorrupted.  If  she  appeals  to  tradi- 
tion, this,  according  to  her  principles,  cannot  ground  a  certain 
faith,  since  she  makes  the  Scripture  alone  the  rule  of  faith.  If 
she  appeals  to  Church  authority,  this  she  pretends  is  not  infalli- 
ble. What,  then,  must  become  of  the  infallibility  of  her  faith, 
when  she  has  no  infallible  certainty  of  the  Scripture,  upon  which 
alone  she  pretends  to  ground  her  faith  ?  Besides,  though  she 
were  infallibly  certain  of  the  Scripture  being  the  pure  word  of 
God,  it  would  avail  her  nothing,  except  we  were  also  infallibly 
certain  that  the  Scriptures  are  to  be  interpreted  in  her  way. 
And  this  is  an  infallibility  to  which  she  neither  can  nor  does 
pretend  to  lay  any  claim.  And  thus,  after  all  her  brags  of  the 
pure  word  of  God,  her  children  have  no  other  ground  for  their 
faith  and  religion  than  her  fallible  interpretation  of  the  word  of 
God,  opposite  in  many  points  to  the  interpretation  of  a  Church 
founded  on  that  authority  which  she  cannot  pretend  to. 


^l\e  Illdstratioi^s 


OF   SCENES   FROM 


^l\e  Mar^^er  to  tl^e  Gross. 

(^ •4" ♦ l3-7) 

This  series  of  pictures  illustrate  the  life  of  our  Saviour,  His 
miracles,  His  sufferings,  and  His  death.  They  embrace  pictures 
from  the  celebrated  gallery  by  Heinrich  Johann  Michael  Ferdi- 
nand Hofmann,  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  Biblical  artists 
now  living.  He  was  born  in  1824,  and  after  travelling  and 
studying  in  Holland,  Belgium,  Germany,  France,  and  Italy,  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  Dresden,  where  he  is  now  a  professor  in 
the  Academy.  One  of  his  masterpieces,  illustrating  the  Life  of 
Christ,  was  purchased  by  the  Imperial  Government  a  few  years 
since  for  the  famous  Dresden  Gallery  of  Fine  Arts.  He  is  con- 
ceded to  be  one  of  the  most  popular  modern  Biblical  painters. 
The  Scriptural  "Gallery  of  New  Testament  Illustrations"  is 
arranged  in  the  order  of  our  Saviour's  life,  and  is  universally 
admitted  to  include  some  of  the  best  and  most  instructive  relig- 
ious art  works  ever  produced.  They  are  an  epitome  of  the  Life 
of  Jesus  presented  in  a  manner  that  no  words  could  convey. 
The  events  presented  are  among  those  familiar  to  both  young  and 
old,  but  which  remain  always  impressive  and  always  new. 

The  Nativity.  The  birth  of  Jesus  was  announced  by  angels 
who  sang  the  canticle,  which  is  the  abridgment  of  all  the  works 
of  the  Messiah:  "Glory  to  God  on  high,  and  peace  on  earth  to 
men  of  good  will."  The  shepherds  to  whom  this  angelic 
announcement  was  made  hastened  to  the  manger,  where  they 
adored  the  new-born  Messiah,  with  Mary  and  Joseph. 

The  Wise  Men  from  the  East.  God  made  known  the  birth 
of  the  Messiah  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  the  Jews.  A 
short  time  after  His  birth,  a  miraculous  star  appeared  in  the 


ii        ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SCENES  FROM  TEE  MANGER  TO  THE  CROSS. 

heavens.  The  Magi  (that  is,  the  wise  men  of  the  East)  having 
seen  it,  came  to  adore  the  Lord  and  to  offer  to  Him  gifts  of  gold, 
frankincense,  and  myrrh. 

Healing  the  Sick.  When  the  public  life  of  our  Lord  began 
— that  is,  the  three  years  during  which  He  preached  His  doc- 
trine in  Judea — the  fame  of  His  miracles  and  teachings  soon 
spread,  and  wheresoever  He  went  the  people  came  in  multitudes, 
bringing  their  sick  with  them  to  be  healed  by  Jesus.  In  this  we 
find  typified  the  truth  that  Jesus  is  willing  to  wipe  away  the 
sins  of  all  who  come  to  Him  in  a  true  spirit  of  repentance. 

Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Having  chosen  His  apostles,  our 
Lord  addressed  to  His  disciples  and  a  great  multitude  of  people 
the  admirable  discourse  called  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The 
maxims  laid  down  in  this  discourse  constitute  a  body  of  doctrine, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  the  abridgment  of  Christian  morals. 

The  Raising  of  Jairus'  Daughter.  When  Jesus  was  informed 
that  Jairus'  daughter  was  dead,  and  the  messenger  implied 
that  all  was  over  as  to  saving  her,  the  Saviour  replied :  "  Be 
not  afi^aid :  only  believe,  and  she  shall  be  saved."  By  this  Jesus 
taught  that  we  must  never  lose  faith,  for  nothing  is  impossible 
to  God.  And  going  to  the  house  of  her  father.  He  restored  the 
maiden  to  life. 

Christ  and  the  Penitent.  When  Jesus  was  teaching  in  the 
temple  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  brought  before  Him  a  woman 
taken  in  adultery,  and  asked  if,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
she  should  not  be  stoned  to  death  ?  Jesus  answered  :  "  Let  him 
among  you  without  sin  cast  a  first  stone  at  her."  And  they 
departed.  Jesus  then  said  to  the  woman :  "  Go,  and  sin  no  more." 
Here  our  Saviour  shows  His  infinite  mercy  toward  sinners ;  and 
also  teaches  the  lesson  that  if  we  expect  pardon  for  sins  commit- 
ted, it  must  be  on  the  condition  that  we  abstain  from  sin. 

Healing  the  Youth  of  Nain.  Jesus  having  gone  to  a  city 
called  Nain,  with  His  disciples,  met  a  great  multitude  bear- 
ing for  burial  the  corpse  of  a  young  man,  whose  mother  was  a 
widow.  Jesus  said  to  the  dead :  "  Young  man,  I  say  to  thee, 
arise."     The  dead  arose,  and  Jesus  delivered  him  to  his  mother. 


ILLUSTKATIOjS^S  of  scenes  from  the  MAXGER  to  the  cross.        Ill 

And  the  people  cried  out :  "  A  great  prophet  is  risen  among  us, 
and  God  has  visited  His  people." 

Driving  the  Money  Changers.  Jesus  having  entered  the 
temple,  made  a  scourge  and  cast  out  them  that  bought  and 
sold  in  the  temple.  Overturning  their  tables.  He  said  to  them : 
"  My  house  is  a  house  of  prayer,  and  you  have  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves."  No  one  dared  to  oppose  Him,  so  deeply  were  they 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  His  divinity. 

The  Last  Words.  Jesus  at  the  last  supper  instituting  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  took  bread,  broke  it,  saying  to  His  apostles: 
"  Take  and  eat."  Then,  taking  a  cup  of  wine,  He  said  :  "  Drink 
ye,  all,  of  this.  This  is  the  chalice  of  the  New  Testament  in  my 
blood  which  shall  be  shed  for  you.  Do  this  in  commemoration 
of  me." 

Christ  before  Pilate.  The  Jews  brought  Jesus  before  Pilate, 
the  Koman  governor.  The  latter  on  questioning  Jesus,  saw 
that  He  was  innocent.  But  His  accusers  were  determined 
that  Jesus  should  die,  and  they  cried  out  to  Pilate:  "If  thou 
release  this  man,  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend."  Pilate  thereupon 
yielded  to  their  clamor,  and  delivered  up  Jesus,  whom  he  declared 
he  found  innocent.  Thus,  from  a  mere  worldly  motive  this' 
unjust  judge  became  a  participator  of  the  awful  crime  of  the  Jews. 

Pilate  took  Jesus  and  Scourged  Him.  Pilate  having  declared 
to  the  Jews  that  he  did  not  find  any  cause  of  death  in  Jesus, 
said  he  would  scourge  Him  and  set  Him  at  liberty.  Jesus 
was  accordingly  scourged,  but  the  Jews  still  clamored  to  crucify 
Him.  That  this  flagellation  was  extremely  cruel  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  since  Pilate  thought  that  by  exhibiting  to  the  Jews 
the  condition  to  which  it  had  reduced  our  Saviour,  he  should 
at  last  succeed  in  melting  them  into  compassion. 

On  the  Way  to  Calvary.  On  the  way  to  Calvary,  Jesus  was 
followed  by  a  great  multitude  of  people  and  of  women  who 
were  weeping.  He  turned  to  the  women  and  said :  "  Daughters 
of  Jerusalem !  Weep  not  for  me ;  but  for  yourselves  and  your 
children  !  "  This  exhibition  of  sympathy  was  the  only  thing  that 
arrested  the  attention  of  Jesus  on  the  way  to  Calvary.     When 


iv       ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  SCENES  FROM  THE  MANGER  TO  THE  CROSS. 

He  fell  beneath  tlie  cross  He  said  notliing.  WLeo  they  took  it 
from  His  shoulders  and  gave  it  to  Simon,  He  said  nothing.  And 
now  when  He  spoke  to  the  weeping  women  He  forgot  His  own 
grief  in  theirs.  For  He  foresaw  the  awful  woe  that  was  to  come 
on  them  afterward,  at  the  destruction  of  the  Holy  City. 

Carrying  the  Body  of  Our  Lord  to  the  Tomb.  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  a  noble  counsellor,  a  good  and  a  just  man,  and 
Nicodemus,  after  obtaining  possession  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
from  Pilate,  bore  it  to  a  garden  near  by  where  a  new  tomb  haC 
been  hewn  out  of  a  rock,  and  laid  it  there  with  pious  hands.  The 
friends  of  Jesus  seemed  to  have  fled  for  the  moment,  with  the 
exception  of  these  two  good  men,  and  Mary  of  Magdala,  and  her 
friend  Mary,  who  followed  at  a  distance  to  see  where  the  Saviour 
was  laid. 

The  Entombment.  Having  wrapped  the  body  of  Jesus  in 
fine  linen  cloths  with  spices,  after  the  manner  of  the  Jews,  Joseph 
and  Nicodemus  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the  mouth  of  the  sepul- 
chre and  went  away.  Hence  arose  the  custom,  at  the  sacrifice  of 
the  Mass,  to  lay  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  linen,  to  the 
exclusion  of  every  other  texture.  St.  Jerome  made  this  remark 
nearly  1,400  years  ago. 

St.  Veronica's  Handkerchief.  According  to  the  Bollandist  Fa- 
thers Veronica,  or  Berenice,  was  a  pious  woman  of  Jerusalem, who, 
moved  with  pity  as  Jesus  bore  His  cross  to  Golgotha,  gave  Him 
her  kerchief  that  He  might  wipe  the  drops  of  agony  from  His 
brow.  The  Lord  accepted  the  offering,  and  after  using  it,  handed 
it  back  to  her  bearing  the  image  of  His  face  miraculously 
impressed  upon  it. 


J^OM   The   ]VljlNGER 


^  To  The  (fROSS.  *i* 


THE    NATIVITY. 


THE    WISE    MEN    FROM    THE    EAST. 


T^ 


h 


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.•5^^.4#i 


'y>  :-, 


HEALING    THE    SIOK. 


THE    SERMON    ON    THE    MOUNT. 


THE    RAISING    OF    JAIRUS  S    DAUGHTER. 


CHRIST    AND    THE    PENITENT. 


HEALING    THE    YOUTH    OF    NAIN. 


¥ 


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DRIVING    THE    MONEY    CHANGERS    FROM    THE    TEMPLE. 


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THE     LAST     WORDS. 


CHRIST    BEFORE    PILATE— "EOCE  HOMO. 


PILATE    TOOK    JESUS    AND    SCOURGED    HIM."— Sr.   John  xix,   i. 


ON    THE    WAY    TO    CALVARY. 


CARRYINO    THE    BODY    OF    OUR    LORD    TO    THE    TOMB. 


;? 


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THE    ENTOMBMENT. 


SAINT  VERONICA'S  HANDKERCHIEF. 


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iLMJiMfJlBll(BiSlEiiEQ;i5JQiiriIlSlta@5fEi^ 


The  Celebration  of  High  Mass  in  the  Chapel  of  St  Louis, 
IN  Lyons  Cathedral. 


PART    IV. 
THB    PARISH     PRIEST 

AND 

A  DEVOUT   YOUTH. 

THE  HOLY  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MASS. 

ITS  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIES  SIMPLIFIED  AND  EXPLAINED 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  USE   OF  CEREMONIES. 

Catechumen.  You  have  now,  reverend  Father,  fully  instructed 
me  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  upon  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass; 
I  pray  you  to  give  me  some  explanation  of  the  words  and  ceremonies 
•prescribed  to  be  used  in  it. 

Priest.  Most  willingly.  Your  devotion  cannot  fail  to  be  strength- 
ened by  some  acquaintance  with  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church,  as  well  as 
with  the  use  and  meaning  of  those  sacred  rites  by  which  this  most 
solemn  of  all  religious  actions  is  accompanied. 

C.  First,  then,  allow  me  to  ask,  what  is  the  precise  use  of  cere- 
monies ? 

P.  The  Church  tells  us,  in  the  Decrees  of  Trent,  that  they  are  de- 
(signed  very  principally  to  promote  the  reverence  and  edification  of 
the  faithful."^  Another  very  important  end  of  them  is,  to  impress  the 
ministers  of  religion  themselves  with  a  sense  of  the  greatness  and 
awfulness  of  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged.  And  an  incidental 
result  of  the  care  which  the  Church  bestows  upon  the  externals  of  re- 
ligion, and  which  I  cannot  but  think  is  a  part  of  her  object  in  provid- 
ing for  them,  is,  the  preservation,  in  all  its  integrity,  of  the  great  doc- 
trines to  which  these  ceremonies  are  evidently  subservient. 

(7.  Explain,  if  you  please,  these  several  uses. 

*Sess.  xxii.  c.  v. 


2  OEDER  AND   CEREMOlSriAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

P.  First,  tlien,  of  the  effect  of  ceremonies  upon  the  people.  We 
naturally  form  a  high  estimate  of  actions  which  we  see  done  with  care 
and  attention.  This  principle  is  well  understood  by  kings  and  the 
great  men  of  the  world,  who,  whenever  they  appear  in  public,  intrast 
their  marshals  and  ushers  with  the  care  of  arranging  their  processions 
and  receptions  according  to  a  prescribed  ceremonial.  The  Church, 
fearing  to  incur  the  malediction  of  those  who  perform  the  work  of 
God  negligently  (Jer.  xlviii.  10),*  and  animated  by  that  spirit  of 
loyalty  which  inclines  us  to  execute  every  "labor  of  love"  with 
punctilious  exactness,  abhors  nothing  more  than  a  perfunctory  and 
slovenly  performance  of  religious  actions. 

Another  end  of  ceremonies  is,  to  fix  upon  the  mind  of  the  priests 
and  ministers  of  religion  a  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  work  in  which 
they  are  engaged.  Our  outward  gestures  have  the  greatest  effect  upon 
the  disposition  of  our  minds.  For  this  reason  it  is,  that,  in  all  well- 
regulated  families,  children  are  brought  up  to  observe  an  outward  de- 
meanor of  respect  and  affection  to  their  parents,  as  the  best,  or  rather 
the  only,  security  for  keeping  themselves  habitually  in  those  dispo- 
sitions. What  prudent  teacher  or  governor  ever  thinks  of  dispensing 
with  such  little  proprieties  and  etiquettes  as  those  which  obtain  in  all 
orderly  households  and  societies,  on  the  score  that  true  love  and  duty 
are  independent  of  such  minutiae  ?  We  well  know  that  the  certain 
consequence  of  neglecting  outward  signs  of  regard  is  to  cool,  in  the 
end,  even  the  most  promising  affection.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that 
the  Church  binds  her  priests  and  ministers,  even  under  pain  of  griev- 
ous sin,  to  an  exact  performance  of  all  the  most  important  ceremonies 
of  Mass ;  and  under  a  decided,  although  less  severe  obligation,  to  a 
care  even  of  less  essential  details. 

Thirdly  :  considering  what  vital  doctrines  are  wrapped  up  in  the 
holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  and  how  intimately  many  of  its  ceremonies 
are  connected  with  these  doctrines,  it  will  appear  that  the  Church  has 
other  and  still  higher  reasons  for  the  attention  she  bestows  upon  the 
ceremonial  of  religion.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  these  ceremonies 
have  materially  contributed  to  preserve  the  doctrine  to  which  they  re- 
late in  its  utmost  purity.  There  is  not  one  of  them  which  does  not 
spring  from  reverence  toward  the  blessed  Eucharist,  while  many  of 
them  directly  imply  the  great  verity  of  Transubstantiation,  This  will 
more  clearly  appear  when  we  come  to  consider  the  ceremonies  them- 
selves in  detail. 

C.  I  remember,  sir,  that  in  an  earlier  part  of  our  conversation,  you 

*In  the  Septuagint  "negligently." 


PREPARATION   FOR   MASS.  3 

spoke  of  the  ^ise  and  meaning  of  the  ceremonies  in  the  Holy  Mass. 
Did  you  employ  these  words  in  their  strict  sense  i 

P.  I  did  so;  intending  to  express  by  them  that  not  one  even  of  the 
very  least  of  all  these  ceremonies  is,  as  the  enemies  of  the  Church 
assert,  and  as  some  of  her  less  instructed  members  may  possibly  sup- 
pose, idle  and  insignificant.  Many  even  of  the  most  apparently  unim- 
portant details  in  the  ceremonial  of  the  Mass  will  be  found,  on  exam- 
ination, to  express  some  high  truth,  secure  some  great  principle,  or 
allegorize  some  holy  mystery. 

C.  This  is  quite  new  to  me.  I  had  thought  that  many  of  the 
practices  of  the  Chiu'ch,  especially  at  High  Mass,  had  no  other  object 
than  to  affect  the  imagination  or  please  the  senses  of  the  peoi;)le;  and 
as  to  the  ceremonies  of  Low  Mass,  in  which  no  such  object  can  be  sup- 
posed, since  many  of  them  are  scarcely  observed  by  the  people,  or  are 
even  carried  on  out  of  sight,  I  own  that  I  have  been  tempted  to  regard 
these  as  unnecessary  and  frivolous,  and,  since  they  give  offence,  even 
objectionable. 

P.  What  you  will  now  learn,  dear  brother,  will  read  important 
lessons,  which  all  of  us  do  well  to  bear  constantly  in  mind  ;  such  as, 
that  we  cannot  always  expect  to  understand  the  Church,  but  are 
always  bound  to  trust  her  ;  that  were  she  always  plain  and  intelligi- 
ble to  all  men,  certainly  she  would  so  far  be  unlike  the  revelation 
which  she  professes  to  represent ;  that  she,  as  our  mother,  has  a  right 
to  our  confidence,  but  we,  as  her  children,  have  no  corresponding  right 
to  be  instructed  in  all  which  she  may  please  to  withhold  from  us ; 
rather,  that  in  first  claiming  our  obedience,  and  afterward  taking  us 
into  her  confidence  and  telling  us  her  secrets,  she  proves  herself  the 
faithful  representative  of  our  Lord,  who  first  called  His  disciples  serv- 
ants, and  afterward  treated  them  like  friends.* 


CHAPTER  IL 

PREPARATION   FOR   MASS. 

C.  Considering  the  great  solemnity  of  the  act  which  the  priest  per- 
forms in  offering  the  adoi^able  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  I  conclude  that  he 
does  not  enter  upon  it  without  some  preparation  ? 
.    P.  You  are  right.     The  Church  is  too  much  alive  to  the  necessity 
of  such  preparation  to  leave  it  to  chance,  and  has  prescribed  prayers 

*  St.  John  XV.  15.     See  Office  for  the  Ordination  of  Priests. 


4  OEDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF   THE   MASS. 

for  the  purpose,  to  be  used  according  to  tlie  opportunities  of  the  priest. 
The  particular  prayers  which  the  Church  appoints  to  be  said  before 
Mass  are  rather  matter  of  direction  than  of  obligation,  and  the  priest 
is  left  to  his  own  discretion  whether  he  will  use  them  or  any  part  of 
them;  but  he  does  not  satisfy  the  intentions  of  the  Church  unless  he 
dedicate  a  portion  of  his  time  before  Mass,  greater  or  less  according  to 
circumstances,  to  prayer,  either  vocal  or  mental. 

G.  What  are  the  jjarticular  devotions  which  the  Church  appoints 
to  be  used  by  the  priest  before  Mass  % 

P.  Certain  of  the  Psalms,  with  prayers  for  pardon  and  aid.  The 
Psalms  prescribed  are  the  following;  and  they  may  be  used  with 
great  profit,  not  only  by  the  priest,  but  by  those  also  who  hear  Mass, 
provided  they  have  leisure  for  much  previous  preparation.  They 
are  the  83d,  "  Quam  dilecta  ";  the  84th,  "  Benedixisti ";  the  85th, "  In- 
clina,  Domine,  aurem  Tuam";  the  115th,  "Credidi";  and  the  129th, 
"  De  prof  undis." 

O.  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  explain  the  application  of  these 
Psalms  to  the  occasion  % 

P.  The  83d  is  a  meditation  on  the  beauty  and  glory  of  God's 
sacred  House,  and  is  therefore  especially  suited  to  the  time  when  we 
are  about  to  enter  into  His  immediate  presence.  The  84th  recounts 
the  blessings  of  redemption,  and  is  accordingly  one  of  the  Psalms  in 
the  office  of  Christmas-day.  This,  too,  is  very  appropriately  used  in 
drawing  near  God's  altar  to  offer  up  the  great  Sacrifice  of  the  Eucha- 
rist for  the  remission  of  sin.  The  next  is  a  petition  for  mercy,  and 
falls  in  with  the  whole  of  the  first  part  of  the  Mass,  in  which  the 
priest  and  people  conjointly  deprecate  God's  anger,  that  they  may 
approach  with  proper  dispositions  to  the  great  offering.  The  115th 
is  a  Psalm  of  confidence  in  the  Divine  mercy,  and  contains  the  very 
words  which  the  priest  afterward  employs  in  receiving  the  precious 
Blood  of  our  Redeemer :  "  What  shall  I  render  to  our  Lord  for  all 
that  He  has  done  unto  me  ?  I  will  receive  the  chalice  of  salvation, 
and  call  upon  the  Name  of  the  Lord."  The  129th  is  the  well-known 
"  De  prof  undis,"  which  is  probably  added  as  a  Psalm  from  the  Office 
of  the  Dead,  for  whom,  as  well  as  for  the  living,  the  holy  Sacrifice  is 
offered. 

G.  What  other  preparation  for  Mass  does  the  Church  require  of 
her  priests  % 

P.  She  appoints  certain  prayers  to  be  said  while  he  washes  his 
hands  for  Mass,  and  while  he  puts  on  the  several  holy  vestments. 

G.  Why  should  the  priest  wash  his  hands  before  Mass,  especially 
since  he  washes  them,  at  least  in  part,  in  the  course  of  it  \ 


PREPAPvATIOlS^   FOR  MASS.  5 

P.  For  two  reasons  :  1.  To  remind  himself  of  the  purity  which  is 
needed  in  those  who  draw  near  God's  altar  ;  2.  To  enable  him  to  handle 
the  sacred  vessels  and  sacred  linen  with  due  propriety. 

C.  Does  the  Church  account  even  the  vessels  and  linen  of  the  altar 
as  sacred  ? 

P.  So  much  so,  that  none  but  those  in  holy  orders  may  touch  the 
vessels  and  linen  which  come  in  contact  with  the  adorable  Body  and 
Blood  of  our  Lord,  except  by  a  permission  from  authority,  which  is 
commonly  extended  to  sacristans  and  others  directly  engaged  in  the 
ceremonies. 

C.  What  are  the  names  of  the  different  holy  vestments  ? 

P.  First,  the  amice  {amlctus,  a  covering),  which  is  an  oblong  piece 
of  linen  with  two  strings.  The  priest  first  puts  it  over  his  head,  then 
on  his  shoulders  (whence  it  is  called  also  liumerale)^  and  then  ties  it 
round  the  waist.  2.  The  alb,  a  long  white  linen  garment  reaching 
almost  to  the  feet.  It  is  white,  as  its  name  imports,  and,  together  with 
the  amice,  signifies  the  purity  of  the  priesthood.  3.  The  girdle,  with 
which  the  priest  girds  his  loins  in  memory  of  our  Lord's  admonition 
to  readiness.  The  girdle  is  also  significant  of  holy  chastity.  4.  The 
maniple,  through  which  the  priest  puts  his  left  arm,  and  which  he 
fastens  just  below  the  elbow.  It  was  anciently  of  linen,  and  answered 
the  purposes  of  a  handkerchief ;  but  it  is  now  made  of  stuff,  of  the 
same  color  with  the  stole.  It  is  esteemed  the  badge  of  present  sorrow 
and  the  pledge  of  future  joy,  according  to  those  words  of  the  125th 
Psalm,  "  Going  they  went  and  wept,  casting  their  seeds  ;  but  coming 
they  shall  come  with  joyf ulness,  carrying  their  sheaves  "  (in  the  orig- 
inal, maniples).  5.  The  stole,  which  is  a  scarf  varying  in  color  with 
the  day.  The  stole  is  worn  by  the  deacon  across  the  left  shoulder ; 
but  it  is  crossed  over  the  breast  of  the  priest  at  his  ordination,  and  in 
that  form  he  always  wears  it  at  the  Mass.  (5.  The  chasuble,  or  outer 
vestment,  covering  the  person  before  and  behind,  and  bearing  both  on 
its  front  and  on  its  back  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  as  a  memento  of  the 
Passion  both  to  priest  and  people.  The  chasuble,  as  well  as  the  man- 
iple and  stole,  varies  in  color  according  to  the  character  of  the  day. 
These  vestments,  together  with  the  surplice,  or  cotta^  are  all  blessed 
before  use  according  to  a  prescribed  form. 

01  AVTiat  are  the  different  colors  used  by  the  Church,  and  how  are 
they  varied  according  to  different  days  % 

P.  There  are  five  colors  used  by  the  Church  in  the  celebration  of  sol- 
emn offices.  1.  White,  as  emblematic  of  purity,  is  proper  to  all  Feasts 
of  our  Lord  (except  those  relating  to  His  Passion),  to  all  days  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  of  Saints  not  martyrs,  and  throughout  Easter 


6  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL  OF  THE  MASS. 

time;  it  is  also  used  (in  countries  where  the  Roman  rite  prevails*) 
on  festivals  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  2.  Red,  the  color  of  blood, 
is  proper  to  all  Martyrs'  days  ;  it  is  also  used  on  Whit  Sunday  and 
within  its  Octave,  as  an  emblem  of  the  fiery  tongues  in  the  form  of 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  on  the  apostles.  3.  Green,  used  on 
all  Sundays  t>n  which  no  festival  occurs  (excepting  those  during  Oc- 
taves, which  follow  the  rule  of  the  Festival,  and  those  in  Advent, 
Lent,  and  during  Easter  time),  as  being  the  least  expressive  of  all  col- 
ors, or,  perhaps,  as  being  the  i3revailing  color  of  nature.  4.  Purple,  a 
mourning  color,  used  on  the  Sundays  of  Advent  and  Lent,  the  two 
great  penitential  seasons ;  on  the  Rogation-days,  the  Ember-days, 
and  at  all  special  Masses  of  supplication.f  5.  Black,  used  on  Good 
Friday,  and  in  all  Masses  of  the  Dead. 

C.  Does  the  Church  require  any  other  devotions  to  be  used  by  the 
priest  besides  those  which  are  called  his  "  Preparation  "  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  the  Church  appoints  prayers  to  be  used  by  him  on  putting 
on  each  of  the  sacred  vestments,  as  well  as  when  he  washes  his  hands. 

C.  What  are  these  prayers  ? 

P.  They  are  as  follows  : 

On  washing  the  Hands. 
Grant,  0  Lord,  such  virtue  to  my  hands,  that  they  may  be  cleansed 
from  every  stain,  and  that  I  may  serve  Thee  without  defilement  of 

mind  or  body. 

On  putting  on  the  Amice. 

Place,  O  Lord,  on  my  head  the  helmet  of  salvation,  that  so  I  may 
resist  all  the  assaults  of  the  devil. 

On  putting  on  the  Alb. 
Make  me  white,  O  Lord,  and  cleanse  my  heart ;  that  being  made 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  I  may  deserve  eternal  rewards. 

On  girding  himself  with  the  Girdle. 
Gird  me,  O  Lord,  with  the  girdle  of  purity,  and  quench  in  my  reins 
the  fire  of  concupiscence  ;  that  the  virtue  of  continence  and  chastity 
may  abide  in  me. 

On  putting  on  the  Maniple. 
May  I  deserve,  O  Lord,  to  bear  the  maniple  of  tears  and  sorrow, 
that  with  joy  I  may  receive  the  reward  of  my  labor. 

*  In  France,  red  is  used  for  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

f  Purple  is  used  also  on  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Innocents,  unless  it  occurs  on  a  Sunday, 
in  which  case  red  is  used,  as  likewise  on  the  Octave-day. 


THE  BEGEfNIXG  OF  MASS.  7 

On  taking  the  Stole. 

Restore  me,  0  Lord,  the  stole  of  immortality  which  I  lost  in  the 
transgression  of  our  first  parent ;  and  although  unworthy  to  approach 
Thy  sacred  mysteries,  may  I  deserve  to  inherit  eternal  joys. 

On  putting  on  the  Chasuble. 

O  Lord,  who  hast  said,  My  yoke  is  sweet  and  My  burden  is  light, 
grant  me  so  to  bear  Thy  yoke  that  I  may  obtain  Thy  grace. 

C.  What  other  forms  are  customary  in  putting  on  the  sacred  vest- 
ments ? 

P.  The  priest  makes  the  sign  of  the  Cross  on  himself  when  he  be- 
gins vesting,  and  kisses  the  amice,  maniple,  and  stole,  as  he  j)uts  them 
on,  or  rather  a  small  cross  worked  on  each.  On  leaving  the  sacristy 
he  bows  to  the  Crucifix,  which  is  always  placed  in  it. 

C.  AVhat  is  the  linen  used  in  the  service  of  the  altar  ? 

P.  The  principal  are,  1.  The  corporal,  so  called  because  the  sacred 
Body  of  our  Lord  rests  upon  it ;  2.  The  palla  or  pall,  a  square  cover- 
ing of  linen,  which  is  placed  on  the  chalice ;  3.  The  purificatory,  or 
mundatory,  which  is  used  to  wipe  the  chalice  and  paten.  These  linens 
are  all  blessed,  and  may  not  be  touched  except  by  clergy  in  sacred 
orders.  It  is  the  office  of  the  subdeacon  to  wash  them,  which  he  does  in 
three  waters,  which  are  afterward  thrown  into  the  sacrarium,  or  drain 
for  carrying  off  all  sacred  liquids  into  the  earth.  The  reason  of  these 
precautions  is,  that  any  of  the  above  linens  may  possibly,  in  spite  of 
all  care,  have  contracted  atoms  of  the  adorable  Sacrament. 


CHAPTER  IIL 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  MASS. 

C.  What  ceremonies  does  the  priest  use  at  the  beginning  of  Mass  ? 

P.  Bearing  the  sacred  vessels  under  a  veil,  and  wearing  his  berretta, 
he  proceeds  at  a  slow  pace,  -with  eyes  on  the  ground,  from  the  sacristy 
to  the  altar.  If,  on  his  way,  he  pass  the  high  altar,  or  an  altar  where 
Mass  is  saying,  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament  present,  he  makes  the 
proper  reverence  or  act  of  adoration,  as  may  be.  If  the  consecration 
be  proceeding,  he  kneels  and  adores  till  it  is  over.  Having  reached 
the  altar  where  he  is  to  celebrate,  he  makes  a  profound  reverence  or, 
if  the  Blessed  Sacrament  be  in  the  tabernacle,  goes  on  one  knee. 
Rising,  he  immediately  ascends  the  steps,  and  having  deposited  the 


8  ORDER  AjSTD   ceremonial   OF  THE  MASS. 

sacred  vessels,  unfolded  tlie  corporal  and  opened  tlie  Missal,  again  de- 
scends, and  begins  the  Mass. 

C.  What  reflection  is  suggested  by  the  latter  action  ? 

P.  We  are  reminded  by  it  that  it  is  unbecoming  to  remain  in  God's 
holy  presence  till  we  have  first  cleansed  our  souls  by  acts  of  humilia- 
tion.   , 

C.  How  does  the  Mass  begin  ? 

P.  In  the  Name  of  the  Holy  and  Ever-blessed  Trinity,  which  the 
priest  pronounces  while  signing  himself  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross. 

C.  Has  the  Church  long  used  the  sign  of  the  Cross  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  solemn  actions  ? 

P.  From  the  very  first  ages  of  Christianity.  At  the  end  of  the 
second  century,  TertuUian  writes  :  "  At  every  moving  from  place  to 
place,  at  every  coming  in  and  going  out,  in  dressing,  at  the  baths,  at 
table,  on  lighting  candles,  going  to  rest,  sitting  down,  in  whatever 
action  we  are  engaged,  we  sign  ourselves  on  the  forehead  with  the 
cross  "  {De  Cor.  Mil  §  3). 

O.  Having  crossed  himself  and  invoked  the  Blessed  Trinity,  what 
"words  does  the  priest  then  use  ? 

P.  He  recites  the  forty-second  Psalm,  "  Judica  me,  Deus,"  prefacing 
and  following  it  by  one  of  the  verses  contained  in  it  as  an  antiphon. 

C.  What  is  an  antiphon  ? 

P.  Properly  it  means  a  song  in  response.  The  word  is  used  by  the 
Church  to  denote  short  verses  prefixed  and  added  on  to  the  Psalms, 
and  frequently  taken,  as  in  the  present  case,  from  the  Psalm  to  which 
they  are  joined,  as  a  sort  of  key  to  the  intention  of  the  Church  in  using 
it,  or  as  drawing  attention  to  the  part  of  it  on  which  she  desires  to  lay 
peculiar  stress.  Thus,  in  the  instance  before  us,  the  prominent  idea 
of  the  Psalm  is  brought  out  in  the  words  of  the  antiphon,  "  I  will  go 
to  the  altar  of  God." 

C.  What  means  the  response  of  the  minister,  "  To  God  who  makes 
glad  my  youth  "  ? 

P.  We  may  regard  it  as  a  kind  of  encouragement  to  the  priest  to 
proceed.  Renewal  of  spiritual  strength  being  the  great  end  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  and  its  effect  on  every  rightly  prepared  heart,  there 
is  a  singular  propriety  and  beauty  in  reminding  the  priest  of  this 
quality  of  Almighty  God  as  the  renovator  of  youth  at  a  moment  when, 
like  the  publican  in  the  parable,  he  is  "standing  afar  off,"  holding 
himself  aloof  from  the  altar,  as  if  waiting  for  encouragement  to  carry 
his  desire  into  effect. 

C.  The  servers  at  Mass  generally  say  their  part  so  rapidly  as  to 
leave  no  time  for  such  reflections. 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   MASS.  9 

P.  This  only  makes  it  the  more  necessary  that  those  who  hear 
Mass  should  know  something  of  its  words  and  ceremonies ;  an 
acquaintance  with  which,  added  to  the  requisite  attention  and  devo- 
tion, will  enable  the  mind  to  advert  in  an  instant  to  such  thoughts  as 
are  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

C.  Please,  sir,  to  explain  the  Psalm,  "  Judica  me,  Deus." 

P.  It  is  a  Psalm  of  preparation  for  the  altar,  and  was  so  used 
under  the  Old  Dispensation.  ''  Judge  me,  O  God,  and  separate  my 
cause  from  the  unholy  people ;  from  the  unjust  and  deceitful  man 
deliver  me."  Here  we  may  consider  the  priest  as  pleading  with  God^ 
at  the  foot  of  His  altar,  for  deliverance  from  his  spiritual  enemies.  The 
minister  answers  in  the  name  of  the  congregation,  both  for  them  and 
for  the  priest,  "  For  Thou  art  God,  my  strength  ;  why  hast  Thou 
rejected  me,  and  why  do  I  go  about  sorrowfully,  while  the  enemy 
afflicts  me  ? "  As  if  to  say,  "  God  will  surely  perform  what  you  ask 
of  Him  for  yourself  and  for  us;  since  He  is  our  true  strength  :  where- 
fore, then,  should  He  cast  us  off ;  and  wherefore  should  we  go  about 
sorrowfully,  even  though  the  enemy  afflict  us  ? "  The  priest  continues, 
in  the  accents  of  hopeful  prayer,  "  Send  forth  Thy  light  and  Thy  truth; 
they  it  is  which  have  drawn  me  away  "  *  from  the  world,  "  and  con- 
ducted *  me  to  Thy  holy  mountain,"  even  Thy  Church,  "  and  into  Thy 
tabernacle";  by  separating  me  off  from  sinners,  and  calling  me  into 
the  service  of  Thy  altar.  The  minister  replies,  in  the  words  of  the 
antiphon,  "  And  I  will  go  to  the  altar  of  God,  even  to  the  God  who 
maketh  glad  my  youth."  Confirmed  by  this  suggestion,  the  priest 
continues  :  "  I  will  confess  to  Thee  on  the  harp,  O  God,  my  God;  why 
art  thou  sorrowful,  O  my  soul;  and  why  dost  thou  trouble  me  ? "  The 
minister  replies,  as  if  summing  up  the  grounds  of  confidence,  "  Hope 
in  God ;  for  I  will  yet  confess  to  Him,  who  is  the  salvation  of  my 
countenance  and  my  God."  Assured  of  his  hope,  the  priest  continues, 
"  Glory  be  to  the  Father,"  etc.  "  I  will  go  to  the  altar  of  God."  Then, 
"  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of  our  Lord."  R.  "  Who  made  heaven  and 
earth."  Then  follows  the  mutual  confession  and  prayer  for  absolution 
between  the  i^riest  and  minister  in  the  name  of  the  people. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  joining  the  names  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin and  other  Saints  witli  that  of  Almighty  God  in  the  "  Confiteor"  1 

P.  We  call  on  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  whole  court  of  heaven, 
as  witnesses  of  our  sorrow  ;  and  then  ask  them  to  pray  to  God  for  us. 
We  add,  in  the  enumeration  of  those  before  whom  we  desire  to  abase 
ourselves,  our  brethren  on  earth  as  well  as  in  heaven,  and  entreat  their 

*  Deduxerunt  et  adduxerunt. 


10  ORDER  AKD   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

prayers  likewise ;  thus  enlisting,  as  it  were,  all  our  most  powerful 
patrons  and  best  friends  in  the  cause  of  our  necessity.  The  people,  on 
theii'  side,  include  their  spiiitual  father,  the  priest,  in  the  same  list  of 
intercessors. 

(7.  Why  do  priest  and  people  confess  to  one  another,  and  intercede 
for  one  another  ? 

P.  In  compliance  with  the  injunction  of  the  Apostle  St.  James, 
"  Confess  your  sins  one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  you 
may  be  saved  "  (St.  James  v.  16). 

C.  What  is  the  force  of  the  absolving  prayer  "  Misereatur  vestri," 
etc.? 

P.  It  is  not  authoritative,  but  supplicatory ;  and  is  used  in  the 
same  sense  by  priest  and  people. 

C.  Is  it  true  also  of  the  form  "  Indulgentiam,"  etc.,  which  follows, 
that  it  is  no  more  than  a  prayer  ? 

P.  Yes ;  for  in  it  the  priest  makes  himself  a  part  of  the  people, 
saying,  Peccatorum  nostrorum  {our  sins). 

C.  I  observe  that  when  the  priest  uses  the  same  form  before  giving 
the  Holy  Communion,  he  substitutes  nestrorum  for  nostrorum  {your 
for  our  sins). 

P.  Then  he  speaks  as  a  priest ;  but  still  not  in  the  immediate  ex- 
ercise of  his  absolving  power  as  in  the  confessional,  but  in  the  way  of 
blessing.  Another  difference  between  the  uses  of  this  form  before 
Mass  and  at  Communion  will  be  noticed  in  its  place. 

C  Does  not  the  priest  seem  to  lower  his  dignity  by  making  him- 
self as  one  of  the  people,  confessing  with  them,  and  even  to  them,  and 
asking  their  prayers  ? 

P.  The  dignity  of  the  priestly  office  is  amply  secured  in  the  eyes 
both  of  priest  and  people  by  the  whole  ritual  of  the  Church,  and  by 
the  tenor  of  all  his  dealings  with  his  flock.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
most  important  that  he  should  remember  how  he  is  a  sinner  like 
others  ;  and  that  tTiey  should  be  moved  to  self-abasement,  as  well  as 
loving  compassion,  by  seeing  one  whom  God  has  "set  among  the 
princes  of  His  people"  humble  himself  to  the  dust,  like  the  most 
guilty  of  those  for  whom  he  is  to  intercede.  Our  great  High  Priest 
had  no  need  to  offer  for  Himself  as  w-ell  as  for  the  people  ;  but  such  is 
the  necessity  under  which  all  those  lie  who  minister  at  His  altar  in 
His  person.  And  it  is  meet  that  the  sacrifice  of  a  sinner  should  be 
prefaced  by  such  an  act  of  public  humiliation. 

C  What  follows  the  Confessions  and  Absolutions  in  the  beginning 
of  Mass  ? 

P.  The  priest,  as  if  now  encouraged  to  proceed,  continues,  in  the 


THE   INTROIT,  KYRIE   ELEISON,  AND   GLORIA   IN   EXCELSIS.  11 

words  of  the  84th  Psalm,  "  O  God,  Thou  being  turned,  wilt  quicken 
us.-'  "  Moved  toward  us  by  our  contrition,  Thou  wilt  now  impart  to 
us  Thy  Life-giving  Spirit."  The  minister  answers  in  the  words  of  the 
same  Psalm :  "  And  Thy  people  shall  rejoice  in  Thee."  The  priest 
continues:  " O  Lord,  show  us  Thy  mercy."  R.  "And  grant  us  Thy 
salvation."  "O  Lord,  hear  my  prayer."  R.  "And  let  my  supplica- 
tion come  to  Thee."  "  Our  Lord  be  with  you."  P.  "  And  with  thy 
spirit."  All  this  the  priest  says  with  his  head  partially  inclined  to  the 
altar,  as  though  still  preserving  the  character  of  a  penitent.  At  length 
he  becomes  erect ;  and  having  said,  "  Let  us  pray,"  ascends  the  steps 
of  the  altar,  repeating  in  silence  a  short  prayer  for  deliverance  from 
all  sin,  and  grace  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies  with  right  dispositions. 
He  next  prays,  by  the  merits  of  the  Saints  whose  relics  repose  in  the 
altar,  and  of  all  the  Saints,  that  God  would  be  pleased  to  pardon  all 
his  sin  ;  and  at  the  same  time  kisses  the  altar. 

C.  Do  altars  always  contain  relics  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  they  are  deposited  in  them  at  the  time  of  their  consecra- 
tion. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  often  kiss  the  altar  during  Mass  ? 

P.  As  a  sign  of  his  affection  and  close  adherence  to  Christ,  whom 
the  altar  represents. 


CHAPTER  IV.    • 

THE  INTROIT,   KYRIE  ELEISON,  AND  GLORIA  IN  EXCELSIS. 

C.  I  observe  that  after  saying  the  short  prayer,  on  first  coming  to 
the  altar,  the  priest  moves  to  the  book  at  the  left-hand  comer ;  and 
then,  making  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  goes  on  to  read  some  short  sen- 
tences.    AYhat  is  the  projDer  name  for  this  jiortion  of  the  Mass  ? 

P.  It  is  called  the  Introit,  or  "  Entrance"  upon  Mass ;  and  consists 
of  a  short  passage,  nearly  always  from  Holy  Scripture  ;  with  a  verse 
of  a  Psalm,  and  the  Gloria  Patri ;  after  which  the  introductory  pass- 
age is  repeated.  The  priest  begins  witli  the  sign  of  the  Cross  ;  because 
this  is  the  proper  commencement  of  the  Mass  itself,  the  previous 
prayers  having  been  rather  introductory.  The  Scripture  passage  is  of 
the  nature  of  an  antiphon  to  the  Psahu,  wliicli,  in  i)rimitive  times, 
though  not  in  all  places,  was  said  entire.  AVlien  the  service  of  the 
Mass  was  afterward  shortened,  the  first  verse  of  the  Psalm  alone  was 
retained,  as  a  memento,  and  often  epitome  of  the  whole.  The  Gloria 
Patri,  which  gives  a  joyful  character  to  the  Introit,  is  omitted  from 
Passion  Sunday  to  Holy  Saturday,  and  in  all  Masses  of  the  Dead. 


12  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

C.  Does  tlie  Introit  vary  from  day  to  day  % 

P.  On  Sundaj's  and  greater  festivals  it  is  always  proper.  On  Saints' 
days  it  is  generally  from  the  oflBce  common  to  all  saints  of  the  class, 
vrhether  martyrs,  confessors,  virgins,  etc. ;  with  some  exceptions  in 
favor  of  saints  distinguished  for  some  peculiar  qualities  of  sanctity,  or 
prominent  in  some  great  work  of  faith  or  charity.  Thus,  for  instance, 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  who  was  distinguished  by  his  great  zeal  for  the 
Cross,  has  for  his  Introit  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  Cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  etc.  St. 
Laurence,  on  account  of  his  great  charity  to  the  poor,  has  the  words, 
"He  hath  dispersed,  he  hath  given  to  the  poor,"  etc.  St.  Jerome 
iEmilian,  famed  for  his  comx)assion  toward  destitute  little  children, 
has  the  words  of  the  Lamentations,  "My  heart  is  poured  out  upon  the 
earth  for  the  destruction  of  the  daughter  of  My  people,  when  the  chil- 
dren and  the  sucklings  fainted  away  in  the  streets  of  the  city  "  (Lam.  ii. 
11) ;  followed  by  the  Psalm,  "  Praise  the  Lord,  0  ye  children  ;  praise 
ye  the  Name  of  the  Lord."  St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola  has  the  singular 
honor  of  receiving  in  his  Introit  a  commemoration  of  the  great  Order 
which  he  founded  under  the  title  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  "  At  the 
Name  of  Jesus,  let  every  knee  bow  of  those  that  are  in  heaven,  on 
earth,  and  under  the  earth  ;  and  let  every  tongue  confess  that  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father";  followed  by  the 
Psalm,  '■'■All  they  that  love  Thy  Name  shall  glory  in  Thee,  for  Thou 
wilt  bless  the  just."  The  Introit,  therefore,  is  one  of  those  special 
parts  of  the  Mass  which  give  it  a  character  according  to  the  day  or 
season. 

a  What  follows  the  Introit  ? 

P.  The  Kyrie  eleison,  or  ancient  Greek  form  of  "  Lord  have  mercy," 
which  is  repeated  thrice ;  then  Christe  eleison  thrice ;  and  then  Kyrie 
eleison  thrice  again. 

C.  What  means  this  reiterated  petition  ? 

P.  It  is  an  earnest  supplication  for  mercy,  suitable  to  the  commence- 
ment of  so  sacred  an  action.  There  is,  indeed,  something  very  strik- 
ing and  beautiful  in  the  amount  of  penitential  and  supplicatory  ad- 
dresses thrown  into  the  earlier  part  of  the  Mass,  and  alternating  with 
expressions  of  confidence  and  joy,  such  as  the  "  Gloria  Patri "  in  the 
Introit.  It  imports  a  kind  of  shrinking  awe  in  the  prospect  of  that 
immense  privilege  to  which  the  priest  is  admitted,  which  seems  to 
ovenvhelm  him  in  projiortion  as,  in  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  he  gives 
vent  to  the  emotions  of  holy  gratitude. 

C  But  why  is  the  Greek  form  retained  in  the  midst  of  a  Latin 
office  \ 


THE   INTROIT,  KYEIE   ELEISON,  AND   GLORIA  IN   EXCELSIS.  13 

P.  On  account  of .  its  great  antiquity,  and  as  a  constant  memorial 
of  the  unity  of  the  Church,  which  admits  no  distinction  of  nation  or 
province.  Other  portions  of  the  Greek  Ritual  are  retained  in  the 
Latin  Church, — as  in  the  solemn  commemoration  of  the  Passion, 
called  the  Impropria,  on  Good  Friday.  The  Western  Church  in  this 
way  manifests  her  sense  of  relationship  with  the  Eastern,  and  her 
continual  yearning  after  the  restoration  of  peace,  unhappily  broken  by 
the  schism  which  has  torn  that  jjortion  of  our  Lord's  heritage  from 
her  maternal  embrace. 

C.  Is  the  Kyrie  eleison  very  ancient  ? 

P.  It  is  mentioned  by  several  of  the  ancient  Fathers.  St.  Gregory 
the  Great  implies  that  in  his  time,  as  at  present,  it  was  often  repeated, 
and  said  alternately,  in  the  Roman  Church,  between  the  clergy  and 
people.* 

C.  Why  is  Kyrie  eleison  said  six,  and  Christe  eleison  three,  times  ? 

P.  The  number  nine  is  certainly  mystical ;  and,  consisting  of 
thrice  three,  has  relation  to  the  Holy  and  Ever-blessed  Trinity.  Thus 
Kyrie  is  said  thrice  to  God  the  Father,  Christe  thrice  to  God  the  Son, 
and  then  Kyrie  again  thrice  to  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

G.  What  is  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  % 

P.  It  is  called  the  Angelical  Hymn,  as  opening  with  the  words 
sung  first  by  the  angels  at  the  announcement  of  our  Lord's  nativity. 
The  rest  of  the  hymn  has  come  down  to  us  by  tradition  from  the  re- 
motest antiquity. 

C  When  was  it  first  introduced  into  the  Mass  ? 

P.  Very  anciently,  as  appears  from  the  Liturgies  of  St.  Chrysos- 
tom  and  St.  Basil.  Pope  Nicholas  I.  ordained  that  it  should  be  used 
on  Maundy  Thursday  ;  Pope  Symmachus,  a.d.  499,  that  it  should  be 
said  on  all  Sundays  in  the  year,  and  on  all  Martyrs'  days  ;  and  Pope 
Telesphorus,  that  it  should  be  sung  at  midnight  on  the  eve  of  the 
Nativity.  These  ordinances  prove  that  it  was  previously  in  use  ;  and 
we  may  rationally  suppose  it  to  have  come  down  from  the  time  of  the 
Apostles.  Some  believe  a  portion  of  it  to  have  been  composed  by 
St.  Hilary. 

C  I  observe  that  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  is  not  always  said  in  the 
Mass.    At  what  times  is  it  omitted  ? 

P.  On  all  ferial,  or  week  days,  observed  as  such  ;t  on  all  Sundays 
in  Advent  and  Lent ;  in  Masses  for  the  Bead,  and  in  Votive  Masses 
(except  of  the  Angels,  and  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  if  said  on  Saturday), 
and  on  special  occasions  of  penitence  and  humiliation. 

*  Ep.  I.  vii.  64.  \  Except  in  Paschal  time. 


14  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL  OF  THE  MASS. 

C.  What  is  a  Votive  Mass? 

P.  A  Mass  said,  out  of  particular  devotion,  in  honor  of  the  Blessed 
Trinity,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Holy  Angels,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  etc., 
apart  from  the  regular  order  of  the  Church  offices.  Such  Masses  are 
allowed  by  the  Church,  for  a  sufficient  reason,  excepting  at  certain 
solemn  seasons,  when,  together  with  Masses  of  the  Dead,  they  are 
prohibited. 

C.  I  observe  that  the  priest  inclines  his  head  at  certain  words  in 
the  Gloria  in  excelsis  ;  what  are  they  % 

P.  At  the  words,  "We  adore  Thee,"  "We  give  thanks  to  Thee"; 
at  "  Receive  our  prayer,"  and  at  the  two  mentions  of  the  holy  Name 
of  Jesus. 

C.  Does  the  Church  authorize  the  practice  of  bowing  at  any  other 
names  than  that  of  our  Blessed  Lord  ? 

P.  Yes ;  at  the  name  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  of  the  Saint  of  the 
day,  and  of  the  reigning  Pope  ;  but  each  with  a  less  profound  incli- 
nation than  the  preceding.* 

G.  This  seems  a  direct  refutation  of  the  charge  brought  against 
the  Church  by  unbelievers  and  heretics,  of  honoring  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin with  the  honor  due  to  our  Lord. 

P.  To  any  one  who  seriously  considers  the  office  of  the  Holy  Mass, 
such  a  charge  must  appear  not  only  unfounded  but  absurd. 

C.  Is  the  Blessed  Virgin  named  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes,  several  times,  in  the  way  of  commemoration,  as  the  great- 
est of  all  Saints. 

C.  Are  any  other  Saints  named  ? 

P.  Yes,  as  we  shall  see  ;  especially  St.  John  the  Baptist,  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul,  and  St.  Andrew. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   DOMINUS   VOBISCUM. 

C.  WTiat  follows  the  Gloria  in  excelsis  ? 

P.  The  priest  kisses  the  altar,  and  turning  to  the  people  says: 
"  Dominus  vobiscum,"  "  The  Lord  be  with  you,"  or  "  is  with  you." 

O.  What  is  the  origin  of  this  salutation  ? 

P.  It  is  found  in  Scripture,  having  been  used  by  the  angel  who 
saluted  Gideon  (Judges  vi.  12),  by  Boaz  in  addressing  his  reapers 


*  These  variatioDS  are  prescribed  in  the  "  Cseremoniale  Episcoporum." 


THE   COLLECT,    EPISTLE,    AjN'D   GRADUAL.  15 

(Ruth  ii.  4),  and  by  Azarias  (2  Paralip.  xv.  2),  and  has  been  used  in 
the  Church  probably  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles. 

C.  AVhat  means  the  salutation  and  its  answer  ? 

P.  It  may  be  taken  either  as  a  benediction  or  an  assurance,  to 
which  the  people  respond,  through  the  minister,  by  offering  the  same 
salutation  to  the  priest. 

C.  How  many  times  does  it  occur  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  In  all  seven  times  ;  and,  as  some  say,  in  the  way  of  safeguard 
against  the  seven  deadly  sins. 

O.  Why  should  the  priest  turn  round  to  the  people  when  he  is  en- 
gaged in  so  solemn  an  act  of  communion  with  Almighty  God  ? 

P.  To  assure  them  continually  of  his  good- will  toward  them,  to 
remind  them  that  they  are  parties  with  himself  in  the  great  act  he  is 
performing,  and  to  keep  up  their  attention;  even  as  our  Blessed  Lord 
Himself  broke  off  three  several  times  from  His  prayer  in  the  garden 
in  order  to  sustain  the  fainting  hearts  of  His  Apostles  :  and  hence  the 
Church  would  have  us  remember  that  our  life  on  earth  is  divided  be- 
tween the  duties  of  devotion  and  charity,  for  on  those  "  two  great  com- 
mandments hang  all  the  Law  and  the  Prophets."  But  you  will  find 
that  when  the  priest  has  once  entered  upon  the  more  solemn  parts  of 
the  Mass,  he  no  longer  salutes  the  people  by  turning  toward  them. 


CHAPTER  yi. 

THE   COLLECT,   EPISTLE,   AND   GEADUAL. 

C.  When  the  priest  has  said  "  Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  the  min- 
ister has  responded  "Et  cum  spiritu  tuo,"  I  observe  that  he  moves  to 
the  epistle  side  of  the  altar,  and  reads  one  or  more  prayers  ;  what  are 
these  ? 

P.  They  are  termed  the  Collects  of  the  Day.  Before  commencing 
them,  he  says  "  Oremus,"  which  is  an  invitation  to  the  people  to  join 
him  in  prayer.  Its  being  in  the  plural  shows  that  the  Mass  is  a  com- 
mon act  of  worship. 

G.  Excuse  me,  reverend  sir,  for  interrupting  you  ;  but  if  the  Mass 
be  a  common  act,  how  is  it  so  often  said  without  the  attendance  of  any 
one  but  the  server  ? 

P.  I  am  glad  to  answer  this  question.  The  Church  desires  that 
there  should  be  always  hearers  and,  if  possible,  communicants ;  but 
she  will  not  suffer  the  backwardness  of  the  faithful  in  coming  to  Mass 


16  ORDER   AXD   CEREMOiSIAL   OF   THE   MASS. 

and  Communion  to  hinder  the  offering  of  that  precious  Sacrifice,  the 
fruits  of  which  extend  to  many  who  do  not  personally  assist  at  it. 
All,  then,  which  the  Church  makes  essential  is  the  presence  of  one, 
who,  in  default  of  others,  represents  the  body  of  the  faithful.  More- 
over every  Mass  has  the  Angels  to  assist  at  it,  besides  the  sick  of  the 
parish,  and  others  who  are  present  at  least  in  spirit.  It  is  the  pious 
custom  in  Catholic  countries  to  toll  the  church-bell  at  the  Elevation  in 
the  Mass,  that  those  who  are  hindered  from  assisting  may  adore  in 
their  hearts.     The  same  practice  is  also  gaining  ground  in  England. 

C.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  word  Collect  ? 

P.  Different  explanations  have  been  given  ;  but  that  w^hich  is  most 
generally  received  supposes  it  to  refer  to  the  "  gathering  together  "  of 
the  various  needs  and  desires  of  the  people  into  certain  f  onus  of  prayer. 

C.  By  whom  was  the  present  order  of  Collects  determined  ? 

P.  By  St.  Gregory  the  Great;  although  the  use  of  collects  was  prior 
to  his  time. 

C.  What  is  the  subject  of  the  Collects,  and  why  are  there  often 
more  than  one  ? 

P.  The  first  and  principal  Collect  is  always  proper  to  the  Sunday 
or  Festival,  and  if  on  a  week-day,  the  Collect  of  the  preceding  Sunday 
is  used.  On  greater  days  one  Collect  only  is  said  ;  but  on  all  Festivals, 
except  the  chief,  other  collects  are  admissible,  and  these  are  called 
Commemorations.  On  Semi-doubles  there  are  three,  on  festivals  of 
lower  rank  there  may  be  five,  and  even  seven  Collects.  Besides  the 
regular  Collects  of  the  season,  there  are  occasional  ones  which  may  be 
used  at  the  discretion  of  the  bishop,  some  for  public  and  national  bene- 
fits, such  as  peace,  plenty,  and  the  like ;  others  for  personal  graces ; 
others  for  the  good  estate  of  the  Church,  the  Pope,  etc. 

C.  I  observ^e  that  the  priest  reads  the  Collects,  and  some  other  parts 
of  the  Mass,  with  his  hands  extended,  while  at  other  times  he  keeps 
them  joined.    What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ? 

P.  The  priest  extends  his  hands  in  imitation,  perhaps,  of  our  Lord 
upon  the  Cross.  There  may  be  also  an  allusion  to  the  words  of  David: 
"  Elevatio  manuum  mearum  sacrificium  vespertinum  "  (Ps.  cxl.  2);  and 
to  Ps.  cxlii.  6 :  "I  stretched  forth  my  hands  to  Thee";  "The  lifting 
up  of  my  hands  is  an  evening  sacrifice."  St.  Paul  bids  St.  Timothy 
(1  Tim.  ii.  9)  to  "pray,  lifting  up  holy  hands."  When  the  priest  prays 
in  silence  (except  in  the  Secret  Prayers  which  follow^  the  rule  of  the 
Collects,  and  during  the  chief  part  of  the  Canon)  he  joins  his  hands 
together,  and  uses  the  same  action  when  he  recites  the  Gospel  and 
reads  the  short  sentences  called  the  Offertory  and  Communion. 

a  What  is  the  Epistle  ? 


THE  GRADUAL,  TRACT,  AND  SEQUENCE.  17 

P.  A  portion  of  Holy  Scripture,  so  called  because  it  is  generally 
taken  from  one  of  the  Apostolical  Epistles. 

C.  Was  this  anciently  read  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  The  custom  of  reading  the  Scriptures  in  divine  assemblies  is  as 
ancient  as  the  Scripture  itself  (see  Ex.  xxiv.,  Deut.  xxxi.,  2  Esd.  viii.). 
It  is  commonly  thought  to  have  been  St.  Jerome  who  arranged  the 
Epistles  in  the  Mass  according  to  the  present  order.  At  any  rate,  that 
arrangement  is  very  ancient.  St.  Ambrose  speaks  of  the  reverence  in 
which  the  Epistle  was  held  by  the  faithful  in  his  time.  On  the 
Wednesdays  in  the  Ember- weeks  the  Epistle  is  preceded  by  a  portign 
of  the  Prophecies.  This  is  considered  to  mean,  that  those  who  receive 
Sacred  Orders  should  be  instructed  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. On  the  Ember  Saturdays,  the  day  of  the  Ordination  itself,  five 
of  these  Lessons  from  the  Prophets  are  prescribed ;  on  the  Vigil  of 
Pentecost,  six  ;  and  on  Holy  Saturday  twelve,  on  account  of  the  pub- 
lic Baptisms  solemnized  on  those  days. 

C.  Why  does  the  minister  answer  "  Deo  gratias  "  to  the  Epistle  ? 

P.  To  give  thanks  to  Almighty  God  in  the  name  of  all  the  people 
for  the  "  unspeakable  gift "  of  His  holy  doctrine. 

THE  GRADUAL,   TRACT,   AND   SEQUENCE. 

a  What  follows  the  Epistle? 

P.  The  Gradual ;  so  called  from  gradus,  because  formerly,  and 
still  occasionally,  sung  (in  solemn  Masses)  from  the  steps  of  the  altar. 
It  usually  follows  the  character  of  the  Epistle,  to  which  it  is,  indeed, 
a  kind  of  response.  It  is  commonly  interspersed  with  one  or  more 
verses  of  the  Psalms. 

C  Why  is  Alleluia  introduced  into  the  Gradual  ? 

P.  As  an  expression  of  the  joy  which  the  Church  feels  in  the 
blessed  truths  commemorated  in  the  Gradual.  It  is  repeated  as  if  in 
consequence  of  the  apostolic  injunction,  "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always; 
again  I  say,  Rejoice."  *  In  Paschal  time  the  Gradual  opens  with  two 
Alleluias  besides  those  which  occur  in  the  course  of  it. 

C.  Is  the  Gradual  very  ancient  ? 

P.  Durandus  (lib.  iv.  cap.  xix.)  ascribes  the  present  arrangement 
of  the  Graduals  to  St.  Gregory,  St.  Ambrose,  and  Pope  Gelasius. 

a  What  is  the  Tract  ? 

P.  On  all  ferial  or  week-days  (kept  as  such),  and  from  Septuages- 
ima  till  Easter,  the  Church  omits  the  Alleluias,  and  in  their  place, 
and  during  the  great  penitential  season,  substitutes  a  portion  of  the 

*Phil.  iv.  4. 


18  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

Psalms,  which.,  from  the  leisurely  and  mournful  strain  in  which  it  is 
sung,  is  called  a  Tract.  The  Ti^acts  were  arranged  in  their  present  order 
by  Pope  Celestine  or  Gelasius.  They  are,  however,  as  old  as  the  oldest 
liturgies  in  existence. 

At  certain  great  seasons,  a  hymn  of  joy  is  introduced  between  the 
Epistle  and  Gospel,  which  is  called  the  Prose,  or  Sequence.  Such  are 
the  hymns,  "  Victimse  Paschali,"  used  during  the  Octave  of  Easter ; 
*'  Veni  Sancte  Spiritus,"  during  the  Octave  of  Pentecost ;  and  "  Lauda 
Sion,"  during  the  Octave  of  Coi'pus  Christi.  The  "  Dies  irae "  is  the 
Sequence  proper  to  Masses  of  the  Dead,  and  is  an  exception  to  the 
others  in  being  a  hymn  of  mourning. 

THE  GOSPEL,  AND   SOME   CEREMONIES   USED  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  IT. 

C.  Will  you  kindly  proceed,  reverend  father,  with  your  account 
of  the  Holy  Mass  ? 

P.  Willingly.  The  Epistle,  Gradual,  and  Tract,  or  Sequence,  ended, 
the  Missal  is  removed  to  the  other  corner  of  the  altar,  and  the  priest 
goes  to  the  middle,  and,  in  a  posture  of  profound  supplication,  says 
two  prayers  preparatory  to  reading  the  Gospel  of  the  day. 

C.  Be  so  kind  as  to  translate  and  explain  these  prayers. 

P.  The  first  is  called  the  "  Munda  cor  meum,"  and  is  as  follows : 
"  Almighty  God,  who  didst  \Arith  a  burning  coal  purify  the  lips  of  the 
Prophet  Isaiah ;  cleanse  also  my  heart  and  my  lips,  and  of  Thy  merciful 
kindness  vouchsafe  to  purify  me,  that  I  may  worthily  announce  Thy 
holy  Gospel,  through  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen."  The  allusion  in  this 
beautiful  prayer  is  to  Isaiah  vi.  6,  7 :  "  And  one  of  the  seraphim  flew 
to  me,  and  in  his  hand  was  a  live  coal  which  he  had  taken  with  the 
tongs  off  the  altar.  And  he  touched  my  mouth,  and  said.  Behold, 
this  hath  touched  thy  lips,  and  thy  iniquities  shall  be  taken  away,  and 
thy  sin  shall  be  cleansed." 

The  second  prayer  is  as  follows :  "May  the  Lord  be  in  my  heart 
and  on  my  lips,  that  I  may  worthily  and  competently  announce  His 
Gospel." 

After  saying  these  prayers  in  secret,  the  priest  moves  to  the  Gospel 
side  of  the  altar ;  and  having  said  "  Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  received 
the  answer,  proceeds  to  announce  the  title  of  the  Gospel,  at  the  same 
time  signing  the  first  words  of  the  Gospel,  and  afterward  his  own 
forehead,  lips,  and  breast,  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross. 

The  Gospel  consists  of  a  portion  of  the  writings  of  one  of  the  holy  ■ 
Evangelists  suitable  to  the  day  or  season.     On  days  commemorative 
of  any  event  in  our  Lord's  life,  or  in  that  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
Gospel  usually  contains  the  narrative  of  such  event ;  on  the  Sundays 


THE   CKEED.  19 

it  relates  to  some  circumstance  in  our  Lord's  ministry ;  on  days  sacred 
to  the  memory  of  Saints,  it  is  ordinarily  taken  from  the  common  OflBce 
of  the  Saints. 

The  Gospel  ended,  the  minister  answers,  "Lans  Tibi,  Christe," 
"Praise  be  to  Thee,  O  Christ";  and  the  priest  kisses  the  sacred  text, 
saying  at  the  same  time  the  words,  "Per  evangelica  dicta  delean- 
tur  nostra  delicta,"  "  By  the  evangelical  words  may  our  sins  be  blot- 
ted out." 

C.  Is  not  this  to  attribute  to  the  words  an  expiatory  virtue  ? 

P.  Some  understand  the  prayer  to  mean  only,  "  May  the  words  of 
the  Holy  Gospel  take  such  hold  of  our  minds  as  to  work  in  them  the 
dispositions  necessary  to  the  remission  of  our  sins."  But  I  prefer  to 
regard  it  as  implying  that  the  words  themselves  carry  with  them  some- 
thing of  sacramental  power,  as  being  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  kiss  the  sacred  text  ? 

P.  In  token  of  his  love  and  veneration  for  the  blessed  gift  of  the 
Gospel. 

Here  follows  the  explanation  of  the  Gospel,  where  one  is  given ; 
and  thus  ends  what  was  anciently  called  "  the  Mass  of  the  Catechu- 
mens." We  now  approach  that  portion  of  the  Liturgy  which  has 
always  been  regarded  as  appropriate  more  peculiarly  to  the  Faithful ; 
and  it  begins,  as  is  suitable,  with  the  Creed. 

THE   CKEED. 

C.  What  follows  the  Gospel  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  On  all  Sundays  in  the  year,  on  all  feasts  of  our  Lord  and  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  Apostles,  the  Doctors  of  the  Church,  and  on 
some  other  occasions,  it  is  followed  by  the  Creed  sometimes  called  the 
Nicene,  from  the  greater  portion  having  been  drawn  up  at  the  Council 
of  Nicsea  against  Arius,  but  more  properly  styled  the  Constantinopol- 
itan,  having  been  further  ratified  at  the  First  Council  of  Constanti- 
nople, with  the  addition  of  its  latter  portion  then  framed  against  the 
heresy  of  Macedonius. 

C.  Is  there  a  special  propriety  in  the  Creed  f ollomng  the  Gospel  ? 

P.  There  is  ;  since  it  embodies,  in  the  language  of  the  Church,  the 
great  doctrines  of  Divine  revelation,  especiallj^  that  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 
Again,  it  is  a  suitable  introduction  to  the  Sacrifice  ;  as  it  is  a  confes- 
sion of  faith  in  our  Divine  Redeemer,  who  is  both  Priest  and  Victim. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  kneel  at  the  words  "  Et  incarnatus  est "  ? 

P.  In  adoration  of  our  Lord's  blessed  Humanity,  and  in  profound 
acknowledgment  of  His  unspeakable  condescension  in  taking  our  flesh 
upon  Him. 


20  OKDEK  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

PAKT  II. 
^rom  ttxie  (Bffcxtoxv^  to  the  Communion* 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   OFFERTORY  AND   OBLATION. 

P.  We  are  now  to  enter  upon  the  more  solemn  part  of  the  great 
Eucharistic  Office ;  let  me  bespeak  your  reverent  and  devout  at- 
tention. 

After  the  Creed,  or,  on  days  when  it  is  not  said,  at  the  close  of 
the  Gospel,  the  priest  addresses  the  people  in  the  words  "  Dominus 
vobiscum."  After  receiving  the  answer,  he  turns  round  to  the  altar, 
and,  with  hands  joined,  reads  the  sentence  called  the  Offertory,  pref- 
acing it  by  the  invitation,  "  Oremus,"  "  Let  us  pray."  The  Offertory 
is  usually  taken  from  the  Psalms,  and,  like  the  Introit,  bears  upon 
the  subject  of  the  day.  After  reading  it,  the  priest  removes  the  chalice 
to  one  side,  arranges  the  corporal,*  and  taking  into  his  hands  the 
paten,  with  the  bread  of  the  Sacrifice  resting  upon  it,  elevates  it  as 
high  as  his  breast.  Then,  first  raising  his  eyes  to  the  crucifix,  and 
afterward  fixing  them  on  the  bread,  he  recites  secretly  the  prayer  of 
oblation  :  "Accept,  Holy  Father,  Almighty,  Eternal  God,  this  immac- 
ulate Host,  which  I,  Thy  unworthy  servant,  offer  Thee,  my  living  and 
true  God,  for  my  innumerable  sins,  offences,  and  negligences,  and  for 
all  now  present ;  moreover,  for  all  the  faithful,  living  and  dead,  that 
it  may  be  profitable  for  my  own  and  for  their  salvation,  unto  life 
eternal.  Amen."  The  priest  then  lowers  the  paten  with  the  bread 
to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  altar,  makes  with  it  the  sign  of  the 
Cross,  and,  depositing  the  sacred  bread  before  him  on  the  corporal, 
places  the  paten  partially  under  the  corporal  on  his  right. 

C.  Why  is  the  term  "  Immaculate  Host "  (or  Victim)  applied  to 
the  material  of  the  Sacrifice  before  consecration  ? 

P.  Your  question  is  a  very  apt  one.  The  term  can  only  be  em- 
ployed by  anticipation.  Although  the  subject  of  the  oblation  is  as 
yet  bread  and  wine  only,  yet  the  priest  herein  offers  the  whole  sub- 
stance and  future  action  of  the  Mass. 

*  See  page  7. 


THE   OFFERTORY   AND   OBLATION.  21 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  make  the  sign  of  the  Cross  before  deposit- 
ing the  holy  bread  on  the  altar  ? 

P.  To  signify  that  the  oblation  has  its  effect  from  the  Cross  and 
Passion  of  our  Redeemer. 

C.  What  is  represented  by  the  sacred  Host  lying  on  the  cor- 
poral ? 

P.  The  meek  submission  of  our  Blessed  Lord  to  the  will  of  His 
Eternal  Father  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemani.  "  He  fell  upon  His  face," 
as  we  read  in  St.  Matthew  xxvi.  39. 

C.  Proceed,  sir,  if  you  please,  with  your  account  of  the  Oblation. 

P.  The  priest,  having  completed  the  oblation  of  the  bread,  takes 
the  chalice  to  the  Epistle  side  of  the  altar,  and,  after  wiping  it  care- 
fully, pours  into  it  a  small  quantity  of  wine  from  a  cruet,  which  he  re- 
ceives from  the  hands  of  the  server,  who  first  kisses  it  (as  prescribed 
in  the  rubrics  of  the  Missal),  in  token  of  reverence  to  the  priest  and 
devotion  to  the  service  of  the  altar.  The  priest  afterward  receives  the 
cruet  of  water,  previously  making  over  it  the  sign  of  the  Cross  as  an 
act  of  blessing,  and  then,  as  he  pours  some  drops  from  it  into  the  chal- 
ice, says  the  following  prayer :  "  0  God,  who  didst  wonderfully  form 
the  substance  of  human  nature,  and  yet  more  wonderfully  regenerate 
it ;  grant  lis,  by  the  mystery  of  this  water  and  wine,  to  be  united  with 
His  Divinity,  who  deigned  to  become  partaker  of  our  Humanity,  Thy 
Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  Thee  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen."  While  in 
the  act  of  saying  this  prayer,  the  priest  wipes  the  inside  of  the  chalice 
with  the  mundatory  *  do^vn  to  the  surface  of  the  wine,  and  then  places 
it  near  the  middle  of  the  altar,  to  which  he  himself  moves ;  and,  hav- 
ing covered  the  still  exposed  portion  of  the  paten  with  the  folded 
mundatory,  proceeds  to  make  the  oblation  of  the  chalice. 

C.  Why  is  the  priest  required  to  be  so  careful  in  wiping  off  any 
drops  of  wine  which  may  have  adhered  to  the  inside  of  the  chalice  ? 

P.  For  a  theological  reason.  It  is  not  certain  among  divines 
whether  these  drops,  separated  from  the  main  body  of  the  wine,  might 
not  partake  in  the  effects  of  the  consecration.  According  to  the  opin- 
ion in  the  affirmative,  if  care  were  not  previously  taken  to  remove  them, 
portions  of  the  sacred  Blood  of  our  Lord  might  remain  in  the  chalice 
after  the  ablution,t  and  thus  be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  irreverence. 
To  obviate  this  risk,  and  to  ensure  the  priest  against  all  scruples  on 
the  point,  the  rubric  directs  that  the  interior  of  the  chalice  shall  be 
cleared  of  all  detached  portions  of  the  wine. 

*  See  page  7.  f  This  term  will  be  explained  in  the  sequel. 


22  ORDER   AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

C.  Is  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  water  to  the  wine  essential 
to  the  Sacrament  ? 

P.  No  ;  the  Sacrament  is  xialid  if  wine  alone  be  used  ;  but  the  ad- 
dition of  water  is  binding  upon  the  priest,  under  pain  of  mortal 
sin. 

G.  Why  is  water  added  ? 

P.  It  is  added  by  order  of  the  Church  on  the  strength  of  a  most 
ancient,  and,  as  is  generally  supposed,  apostolical  tradition.  The  prac- 
tice is  mentioned  by  some  of  the  earliest  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
especially  by  St.  Justin  and  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria.  It  is  noticed  by 
the  3d  Council  of  Carthage.  Bingham,  the  ecclesiastical  antiquary, 
not  himself  a  Catholic,  acknowledges  and  testifies  to  its  great  antiquity, 
as  do  also  other  writers  of  the  Protestant  religion. 

C.  What  is  the  reason  of  the  practice  ? 

P.  It  refers  to  the  issue  of  "  blood  and  water  "  from  the  side  of  our 
Divine  Redeemer  after  His  death.  It  is  likewise  symbolical  of  the 
Incarnation  :  the  wine,  as  the  more  precious  element,  representing  His 
Divinity  ;  the  water,  as  the  inferior,  His  sacred  Humanity.  This  will 
be  evident  from  the  prayer  used  during  its  infusion,  of  which  a  trans- 
lation has  been  given  above. 

There  may  also  be  a  reference  to  the  two  principal  Sacraments  of 
Baptism  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  whereof  the  first  is  necessary  as  a 
preliminary  to  the  second. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  bless  the  water,  and  not  the  wine  % 

P.  Because  the  wine  is  about  to  receive  consecration,  but  not  the 
water,  which  is  lost  in  the  substance  of  the  wine,  and  requires  a  previ- 
ous sanctification  by  the  blessing  of  the  priest  on  account  of  being  set 
apart  to  so  sacred  a  purpose. 

C.  Vfhy  does  the  priest  put  so  little  water  into  the  chalice  ? 

P.  In  order  that  the  substance  of  the  wine  may  not  be  impaired  by 
the  addition  of  the  water,  but  rather  the  water  immediately  taken  up 
into  the  substance  of  the  wine. 

C.  What  follows  next  in  the  ceremonies  ? 

P.  The  priest,  having  now  moved  to  the  middle  of  the  altar,  takes 
the  chalice  by  the  knot  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  supporting 
the  foot,  holds  it  about  the  height  of  his  eyes,  and,  looking  up  to  the 
Crucifix,  pronounces  the  prayer  of  oblation,  which  is  as  follows  :  "  We 
offer  Thee,  O  Lord,  the  Chalice  of  Salvation,  beseeching  Thy  clemency 
that  in  the  sight  of  Thy  Divine  Majesty  it  may  ascend  with  the  odor 
of  sweetness  for  our  salvation,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  whole 
world.    Amen." 

C.  Why  does  the  prayer  run  thus  :  "  We  offer  "  ? 


THE   LAVABO.  23 

P.  Because,  at  solemn  Mass,  the  assisting  deacon  joins  with  the 
priest  in  the  oblation  of  the  Chalice. 

C.  But  why  is  the  same  form  used  at  Low  Mass  ? 

P.  The  Church  has  but  one  Liturgy  ;  and  its  form  presumes  that 
more  solemn  celebration  which  is  most  according  to  her  intentions. 
Low  Mass  differs  from  High  Mass  in  the  way  of  omissions  alone. 

C.  Is  not  the  phrase  "  Chalice  of  Salvation "  found  in  Holy 
Scripture  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  in  the  115th  Psalm. 

C  When  the  priest  has  offered  the  chalice,  what  follows  ? 

P.  He  lowers  it,  as  he  did  the  paten,  to  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  altar,  and  then  makes  with  it  the  sign  of  the  Cross  over  the  part 
of  the  corporal  on  which  he  places  it.  Then,  covering  it  with  the  pall,* 
he  leaves  it  on  the  altar,  and  says,  with  head  inclined,  and  hands 
Joined  and  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  altar,  the  following  humble 
prayer,  founded  on  Dan.  iii.  39  :  "  In  the  spirit  of  humility,  and  in  a 
contrite  heart,  grant  us,  O  Lord,  to  be  received  by  Thee  ;  and  let  this 
our  sacrifice  be  so  made  in  Thy  sight  that  it  may  please  Thee,  O  Lord 
God."  The  priest  next  invokes  the  grace  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 
bless  the  Sacrifice.  Raising,  and  then  immediately  lowering  his  hands, 
he  says :  "  Come,  0  Sanctifier,  Almighty,  Eternal  God,  and  bless  "f" 
this  Sacrifice,  prepared  to  Thy  Holy  Name."  At  the  same  time  he 
blesses  the  Offering,  making  the  sign  of  the  Cross  over  the  paten  and 
the  chalice. 

THE  LAVABO. 

C.  I  observe,  that  at  this  period  in  the  Mass,  the  priest  moves  to 
the  Epistle  side  of  the  altar  ;  for  what  purpose  ? 

P.  He  moves  to  the  side,  in  order  to  wash  the  tips  of  his  fingers  in 
a  small  vessel  prepared  for  the  purpose.  While  the  server  is  pouring 
water  on  them,  the  priest  says  a  portion  of  the  25th  Psalm. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  action  ? 

P.  The  priest  washes  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  each  hand,  which, 
at  his  ordination,  were  consecrated  for  the  offering  of  the  Adorable 
Sacrifice,  lest,  in  the  previous  part  of  the  ceremonies,  any  crumb  of  the 
sacred  bread,  or  other  matter,  may  have  adhered  to  them.  The  sym- 
bolical use  of  this  action  is  to  remind  him  incessantly  of  the  purity 
required  in  those  who  come  before  God  at  His  altar.  The  ends  of  the 
fingers,  and  not  the  hands,  are  washed,  to  express  that  the  priest  should 
be  "  clean  whollj'."    (See  St.  John  xiv.  10.) 

C.  Is  this  practice  of  great  antiquity  ? 

*  See  page  7. 


24  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF   THE  MASS. 

P.  It  is  an  apostolical  tradition,  originating  in  the  custom  of  the 
Jews,  who  frequently  washed  their  hands  at  the  time  of  theii'  sacrifices. 
It  is  noticed  by  St.  Clement,  St.  Cyril,  and  others. 

C.  Will  you  be  pleased,  sir,  to  explain  the  Psalm  "  Lavabo,"  recited 
by  the  priest  w^hile  in  the  act  of  washing  and  drying  his  lingers  ? 

F.  It  is  the  latter  portion  of  the  2oth  Psalm,  and  is  found  in  the 
Liturgy  of  St.  Peter.  It  is  singularly  appropriate  both  to  the  act  of 
washing  and  to  the  purity  which  that  act  denotes.  "  I  will  wash  my 
hands  among  the  innocent,  and  will  compass  Thy  altar,  O  Lord,  that 
I  may  hear  the  voice  of  Thy  praise,  and  tell  of  all  Thy  wondrous  works. 
I  have  loved,  0  Lord,  the  beauty  of  Thy  House,  and  the  place  where 
Thy  glory  dwelleth.  Destroy  not,  0  God,  my  soul  with  the  wicked, 
nor  my  life  with  bloodthirsty  men ;  in  whose  hands  are  iniquities ; 
their  right  hand  is  full  of  gifts.  But  as  for  me,  I  have  walked  in  my 
innocence  ;  redeem  me,  and  have  mercy  on  me.  My  foot  hath  stood 
in  the  direct  way  ;  in  the  churches  I  will  bless  Thee,  O  Lord." 

C.  How  do  you  understand  those  passages :  "  I  have  washed  my 
hands  among  the  innocent";  "As  for  me,  I  have  w^alked  in  my  inno- 
cence," etc.    How^  can  a  sinner  use  such  language  of  himself  1 

P.  Certainly  the  priest  does  not  hereby  deny  that  he  is  a  sinner. 
For  he  adds,  "redeem  me,  and  have  mercy  on  me."  But  there  is  a 
true,  though  assuredly  not  a  boastful  sense,  in  which  every  priest  can 
say,  ''I  have  walked  in  my  innocence."  His  state  is  a  state  of  inno- 
cence ;  secured  by  its  obligations  against  many  of  the  worst  forms  of 
evil.  From  the  time  of  his  entering  on  that  state,  which  is  usually 
long  before  he  becomes  a  priest,  he  may  say,  "  My  foot  hath  stood  in 
the  direct  way."  And  beckuse  he  speaks,  not  as  an  individual,  but  in 
the  name  of  his  order,  he  may  recount  its  privilege  of  sanctity  with- 
out any  breach  of  personal  humility. 

C.  Thank  you,  sir.  I  now  see  that  there  is  a  peculiar  beauty  in 
the  priest  thus  reminding  himself,  in  words  not  his  own,  but  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  of  the  innocence  which  belongs  to  his  state. 

P.  You  have  precisely  hit  the  point ;  and  you  will  see,  on  reflec- 
tion, that  so  far  from  such  language  endangering  personal  humility, 
the  light  which  it  throws  upon  the  character  of  the  priestly  state  is,  of 
all  things,  the  most  apt  to  fill  the  individual  priest  with  a  humbling 
sense  of  his  own  unworthiness,  and  amazement  at  the  goodness  of  God 
in  calling  such  a  one  into  His  confidence,  and  suffering  him  to  approach 
Him  in  these  adorable  mysteries. 


THE   "  OKATE  FRATKES  "   AND   SECRET  PRAYERS.  25 

THE   OBLATIOJ^   CONTINUED. 

'    C.  What  follows  upon  the  priest's  return  to  the  middle  of  the  altar  ? 

P.  Having  now  exercised  himself  in  fresh  acts  and  desires  of  purity, 
he  proceeds  in  the  oblation  with  increased  confidence.  Placing  his 
hands  on  the  altar,  as  if  offering  all  his  powers  in  the  work  in  which 
lie  is  engaged,  he  calls  upon  the  whole  Blessed  Trinity  to  receive  the 
oblation.  The  prayer  is  as  follows :  "  Receive,  O  Holy  Trinity,  this 
oblation  which  we  make  Thee  in  memory  of  the  Passion,  Resurrection, 
and  Ascension  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  honor  of  Blessed  Mary 
ever  Virgin,  of  Blessed  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  of  the  holy  Apostles 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  of  these  and  of  all  the  Saints,  that  it  may  be 
profitable  to  their  honor  and  our  salvation  ;  that  they  whose  memory 
we  keep  on  earth  may  vouchsafe  to  pray  for  us  in  heaven,  through  the 
same  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen." 

C  Is  this  a  new  oblation,  or  a  continuation  of  the  former  ? 

P.  It  is  most  probably  the  latter ;  the  washing  of  the  fingers  being 
an  incidental  ceremony  ;  after  which  the  priest  returns  to  the  act  of 
oblation  with  additional  fervor. 

C.  Why  are  the  Passion,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  our  Lord 
here  commemorated  ? 

P.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Mass,  called  the  Mass  of  the  Catechu- 
mens, His  Advent,  jN'ati\dty,  and  Teaching  are  represented ;  His  Ad- 
vent in  the  Introit,  His  Nativity  in  the  Gloria  in  excelsis,  His  Teach- 
ing in  the  Gospel.  But  in  the  Sacrifice,  which  is  the  Mass  of  the 
Faithfal,  the  great  essential  mysteries  of  our  salvation  are  expressed, 
and  of  this  we  are  reminded  in  the  oblation  preparatory  to  it.  We 
now  come  to 

THE   "  ORATE  FRATRES "   AND   SECRET  PRAYERS. 

C.  What  is  the  "  Orate  Fratres  "  ? 

P.  "  Orate  Fratres  "  are  the  first  two  words  of  an  address  which,  at 
this  part  of  the  Mass,  the  priest  makes  to  the  faithful  present,  and  they 
signify,  "  pray,  brethren."  The  whole  prayer  is  as  follows :  "  Pray, 
brethren,  that  my  sacrifice  and  yours  may  be  acceptable  to  God  the 
Father  Almighty."  Of  this  prayer  the  first  two  words  only  are  said 
aloud  toward  the  people,  the  rest  in  secret  toward  the  altar.  Thus  the 
priest,  distrusting  his  own  merits,  and  knowing  himself  to  be  com- 
-passed  with  infirmities,  invites  those  present  to  join  tlioir  j)rayers  with 
his  own,  to  the  end  the  Sacrifice  he  is  to  offer  for  himself,  and  for 
them,  may  be  well-pleasing  in  the  sight  of  their  common  Fath^M- 

C.  I  observe  that  the  priest  speaks  of  the  Sacrifice  as,  in  some  sense, 
the  act  of  the  people  as  well  as  his  own. 


26  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL  OF  THE  MASS. 

P.  He  does  so.  As  we  proceed,  you  will  see  that  the  Church  re- 
gards the  faithful  present  as,  in  some  sort,  joint  offerers  with  the  priest. 
There  is  a  singular  beauty  in  the  priest  reminding  the  people  of  their 
common  interest  in  the  Sacrifice,  while  he  is  asking  for  their  prayers. 

C.  Do  the  people  respond  to  this  appeal  of  the  priest  ? 

P.  They  do  so,  through  the  minister  ;  and  should  themselves  either 
employ  the  same  words,  or  at  least  join  in  their  sentiment. 

The  answer  is  as  follows  :  "  May  our  Lord  receive  this  sacrifice  from 
thy  hands,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  His  Name,  to  our  profit,  and  to 
that  of  all  His  Holy  Church."  To  this  prayer  the  priest  answers  in  a 
low  voice,  Amen.  He  then  reads  out  of  the  Missal  the  prayer,  or 
prayers,  called  Secret,  corresponding  in  number  and  in  subject  with 
the  collects  said  in  the  earlier  part  of  Mass,  and  always  bearing  upon 
the  oblation. 

C.  Why  are  these  prayers  read  in  secret  ? 

P.  The  priest  having  invited  the  hearers  to  pray,  leaves  them  in 
that  occupation,  while  he,  with  Anna,  the  mother  of  Samuel,  speaks 
to  God  in  his  heart,  and  only  moves  his  lips.*    We  now  come  to 

THE  PREFACE. 

a  What  is  the  Preface  ? 

P.  The  priest  and  people  being  now  duly  prepared  for  the  Sacri- 
fice, proceed  to  the  sacred  Action,  and  first  join  their  hearts  and  voices 
in  a  song  of  praise  and  thanksgiving. 

C.  Whence  comes  the  use  of  a  Preface  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  From  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  It  is  found  in  St.  Clement, 
almost  in  the  very  words  now  used,  and  in  all  the  ancient  Liturgies. 

C.  How  many  different  Prefaces  are  used  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  In  all  eleven.  Their  general  purport  is  the  same,  but  they  vary, 
in  words,  according  to  the  subject  of  the  season. 

C.  What,  then,  is  their  general  purport  ? 

P.  To  give  praise  to  God  for  His  mercies  in  the  redemption  of  man- 
kind ;  to  call  upon  the  Angels  to  assist  at  our  great  Sacrifice  ;  and  put 
ourselves  into  communion  with  them  in  the  songs  of  love  and  adora- 
tion which  they  continually  present  at  the  Throne  of  God. 

C.  Mention,  sir,  if  you  please,  the  several  Prefaces. 

P.  They  are  as  follows:  for  the  Nativity,  the  Epiphany,  Lent, 
Passion-tide,  Easter.  Ascension,  Whit-Sunday,  Trinity;  for  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  the  Apostles,  and  a  common  Preface  for  days  to  which 
no  other  is  appropriated. 

*  See  1  Kings  i. 


THE  PREFACE.  27 

O.  Are  the  several  Prefaces  used  only  at  tlie  times  to  which  they 
properly  belong  ? 

P.  IS'ot  altogether  so.  That  for  the  Nativity  is  used  not  only  dur- 
ing the  Octave  of  Christmas,  but  on  the  Feasts  of  the  Most  Holy 
Name  of  Jesus,  of  the  Purification,  of  Corpus  Christi,  and  of  the 
Transfiguration.  That  "  of  the  Cross,"  proper  to  Passion-tide,  is  used 
also  on  the  Feasts  of  the  Invention  and  Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
on  the  Festivals  relative  to  the  Passion  of  our  Blessed  Lord  which  fall 
upon  the  Fridays  in  Lent,  and  on  that  of  the  Sacred  Heart ;  that  for 
Trinity  Sunday  is  used  on  all  Sundays  in  the  year  which  have  no 
Preface  of  their  own,  and  that  for  the  Apostles  on  the  Feasts  of  St. 
Peter's  Chair  at  Rome  and  at  Antioch. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "  Per  omnia  ssecula  sseculorum,"  with 
which  the  Preface  appears  to  open  ? 

P.  These  are  the  concluding  words  of  the  last  Secret  Prayer,  and 
signify  ''Forever  and  ever,"  or  "World  \vithout  end."  The  priest, 
having  concluded  the  Secret  all  but  these  last  words,  lays  his  hands 
upon  the  altar  and  says  them  aloud,  as  if  to  certif j^  to  the  faithful 
present  that  he  has  been  joining  them  in  prayer,  agreeably  to  his  in- 
vitation and  their  resjDonse,  for  the  acceptance  of  the  Sacrifice.  They 
respond  to  them.  Amen,  as  if  accepting  and  reciprocating  his  assur- 
ance. The  priest  then,  \vithout  turning  round,  proceeds,  "  Our  Lord 
be  with  you";  as  if  to  console  them  in  return  for  their  assistance,  to 
encourage  them  in  their  pious  intentions,  and  to  prepare  them  for  the 
solemn  action  about  to  take  place.  To  this  salutation  the  people  re- 
spond as  usual. 

C.  Hitherto  the  priest,  since  he  went  up  to  the  altar,  has  always 
turned  toward  the  people  when  addressing  these  words  to  them.  Why 
does  he  now  say  the  words  toward  the  altar  ? 

P.  The  Preface  is  the  introduction  to  the  sacred  Canon,  or  Action, 
of  the  Sacrifice,  the  most  solemn  part  of  the  whole  Mass  ;  and  now  tliat 
the  priest  has  once  entered  upon  it,  he  turns  no  more  to  the  people 
till  it  is  concluded,  but  remains  in  the  most  intimate  communion  with 
Almighty  God,  and  with  the  whole  host  of  heaven. 

C.  There  seems  an  extraordinary  beauty  and  fitness  in  this  provi- 
sion. Proceed,  sir,  if  you  please,  with  the  other  verses  and  responses 
introductory  to  the  Preface. 

P.  The  priest  next,  raising  his  hands  from  the  altar,  and  thus  suit- 
ing the  action  to  the  words,  addresses  the  people  with  the  invitation, 
"Lift  up  your  hearts";  as  if  saying,  "Let  us  now  withdraw  entirely 
from  earth,  and  put  ourselves  into  communion  with  the  Angels  in 
heaven,  that  we  may  worthily  prepare  for  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  both 


28  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OE   THE  MASS. 

God  and  Man."  To  this  invitation  the  people  respond  in  the  person 
of  the  minister,  "  We  have  them  with  our  Lord  ";  that  is,  "  Our  hearts 
are  already  lifted  up,  and  with  our  Lord."  The  priest  then  proceeds, 
"  Let  us  give  thanks  unto  our  Lord  God";  '  a  tribute  which  is  due  to 
Him  whom  we  acknowledge  to  be  such  by  lifting  up  our  hearts  to  Him, 
Let  us  therefore  thank  Him  for  all  His  benefits,  and  especially  for  the 
Eucharistic  Sacrifice.'  To  this  the  clerk  answers  in  the  name  of  the 
people,  "It  is  meet  and  just";  "meet"  in  respect  of  His  manifold 
benefits,  and  "  just "  on  our  parts  who  so  largely  enjoy  them. 

C.  Does  not  the  priest  accompany  the  latter  words  by  a  fresh 
action  ? 

P.  He  does  so.  His  hands  which  were  raised  at  the  "Sursum 
corda,"  he  now  joins,  at  the  same  time  inclining  his  head  in  lowly 
reverence  at  the  remembrance  of  the  Divine  mercies. 

C.  How  does  the  priest  go  on,  after  the  clerk  has  answered,  "  It  is 
meet  and  just "  ? 

P.  He  then  begins  the  Preface  itself,  by  echoing,  as  it  were,  the 
pious  sentiment  of  the  response,  and  repeating  it  with  increased  force, 
"  It  is  verily  meet  and  just,  right  and  salutary."  "  Right  and  salu- 
tary," no  less  than  "  meet  and  just."  " Meet "  for  Him  who  claims  our 
homage,  "  just "  in  us  who  bestow  it ;  "  right "  on  both  these  and  on 
all  other  accounts  ;  "  salutary,"  for  it  conduces  to  our  salvation,  "that 
we  should  always  and  everywhere  give  thanks  to  Thee."  For  the  holy 
Psalmist  bids  us  to  "  bless  our  Lord  in  every  place  of  His  dominion  ";  * 
and  again  he  says,  "  I  will  bless  the  Lord  at  all  times,  His  praise  shall 
be  always  in  my  mouth."  f  In  these  words  of  the  Preface  there  ap- 
pears to  be  an  allusion  to  the  Divine  Sacrifice,  daily  offered  up,  all 
throughout  the  world,  to  the  praise  and  honor  of  God. 

'•  Holy  Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God,  through  Christ  our 
Lord."  '  For  Him  we  have  for  our  Advocate  with  the  Father,:}:  and  by 
Him  we  have  access  through  faith  into  this  grace,  wherein  we  stand 
and  glory.'  § 

"  By  whom  the  Angels  praise  thy  Majesty,  the  Dominations  adore,|| 
the  Powers  do  hold  in  awe,  the  Heavens  and  the  Virtues  of  Heaven 
and  the  blessed  Seraphim  do  celebrate  with  united  joy." 

Here  four  different  emotions  or  actions  are  ascribed  to  the  Angels, 
in  which  we  are  to  imitate  them  ;  viz.,  praise,  adoration,  awe,  and  joy. 
The  priest  next  prays  in  the  name  of  the  faithful  as  well  as  of  him- 
self, "  In  union  with  whom  we  beseech  Thee  that  Thou  wouldest  com- 
mand our  voices  also  to  be  admitted,  with  suppliant  confession,  say- 

•Ps.  ciil  22.  f  lb.  xxxiii.  1.  %!  John  ii.  1. 

§  Rom.  V.  2.  U  Ps.  xcvi.  7  ;  2  Esd.  ix.  6. 


THE  PREFACE.  29 

ing."  Here  the  Chiircli  prays  that  our  voices  may  be  joined  with  those 
of  the  holy  Angels,  who  are  actually  then  assisting  at  the  great  Sac- 
rifice, and  preparing  to  commend  it  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Eternal 
Father. 

C.  You  said,  sir,  that  there  are  several  Prefaces ;  do  they  differ  in 
form  from  that  you  have  cited  ? 

P.  I  have  given  you  the  common  or  ordinary  one,  which  is  actually 
used  on  all  days  for  which  no  special  Preface  is  appointed,  and  which 
forms  also  the  standard  of  all.  The  variations  relate,  principally,  to 
the  subjects  of  the  different  festivals  on  which  they  are  introduced. 

C.  What  is  a  double  festival  ? 

P.  One  of  higher,  though  not  the  highest,  dignity.  The  order  of 
precedence  in  holy  days  is  as  follows :  1.  Double  of  the  first  class  ; 
2.  Double  of  the  second  class  ;  3.  Greater  double ;  4,  Double  ;  5.  Semi- 
double  ;  6.  Simple. 

C.  How  is  the  Mass  of  the  day  affected  by  these  distinctions  ? 

P.  On  doubles  there  is  but  one  Collect,  except  when  some  Saint, 
or  Octave,  is  commemorated  ;  on  semi-doubles  there  are  three  ;  and 
on  inferior  festivals,  five,  or  even  seven,  may  be  said,  at  the  option  of 
the  priest. 

C.  I  am  so  much  struck  with  the  Preface  you  have  quoted,  that  I 
should  be  glad,  if  you  please,  to  know  some  of  the  variations  accord- 
ing to  season. 

P.  Your  devotion,  I  am  sure,  will  be  promoted  by  knowing  them  ; 
they  will  show  you  how  the  Church  brings  out  her  high  doctrine  in  a 
devotional  shape:  Thus,  at  Christmas,  she  introduces  into  the  Pref- 
ace, after  the  words  "  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God,"  the  following 
appropriate  address  :  "  Because,  by  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnate  Word 
a  new  effulgence  of  Thy  brightness  hath  shone  into  the  eyes  of  our 
mind,  that  while  we  acknowledge  God  in  visible  form,  we  may  by  Him 
be  drawn  into  the  love  of  things  invisible  :  and  therefore  with  angels 
and  archangels,  with  thrones  and  dominations,  and  with  all  the  army 
of  heaven,  we  sing  the  hymn  of  Thy  glory,  evermore  saying." 

At  Epiphany  it  is  slightly  varied,  and  runs  thus  :  "  Because  when 
Thine  Only-begotten  appeared  in  substance  of  our  mortality,  He  re- 
stored us  by  the  new  light  of  His  own  immortality." 

In  Lent  it  is  as  follows :  "  Who  by  corporal  fasting  dost  restrain 
vices,  elevate  the  mind,  bestow  virtue  and  reward,  through  Christ  our 
Lord,  by  whom,"  as  before. 

At  Passion-tide  and  on  Feasts  of  our  Redemption :  "  Who  hast 
given  to  mankind  salvation  through  the  wood  of  the  cross,  that 
through  the  same  means  whence  death  arose  life  should  rise  again, 


30  OFwDEK  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF   THE  MASS. 

and  he  who  once  conquered  by  wood  should  by  wood  be  conquered, 
through  Christ,"  as  before. 

At  Easter,  after  the  words  "right  and  salutary":  "At  all  times  to 
proclaim,  O  Lord,  Thy  glory :  but  chiefly  on  this  day  [or  at  this  time], 
when  Christ  our  passover  was  sacrificed :  for  He  is  the  true  Lamb 
who  took  away  the  sins  of  the  world :  who  by  His  death  destroyed 
our  death,  and  by  His  resurrection  restored  our  life :  and  therefore 
with  angels,"  etc.,  as  before. 

At  Ascension,  after  the  words " Through  Christ  our  Lord":  "Who 
after  His  resurrection  appeared  manifestly  to  His  disciples,  and  in 
their  sight  was  raised  up  to  heaven  that  He  might  make  us  to  be 
partakers  of  His  divinity :  and  therefore  with  angels,"  etc. 

At  Pentecost  and  during  its  Octave  :  "  Who,  ascending  above  all 
heavens,  and  sitting  at  Thy  right  hand,  poured  down  on  this  day  on 
the  sons  of  adoption  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  He  had  promised :  where- 
fore with  joy  shed  abroad,  all  the  whole  world  doth  rejoice :  more- 
over, also  the  supernal  virtues  above,  and  the  angelical  powers  sing 
with  one  accord  the  hymn  of  Thy  glory,  evermore  saying." 

On  Trinity  Sunday,  and  on  all  Sundays  in  the  year,  to  which  no 
proper  Preface  is  assigned,  after  the  words  "Almighty  Father,  Eternal 
God":  "  W\\o  with  Thine  only-begotten  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  art 
one  God,  one  Lord  ;  not  in  the  singleness  of  one  person,  but  in  the 
Trinity  of  one  substance  ;  for  that  which,  by  Thy  revelation,  we  be- 
lieve of  Thy  glory,  the  same  hold  we  of  Thy  Son,  and  the  same  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  without  any  difference  or  distinction ;  that  in  the  con- 
fession of  a  true  and  eternal  Deity,  there  be  adored  in  the  persons 
propriety,  and  in  the  essence  unity,  and  in  the  majesty  equality,  whom 
the  angels  praise,  and  the  archangels,  the  cherubim  also  and  seraphim, 
who  cease  not  to  cry  continually,  saying  with  one  accord." 

On  all  Feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  after  "Almighty  Father,  Eter- 
nal God":  "And  thee  in  the  .  .  .  .*  of  Blessed  Mary,  ever  Virgin, 
to  praise,  bless,  and  proclaim :  who  conceived  thine  Only-begotten,  by 
the  over-shadowing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  without  loss  of  the  glory 
of  virginity,  poured  forth  on  the  world  the  Eternal  Light,  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  :  by  whom,"  etc.,  as  before. 

On  an  Apostle's  Day,  or  on  Feasts  in  any  way  commemorative  of 
them,  after  "  right  and  salutary":  "  Humbly  to  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord, 
that  Thou  wouldest  not,  O  Eternal  Pastor,  forsake  Thy  flock,  but  guard 
it  through  Thy  blessed  Apostles,  with  continual  care :  that  it  may  be 
governed  by  those  same  rulers,  whom  Thou  didst  appoint  to  be  set 

*  Here  the  name  of  the  Mystery  Is  inserted. 


THE   CANON   OF  THE   MASS.  31 

over  it  as  pastors  to  fulfil  Thy  work,  in  Thy  stead :  and  therefore  with 
angels,"  etc.,  as  before. 

C.  These  forms  are  evidently  introductory  to  something  else.  Will 
you  kindly,  reverend  sir,  tell  me  to  what  ? 

P.  All  of  them  conclude  with  two  short  hymns  ;  1.  The  Sanctus, 
addressed  to  the  Blessed  Trinity :  "  Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  God  of 
Sabaoth,  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  Thy  glory";  2.  The  words  ad- 
dressed by  the  children  to  our  Divine  Redeemer  on  His  entry  into 
Jerusalem.  The  former  is  taken  from  the  jirophet  Isaias,  where  we 
read  that  the  Seraphim  cried  one  to  another,  saying,  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy,  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts,  all  the  earth  is  full  of  His  glory."  *  This 
hymn  has  probably  formed  part  of  the  Mass  from  Apostolic  times. 
Pope  Sixtusvl.  ordered  that  it  should  always  be  sung  before  the  Sacred 
Canon.     It  is  found  in  all  the  ancient  Liturgies. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest,  having  sung  or  said  the  Preface  with  his 
hands  extended,  always  Join  them  at  the  Sanctus  ? 

P.  Perhaps  to  signify  that  he  unites  himself  with  the  angels  ;  at 
the  same  time  he  bows  his  head,  as  if  with  them,  in  acknowledgment 
of  the  Divine  Majesty. 

C.  What  is  the  latter  hymn  ? 

P.  It  consists  in  the  words  of  the  children  addressing  our  Lord  on 
entering  Jerusalem  the  Sunday  before  His  Passion.  "  Blessed  is  He 
that  Cometh  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  ;  Hosanna  in  the  highest."  This 
is  an  expression  of  thanksgiving,  very  suitable  to  the  time  when  our 
Blessed  Lord  is  about  to  come  to  us  in  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and  Sacra- 
ment. The  priest,  on  saying  these  words,  signs  himself  with  the  sign 
of  the  Cross,  in  memory  of  the  Passion  which  he  is  about  to  commem- 
orate. 

C.  Why  does  the  server  ring  a  little  bell  during  the  Sanctus  ? 

P.  To  give  notice  to  the  faithful  present  that  the  Canon  of  the 
Mass  is  about  to  begin,  in  order  that  they  may  raise  up  their  hearts  to 
God  with  increased  fervor,  and  put  themselves  in  dispositions  to  re- 
ceive Him.     It  is  time  now  to  speak  of 

THE  CANON  OF  THE  MASS. 

C.  "^^Tiat  is  meant  by  the  word  Canon  ? 

P.  It  is  a  Greek  word  signifying  Rule ;  and  here  it  means  the 
Rule,  or  Foimula,  according  to  which  the  Sacrifice  of  the  New  Law  is 
to  be  celebrated. 

C.  Is  this  prescribed  Form  of  the  Sacrifice  called  by  any  other  name  ? 

P.  Yes ;  some  of  the  Fathers  call  it  the  Prayer  (by  way  of  emi- 

*  la.  vi.  3. 


32  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

nence) ;  and  it  is  called  also,  in  the  language  of  the  Church,  the 
"  Action  ";  since  hereby  the  Sacrament  of  our  Lord's  most  sacred  Body 
and  Blood  is  "  wrought "  or  "  made  "  {conficitur).  Hence  the  expres- 
sion "  Infra  (for  "intra")  Actionem  ";  "  within  the  Action." 

C.  To  whom  is  the  authorship  of  the  Canon  ascribed  ? 

P.  It  is  probably  the  work  of  no  single  author,  but  a  kind  of 
"symbolum,"  or  contribution  from  many  holy  Popes  and  Doctors, 
none  of  them  later  than  St.  Gregory  the  Great ;  but  extending  back  to 
the  time  of  the  Apostles ;  and  incorporating  the  tradition  of  their 
words,  and  those  of  our  Blessed  Lord  Himself ;  as  the  Council  of 
Trent  has  it.* 

C.  What  evidence  does  the  Canon  bear  of  its  own  great  antiquity  ? 

P.  Its  containing  the  names  of  Apostles  and  Martyrs  alone  shows 
that  it  is  prior  in  date  to  the  fourth  century ;  till  which  time  the 
"  cultus,"  or  religious  veneration,  of  Confessors  was  not  introduced. 
(Pope  Benedict  XIV.  de  Sac.  3fiss.)  , 

C.  You  have  said,  following  the  Council  of  Trent,  that  the  sources 
of  the  Canon  are  to  be  found  in  Apostolical  traditions,  and  the  ordi- 
nances of  holy  Popes.  Will  you  further  tell  me  what  portions  are 
traced  to  the  one,  and  what  to  the  other  original  ? 

P.  The  narrative  introductory  to  the  consecration,  and  the  form  of 
consecration  of  the  Chalice,  certainly  contain  Apostolical  traditions  of 
the  actions  and  words  of  our  Blessed  Saviour,  who  (as  we  know  from 
St.  John  xxi.  25  and  Acts  xx.  35)  said  and  did  many  things  which  are 
not  in  the  Holy  Gospels.  As  to  the  additions  of  holy  Popes,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  St.  Leo  added  the  words  "  Sanctum  Sacrificium,  immacu- 
latam  Hostiam,"  at  the  end  of  the  prayer  following  the  consecration. 
And  St.  Gregory  the  Great  is  said  to  have  introduced  the  words  be- 
fore the  consecration,  "diesque  nostros  ....  grege  numerari";  also 
to  have  added  the  names  of  the  holy  Virgins  and  Martyrs  SS.  Agatha, 
Lucia,  Agnes,  Cecilia,  and  Anastasia,  to  the  second  commemoration  of 
Saints.  After  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  as  Cardinal  Bona  considers,! 
nothing  was  added. 

C.  What  are  the  actions  with  which  the  priest  begins  the  Canon  ? 

P.  He  extends  and  elevates  his  hands,  at  the  same  time  raising  his 
eyes  to  the  crucifix  ;  then  lowering  his  hands  and  joining  them,  he  lays 
them  on  the  altar,  and  at  the  same  time  makes  a  profound  inclination 
of  the  body.     These  actions  being  over,  he  begins  the  Canon. 

C.  Please  to  explain  its  different  parts  in  succession,  both  words 
and  accompanying  actions. 


*  Sess.  xxii.  c.  4.  De  Sacrificio  Missse.  f  Rer.  Liturg.  1.  ii.  c.  11,  n.  3. 


THE   CANON   OF  THE   MASS.  33 

P.  In  the  posture  of  humility  and  supplication  I  have  just  de- 
scribed, the  priest  begins  the  Canon  as  follows,  making  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  three  times  over  the  oblata,  or  materials  of  the  Sacrifice,  in  the 
parts  which  I  shall  note : 

"Therefore  we  humbly  beseech  and  pray  Thee,  most  clement 
Father,  that  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  Thou  wouldest  accept  and 
bless  {Jiere^  having  first  kissed  tlte  altar,  he  makes  three  ci'osses) 
these  "i*  gifts,  these  *i*  presents,  these  holy  "J-  and  unspotted  sacrifices, 
which  we  offer  Thee  in  the  first  place  for  Thy  Hoi 3'  Catholic  Church  : 
vouchsafe  to  give  it  peace,  to  protect,  unite,  and  govern  it ;  together 
with  Thy  servant  our  chief  Pastor  N.,  and  our  Bishop  N.,  and  all  or- 
thodox and  w^orshippers  of  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  faith." 

And  now  follows  the  explanation  of  this  solemn  prayer : 

Therefore,  as  united  with  the  comxjany  of  Angels,  we  humbly  be- 
seech and  pray  Thee,  most  clement  Father,  calling  upon  Thee  by  the 
title  w^hich  reminds  us  of  our  filial  claim  upon  Thy  goodness,  that 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  through  whom  only  our  prayers  can 
be  made  acceptable  to  Thee,  and  the  rather  because  of  the  Sacrifice  in- 
stituted by  Him  which  w^e  are  about  to  offer  in  His  name  and  on  His 
behalf,  Thou  wouldest  accept  and  bless  these  gifts  which  Thou  hast 
bestowed  upon  us  in  Thy  wonderfid  mercy  and  condescension,  these 
presents  which  in  Thy  Son's  name  we  offer  Thee,  these  holj^  and  un- 
spotted sacrifices,  above  all  gifts  and  presents,  the  offerings  of  many 
worshippers,  the  offered  on  many  altars,  which  we  offer  Thee  in  the  first 
I)lace  for  Thy  Holy  Catholic  Church  :  vouchsafe  to  give  it  peace  and 
to  protect  it  from  external  enemies,  to  unite  it  by  inward  union  among 
its  members,  and  govern  it  by  Thy  counsel  and  Holy  Spirit ;  together 
with  Thy  servant  our  chief  Pastor  N.,  and  our  Bishop  N.,  and  all  or- 
thodox and  worshippers  who  agree  in  the  doctrine,  and  worship  accord- 
ing to  the  form,  of  the  Catholic  and  Apostolic  faith. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  make  the  crosses  ? 

P.  In  commemoration  of  the  Passion  of  our  Divine  Redeemer, 
through  which  the  gifts  and  offerings  He  blesses  are  sanctified. 

C.  Who  are  the  "orthodox,"  etc.? 

P.  All  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  especially  all  whose 
lives  are  devoted  to  religion  or  who  labor  as  missionaries  for  the  con- 
version of  souls ;  all  benefactors  to  the  Church  and  the  poor ;  all 
Christian  princes  and  those  in  authority  who  have  the  means  of  ad- 
vancing the  faith  of  Christ. 

C.  Is  not  the  name  of  the  reigning  king  or  queen  specially  men- 
tioned here  ? 

P.  Yes,  in  countries  where  the  sovereign  is  happily  a  Catholic. 


34  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

C.  Does  not  tlie  Churcli  pray  for  those  who  are  out  of  her  com- 
mnnion  ? 

P.  She  specifies  the  "  orthodox "  only ;  but  in  this  number  she 
certainly  includes  children  who  have  been  truly  baptized,  although 
out  of  her  communion,  and  are  not  yet  of  age  to  perform  any  heret- 
ical or  schismatical  act,  whether  external  or  internal.  As  to  all  others, 
whether  infidels,  heretics,  or  schismatics,  the  Church  holds  that  to 
them  also  the  holy  Sacrifice  may  be  remotely  applicable,  at  least  by 
impetrating  in  their  behalf  the  grace  of  conversion  to  the  true  faith 
and  communion  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour.    We  shall  next  speak  of 

THE  MEMENTO   OF  THE  LIVING. 

.    C.  What  is  the  Memento  of  the  Living  % 

P.  It  is  a  prayer  named  from  its  first  word,  "  Memento,"  "  Remem- 
ber," and  introduced  in  this  part  of  the  Mass  for  all  those  living  per- 
sons to  whom  the  priest  may  desire  to  apply  in  an  especial  manner 
the  fniit  of  the  present  sacrifice. 

C.  What  are  the  words  of  this  prayer  ? 

P.  "  Remember,  O  Lord,  Thy  servants  and  handmaids,  N.  N".,  and 
all  here  present,  whose  faith  is  known,  and  their  devotion  manifest  to 
Thee,  for  whom  we  offer,  or  who  offer  to  Thee,  this  sacrifice  of  praise, 
for  themselves  and  all  theirs,  for  the  redemption  of  their  souls,  for 
the  hope  of  their  salvation  and  safety,  and  who  render  their  vows  to 
Thee,  the  eternal,  living,  and  true  God." 

C.  For  whom  and  for  what  does  the  priest  here  pray  ? 

P,  1.  For  those  whose  names  he  mentions  in  secret,  or  to  whom  he 
adverts  in  thought ;  2.  For  all  present ;  3.  For  all  who,  whether  pres- 
ent or  absent,  join  in  the  offering  of  the  Mass  ;  4.  For  their  relations, 
friends,  and  dependents ;  5.  For  their  particular  intentions,  i.  e.,  for 
those  blessings,  eternal  and  temporal  (if  lawful),  which  they  may  in- 
tend to  gain  through  the  Mass. 

C.  Who  are  those  whom  he  specifies  ? 

P.  Any  to  whom  he  is  specially  bound,  whether  by  the  obligation 
of  an  express  engagement  to  remember  them  in  the  Mass,  or  by  ties 
of  spiritual  or  natural  relationship,  gratitude,  friendship,  etc. 

C.  May  he,  in  this  memento,  name  or  remember  persons  out  of  the 
Church  ? 

P.  Yes,  in  a  secondary  and  qualified  way,  and  especially  that  they 
may  be  converted  to  the  true  faith.  ' 

C.  How  is  the  Mass  here  called  "  a  sacrifice  of  praise  "  ?  I  thought 
this  form  of  expression  had  been  heretical. 

P.  So  it  is,  if  the  Mass  be  so  designated  in  any  exclusive  sense.    A 


THE   "  COMMUNICANTES."  35 

sacrifice  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  it  certainly  is,  only  it  is  much 
more ;  it  is  a  commemorative  and  propitiatory  sacrifice  also,  as  the 
Church  abundantly  teaches  and  implies.  Just  in  the  same  way,  it  is 
true  that  the  people  offer  sacrifice  as  well  as  the  priest ;  but  it  is  heresy 
to  say  that  they  offer  sacrifice  as  the  priest. 

C.  Then  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  truth  even  in  heresies. 

P.  You  are  very  right ;  heresy  is  always  partial  truth  ;  but  in  re- 
ligion, the  renouncing  of  any  part,  however  small,  of  the  whole  truth 
is  heretical  error. 

C.  You  do  not  mean,  sir,  do  you,  that  a  person  is  no  better  as  to 
his  faith  who  holds  the  truth  of  the  Church  all  but  a  little  than  he 
who  falls  greatly  short  of  it  ? 

r.  The  nearer  he  comes  to  the  Catholic  faith,  the  better  hope,  of 
course,  there  is  that  he  will  reach  it ;  and  the  more  of  it  he  embraces, 
the  better  also  will  be  his  moral  disposition.  Some  truths  of  religion 
are  also  in  their  own  nature  of  a  more  saving  tendency  than  others. 
Still  he  that  is  not  a  Catholic  is  a  heretic ;  and  Catholic  none  can  be 
without  accepting  the  entire  faith  of  the  Church,  not  piecemeal,  but 
as  a  body  of  truth  upon  her  authority. 

C.  This  seems  a  hard  doctrine. 

P.  Not  more  so,  surely,  than  the  corresponding  truth  in  morals, 
i.  e.,  "  Whoever  shall  keep  the  Tvhole  law,  but  offend  in  one  point,  is 
become  guilty  of  all "  (St.  James  ii.  10). 

C.  But  to  return  to  the  Mass.  Excuse  me,  sir,  if  what  I  am  going 
to  say  appears  foolish  or  unbecoming  ;  but  I  cannot  help  wondering 
at  the  boldness  of  the  Church  in  using,  as  in  these  instances,  the  very 
language  which  heretics  have  abused. 

P.  Your  remark,  dear  child,  so  far  from  being  improper,  is  a  most 
just  and  reasonable  one.  This  noble  freedom  of  expression  is  just 
what  comes  of  being  in  the  right,  and  feeling,  as  men  say,  sure  of  our 
ground.  It  is  rickety  or  purblind  walkers  who  have  need  to  pick 
their  steps.  The  Church,  like  the  Scriptures,  in  embodying  the  whole 
truth,  comprehends  inclusively  those  partial  truths  which,  when  dis- 
jointed and  torn  from  the  rest,  become  symbols  of  heresy.  For  as 
men  of  low  birth  do  not  really  dignify  their  origin  by  borrowing  some 
armorial  ensign  from  the  escutcheon  of  a  noble  house,  so  neither  may 
sects  of  yesterday  entitle  themselves  to  a  place  in  the  pedigree  of  the 
Church  by  tearing  some  article  from  her  creed,  or  appropriating  some 
fragment  of  her  ceremonial. 

THE  "  COMMUNIOANTES." 

C.  The  "Memento,"  I  suppose,  is  a  kind  of  break  in  the  Canon?    , 


36  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OE  THE  MASS. 

P.  It  is  SO  ;  the  priest  turns  his  eyes  from  the  Missal  to  the  mid- 
die  of  the  altar,  and  there,  with  his  hands  joined  and  raised  toward 
his  face,  makes  his  remembrance  and  prayer  for  some  moments  in 
secret. 

C.  You  say,  in  secret ;  but  is  not  all  this  part  of  the  Mass  said  in 
silence  \ 

P.  Yes ;  the  priest  does  not  speak  aloud  from  the  "  Sanctus  "  to 
the  "Nobis  quoque  peccatoribus."  But  he  is  bound  to  articulate 
every  word  so  as  to  hear  himself  without  being  heard  by  those  present ; 
like  Anna,  the  mother  of  Samuel,  who  prayed  in  her  heart  and  moved 
her  lips,  but  was  not  heard  at  all.*  In  the  Memento,  however,  both  of 
the  living  and  the  dead,  he  says  no  word,  but  prays  in  mind  alone. 

C.  And  this  over,  how  does  he  proceed  % 

P.  Turning  his  eyes  toward  the  Missal,  and  extending  his  hands 
(the  position  used  throughout  the  Canon  when  the  priest  reads  from 
the  book),  he  proceeds  to  the  "  communicantes,"  or  commemoration 
of  the  Saints  in  glory,  which  is  made  in  the  following  words : 

"  Communicating,  and  venerating  the  memory,  in  the  first  place, 
of  the  glorious  and  ever- Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  even  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ;  as  also  of  the  blessed  Apostles  and  Martyrs,  Peter  and 
Paul,  Andrew,  James,  John,  Thomas,  James,  Philip,  Bartholomew, 
Matthew,  Simon  and  Thaddeus,  Linus,  Cletus,  Clement,  Xystus,  Cor- 
nelius, Cyprian,  Laurence,  Chrysogonus,  Cosmas  and  Damian,  John 
and  Paul,  and  all  Thy  saints,  by  whose  merits  and  prayers  grant  that 
in  all  things  we  may  be  fortified  by  the  help  of  Thy  protection, 
through  the  same  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen."  f 

C.  Is  this  prayer  found  in  the  most  ancient  Liturgies  ? 

P.  Yes,  in  substance,  but  with  some  variation  in  detail.  All  agree 
in  placing  the  Blessed  Virgin  before  all  other  saints,  and  in  assigning 
her  the  same  high  titles  of  honor  with  the  Roman. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "communicantes,"  or  "communicat- 
ing," with  which  this  commemoration  begins  ? 

P.  It  means,  "  jDutting  ourselves  into  communion  with  "  the  Saints 
comm  emorated. 

C.  I  observe  that  in  the  Missals  this  part  of  the  Canon  is  introduced 
with  the  words  "  infra  actionem."    What  is  meant  by  this  notice  ? 

P.  The  priest,  having  specified  for  whom  he  is  to  offer  the  Holy 
Sacrifice,  enters  upon  the  more  solemn  part  of  it,  called  the  Action  or 
Consecration,  which  opens  with  this  commemoration  of  the  Saints  in 
glory. 

*  1  KiQgs  i.  13.  f  See  note  A,  p.  70. 


THE  PRAYER   "  HANG   IGITUR   OBLATIONEM."  37 

C.  Why  does  the  Church  omit  the  name  of  St.  Matthias  from  the 
commemoration  of  the  Apostles  ? 

P.  Because  St.  Matthias  was  not  an  Apostle  at  the  time  of  our 
Lord's  Passion.  The  number,  twelve,  is  made  up  by  the  addition  of 
St.  Paul,  who  is  always  united  to  St.  Peter  in  the  memory  of  the 
Church ;  as  she  sings  (applying  to  those  "  glorious  princes  of  the 
earth"  what  was  said  of  David  and  Jonathan),  "They  loved  one 
another  in  life,  and  in  death  they  are  not  divided."  Perhaps,  too,  the 
Church  has  regard  in  this  place  to  the  mystic  number,  twelve  ;  for  first 
twelve  Apostles,  and  next  twelve  Martyrs,  are  specified. 

C.  Why  Martyrs  only,  and  not  Confessors  ? 

P.  Because,  as  we  observed  before,  the  public  veneration  of  Con- 
fessors was  of  somewhat  later  origin. 

C.  How  do  you  justify  the  expression,  "by  whose  merits,"  applied 
to  Saints  ?  Is  there  any  other  cause  of  justification  besides  the  merits 
of  Christ  ? 

P.  No  ;  there  is  no  other  primary  and  original  cause,  as  the  Church 
implies  in  this  very  prayer,  by  ending  it,  "  through  Christ  our  Lord." 
But  the  good  works  of  Christians  derive  a  saving  efiicacy  from  their 
essential  and  indissoluble  union  with  Christ,  and  are  even  said  to  be 
(in  and  through  Him)  meritorious  ;  far  more,  then,  the  holy  lives  and 
glorious  deaths  of  the  Aj^ostles  and  other  Saints,  and  chiefly  the  pre- 
eminent graces  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

THE  PRAYER   "  HANG   IGITUR   OBLATIONEM." 

C.  What  prayer  does  the  priest  say  next  in  order  ? 

P.  Strengthened  in  the  communion  of  the  Saints,  and  encouraged 
by  the  hope  of  their  intercession,  he  follows  up  the  oblation,  saying : 

"  We  beseech  Thee  therefore,  O  Lord,  that,  being  pacified,  Thou 
wouldest  accept  of  this  oblation  of  our  service,  and  that  of  all  Thy 
family,  and  dispose  our  days  in  Thy  peace  ;  and  command  us  to  be  de- 
livered from  eternal  damnation,  and  to  be  numbered  in  the  flock  of 
Thine  elect,  through  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen."  * 

C.  What  is  known  about  the  history  of  this  prayer  ? 

P.  The  three  petitions  at  the  end  of  it  were  added  by  St.  Gregory 
the  Great.     The  rest  comes  from  the  older  Liturgies. 

C.  Does  not  the  priest,  in  saying  this  prayer,  use  a  peculiar  action 
of  the  hands? 

P.  Yes ;  having  previously  joined  them,  he  opens  them  without 
separating  them,  and  spreads  them  over  the  ohlata  (or  materials  of  the 
Sacrifice),  with  the  palms  toward  the  altar. 


*  See  note  B,  p.  70. 


38  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  action  ? 

P.  Spreading  the  hands  is  a  sign  of  submission  to  the  Divine  power; 
holding  them  over  any  subject  is  a  token  of  benediction  ;  and  as  the 
thing  to  be  blessed  is  here  of  greatest  dignity,  both  the  hands  are  used, 
and  not  one  only,  as  in  ordinary  blessings.  Moreover  the  palms  of  the 
hands,  which  are  here  brought  to  bear  upon  the  offerings,  are  specially 
anointed  at  the  ordination  of  a  priest,  with  the  prayer  that  "  all  which 
they  bless  may  be  blessed."  You  will  observe  that  in  this  prayer  three 
distinct  favors  are  asked,  besides  the  acceptance  of  the  sacrifice,  viz. : 
1.  That  our  days  may  be  ordered  in  peace ;  2.  That  we  may  escape 
eternal  condemnation ;  3.  That  we  may  be  numbered  among  the  elect 
of  God,  or  have  our  "  calling  and  election  "  made  "  sure." 

When  the  priest  spreads  his  hands  over  the  oblation,  the  server 
rings  his  bell,  to  give  notice  that  the  consecration  is  drawing  near. 

C.  And  this  prayer  ended,  how  does  the  Canon  proceed  ? 

P.  Next  follows  a  prayer  in  continuation  of  the  former,  during 
which  the  priest  once  more  signs  the  oblation  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross.    It  is  as  follows : 

"Which  oblation  we  beseech  Thee,  0  Lord,  that  Thou  wouldest 
vouchsafe  in  all  to  make  blessed,  4*  ascribed,  +  ratified,  ^  rational, 
and  acceptable,  that  it  may  become  to  us  the  Body  ^  and  Blood  "J* 
of  Thy  most-beloved  Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

C.  How  is  that  prayer  explained  ? 

P.  Its  great  object  is  to  ask  that  the  miracle  of  Transubstantiation 
may  be  vouchsafed  in  the  change  of  the  bread  and  wine  into  the  Body 
and  Blood  of  Christ.  It  also  asks  that  the  sacrifice  may  be  "  blessed," 
"  ascribed  "  to  God,  ''  ratified  "  in  its  effect,  and  that  it  may  be  both  a 
reasonable  service  (Rom.  xii.  1),  i.  e.,  unlike  the  sacrifice  of  beasts,  and 
well-pleasing  to  God.  This  prayer  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity,  and  is 
commented  on  by  St.  Augustine  in  almost  the  above  words. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  here  make  five  crosses  ? 

P.  The  nearer  we  come  to  the  act  of  sacrifice,  the  more  incumbent 
it  is  to  bring  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  to  mind  as  the  great  subject  to 
be  commemorated  and  represented.  And  now  that  the  materials  of 
the  sacrifice  have  been  duly  prepared  and  blessed  to  their  sacred  use, 
*'  all  things  are  ready  "  for 

THE  CONSECRATION. 

p.  The  priest  has  now  to  perform  the  most  solemn  act  of  the  high- 
est office  in  the  world.  In  the  exercise  of  the  power  which  he  has  re- 
ceived at  ordination,  he  is  to  make  the  most  precious  Body  and  Blood 
of  our  Lord  present  on  the  altar,  to  the  unspeakable  benefit  and  con- 


THE  CONSECRATION.  39 

solation  of  all  faithful  souls.  This  power  it  is  which  raises  the  priest, 
as  St.  Chrysostom  says,  above  angels ;  for  to  compare  it  with  any 
dignity  of  this  world  would  be  simply  preposterous.  Nay,  if  dignity 
there  ever  were  to  which  it  may  suitably  be  likened,  it  was  that  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  chosen  by  the  Holy  Trinity  to  be  the  means  of  giving 
the  Eternal  Son  of  God  to  the  world.  Collect  then,  dear  brother,  all 
your  devout  attention,  while  I  instruct  you  in  the  ceremonies  which 
the  Church  has  prescribed  on  this  great  subject. 

The  priest  having  concluded  the  forementioned  prayer,  which  he 
says  with  hands  joined,  prepares  for  the  consecration,  by  first  separat- 
ing his  hands,  and  gently  rubbing  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  each 
within  the  corporal.  The  reason  of  this  action  is  to  free  them  from 
any  grain  of  dust,  or  other  substance,  which  they  may  have  gathered 
up  since  the  "  Lavabo";  or,  at  any  rate,  to  remind  himself  of  the  rev- 
erence due  to  the  august  mysteries  he  is  about  to  approach.  While 
performing  this  action,  he  says  (still  secretly)  the  following  words  of 
preparation : 

"  Who,  the  day  before  He  suffered,*  took  bread  into  His  holy  and 
adorable  hands,  and  with  eyes  lifted  up  to  heaven  to  Thee,  God,  His 
Almighty  Father  (here  the  priest  raises  his  eyes  to  the  crucifix),  did 
bless  (here  holding  the  Host  in  the  left  hand,  he  makes  over  it  with 
the  right  the  sign  of  the  Cross),  break,  and  give  to  His  disciples,  say- 
ing. Take  and  eat  ye  all  of  this,"  etc.  (Here  he  pronounces  attentively 
aud  devoutly  the  words  of  consecration.)  These  words  over,  he  kneels 
and  adores  our  Blessed  Lord,  now  present  in  the  Sacrament.  Then 
rising,  he  elevates  the  Sacred  Host  above  his  head,  for  the  adoration 
of  the  faithful,  and  afterward  slowly  lowers  it,  and  places  it  reverently 
upon  the  corporal ;  after  which  he  again  kneels  and  adores.  During 
each  of  these  actions,  subsequently  to  the  consecration,  the  server  rings 
his  bell  to  excite  the  devotion  of  the  faithful. 

The  consecration  in  the  species  of  Bread  being  over,  the  priest  goes 
on  to  that  in  the  species  of  Wine. 

Rising,  therefore,  from  his  last  act  of  adoration,  he  uncovers  the 
chalice  (upon  which  the  pall  has  rested  since  the  offertory),  and  rub- 
bing the  thumb  and  finger  of  each  hand  over  it,  that  any  fragment  of 
the  Sacred  Host  which  may  have  adhered  to  them  may  fall  in,  he  re- 
peats the  words  of  preparation :  "  In  like  manner  after  supper.  He 
took  also  this  goodly  chalice  into  His  holy  and  adorable  hands,  also 
giving  thanks  to  Thee  (here  he  inclines  toward  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
on  the  altar),  He  blessed  and  gave  to  His  disciples,  saying,  Take  and 

*  See  note  C,  p.  70. 


40  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL  OP  THE  MASS. 

drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this,"  etc.  (Here  he  pronounces  attentively  and 
devoutly  the  words  of  consecration.) 

G.  Is  the  form  of  consecrating  under  the  species  of  wine  the  same 
as  that  in  the  Gospels  ? 

P.  It  is  the  same  in  substance,  with  certain  other  portions  which 
express, an  apostolic  tradition  of  our  Lord's  words. 

C.  Does  the  Church  use  these  words  of  our  blessed  Lord  in  a 
merely  narrative  sense  % 

P.  No  ;  she  uses  them  not  as  a  servant  merely  repeating  his  mas- 
ter's message,  but  as  an  ambassador,  charged  with  authority  to  effect  a 
great  work  in  his  sovereign's  name. 

C.  How  do  you  explain,  "  with  eyes  lifted  up  to  heaven  "  ?  We  do 
not  read,  in  the  holy  Gospels,  that  our  Lord  performed  this  action  be- 
fore consecrating  the  Blessed  Eucharist  at  the  Last  Supper. 

P.  We  do  not ;  but  it  is  related  in  the  oldest  Liturgies,  upon  the 
authority,  probably,  of  the  AjDostles  themselves. 

C.  And  why  does  the  priest  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  at  the  con- 
secration in  both  species  ? 

P.  The  cross  is  the  sign  and  badge  of  the  power  in  virtue  of  which 
he  claims  to  perform  the  act  of  Christ. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  elevate  the  Blessed  Sacrament  % 

P.  In  order  that  the  faithful  may  adore  our  Lord  present  therein. 

C.  What  kind  of  reverence  is  that  which  the  Church  pays  to  our 
Lord  in  the  Holy  Sacrament  % 

P.  It  is  the  highest  kind,  called  Latria,  which  signifies  worship 
due  to  God  alone. 

THE  PRAYER  AFTER  THE  ELEVATION. 

a  What  follows  the  Elevation? 

P.  When  the  priest  has  adored  the  precious  Blood  of  our  Lord  for 
the  second  time,  he  proceeds  to  say  the  following  prayer :  "  Wlience 
both  we  Thy  servants,  and  also  Thy  holy  people,  mindful,  0  Lord,  as 
well  of  the  blessed  passion  as  also  of  the  resurrection  from  hell  and 
glorious  ascension  into  heaven  of  the  same  Christ  Thy  Son  our  Lord, 
do  offer  to  Thy  Most  High  Majesty,  of  these  Thy  gifts  and  grants,  a 
pure  "J-  host,  a  holy  ►f"  host,  an  *i>  immaculate  host ;  the  holy  bread 
•fi  of  life  eternal,  and  the  chalice  "f  of  perpetual  salvation."  In  the 
places  noted  the  priest  makes  five  crosses  ;  three  over  the  Sacred  Host 
and  chalice  together,  and  afterward  one  over  the  Sacred  Host  and  one 
over  the  chalice. 

C.  How  old  is  this  prayer  % 


THE  PRAYER  AFTER  THE  ELEVATION.  41 

P.  As  old  as  tlie  Mass  itself ;  it  is  found,  with  slight  changes,  in 
all  the  early  Liturgies. 

C.  What  is  its  import  ? 

P.  It  appears  to  be  taken  up  from  the  words,  "  This  do  in  remem- 
brance of  Me,"  which  form  the  sequel  of  the  consecration  of  the  chal- 
ice. Perhaps  it  may  be  connected  with  that  Divine  precept  in  some 
way  like  the  following :  "  Even  so,  Lord,  Thou  biddest  us  remember 
Thee  ;  wherefore  mindful,"  etc.  Perhaps,  also,  it  contains  an  allusion 
to  the  last  prayer  of  Oblation  :  "  Receive,  O  Holy  Trinity,"  etc.  For  in 
that  prayer  the  Church  commemorated  the  Passion,  Resurrection,  and 
Ascension  of  our  Lord  ;  and  here,  in  making  the  oblation  of  the  real 
Body  and  Blood  of  our  Redeemer,  she  renews  the  memory  of  the  same 
mysteries  which  before  she  celebrated  in  offering  the  materials  of  the 
sacrifice.  But  whereas  in  the  former  prayer  she  added  to  the  chief 
mysteries  of  our  Redemption  the  commemoration  also  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  holy  Apostles,  here  she  names 
no  subject  but  the  Passion,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  Christ. 
We  may  observe  that  the  priest  again  associates  the  people  with  him- 
self as  partakers  in  the  act  of  oblation. 

C.  But  why  does  the  priest  bless  the  Holy  Sacrament  after  conse- 
cration ?  It  seems  almost  like  an  indignity  (excuse  me)  that  the  min- 
ister should  bless  his  Lord ;  at  any  rate,  it  seems  a  gratuitous  and 
superfluous  act  of  honor.  Surely  consecration  includes  all  other  bene- 
dictions, and  in  including,  supersedes  them  ? 

P.  And  accordingly  theologians  have  interested  themselves  in  the 
question.  You  feel  naturally  that  this  act  seems  to  reverse  the  rule, 
"  Without  all  contradiction  that  which  is  less  is  blessed  by  the  better."  * 
But  let  us  hear  Pope  Benedict  XIV.,  who  sums  up  the  various  opin- 
ions of  divines.  He  concludes  that  crossings  after  the  consecration 
are  to  be  estimated  very  differently  from  the  same  action  before  it. 
After  the  consecration,  they  are  to  be  taken  rather  as  attestations  or 
commemorations  than  as  benedictions  ;  or  as  benedictions  of  that  class 
which  express  the  reverence  of  the  Church  and  the  sanctity  of  the  ob- 
ject so  honored,  but  without  being  effective  of  any  change  in  its  state 
or  quality,  t  As  to  thej'??)^  crossings  used  in  this  place,  they  are  con- 
sidered to  have  reference  to  the  five  sacred  wounds  of  our  Lord. 

C  But  the  Sacred  Host  is  here  called  "  Bread."  How  do  you  rec- 
oncile this  with  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation  ? 

P.  It  is  an  instance  of  that  generous  freedom  of  expression  pecul- 
iar to  the  Church  of  which  I  have  already  spoken.     The  Church, 

*  Ileb.  vii.  7.  t  ^^  Sac.  Miss.  sec.  i,  c.  277. 


42  OEDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

having  amply  secured  the  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence  of  our  Lord 
in  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  has  no  shyness  in  expressing  it  under  those 
mystical  representations  by  which,  in  Holy  Scripture,  it  is  so  beauti- 
fully shadowed  forth.  The  Blessed  Eucharist  is  our  true  Bread,  be- 
cause it  is  the  aliment  of  our  souls,  and  because  bread  is  the  form 
under  which  our  Redeemer,  who  styles  Himself  the  Living  Bread,* 
vouchsafes  to  impart  Himself  to  us. 

THE   REMAINING  PRAYERS   OF   OBLATION. 

C.  What  follows  upon  the  last  prayer  ? 

P.  Its  sentiment  is  carried  on  in  another,  which  runs  as  follows : 
"  Upon  which  vouchsafe  to  look  with  a  propitious  and  serene  coun- 
tenance, and  to  make  acceptable  to  Thyself,  even  as  Thou  didst  vouch- 
safe to  make  acceptable  the  oiferings  of  Thy  child  Abel  the  just,  and 
the  sacrifice  of  Abraham  our  patriarch,  and  that  which  Thy  high- 
priest  Melchisedech  did  offer  to  Thee,  a  holy  sacrifice,  an  immaculate 
host."  This  prayer  and  that  which  follows  it  are  also  found  in  the 
ancient  Liturgies. 

C.  What  is  the  intention  of  the  prayer  you  have  just  cited  ? 

p.  In  it  the  Church  asks  that  Almighty  God  wdU  be  pleased  to 
look  with  a  favorable  eye  upon  the  present  offering,  even  as  He  ac- 
cepted the  primitive  offering  of  Abel  (Gen.  iv.),  Abraham  (Gen.  xii.), 
and  Melchisedech  (Gen.  xiv.) ;  not,  of  course,  as  comparing  these  sac- 
rifices with  the  Sacrifice  of  the  New  Law  in  point  of  dignity,  but  re- 
garding them  as  its  types,  which  received  favor  both  on  account  of 
the  devotion  of  the  offerers  and  their  own  high  signification. 

C.  Why  are  these  three  sacrifices  particularly  specified,  when  all 
the  ancient  sacrifices  were  alike  typical  of  the  Offering  on  the  Cross  ? 

P.  Besides  the  connection  of  type  and  antitype  between  all  the 
ancient  sacrifices  and  the  great  Sacrifice  of  the  New  Law,  there  is 
something  in  each  of  the  three  sacrifices  specified  in  the  Canon  of  the 
Mass  which  bears  with  an  especial  propriety  upon  the  great  Christian 
Sacrifice  ;  for  as  Abel  offered  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,t  and  thence 
gained  a  singular  respect  to  his  sacrifice,  so  Christ,  our  Passover,  is 
the  "  First-bom  among  many  brethren.":}:  And  Abel's  blood  shed  by 
his  brother  represents  Christ  slain  through  the  malice  of  the  Jews, 
and  shedding  His  precious  blood  for  the  sins  of  the  world.  The  sac- 
rifice of  Isaac  was  a  type  of  the  great  Sacrifice  on  the  Cross  ;  it  is 
probable  even  that  Abraham  had  a  foresight  of  it,  since  our  Lord  says 
of  him,  "  Abraham  rejoiced  that  he  might  see  My  day  ;  he  saw  it,  and 

*  St.  John  vi.  48.  f  Gen.  iv.  4.  %  Rom.  vii.  29. 


THE   KEMAINING  PRAYEES   OF   OBLATION.  43 

was  glad."  *  And  lastly,  tlie  sacrifice  of  Melchisedech  was  a  direct 
type  of  the  Eiicliaristic  Sacrifice  ;  for,  being  a  priest  of  the  Most  High 
God,  he  brought  forth  bread  and  wine.f 

C.  The  concluding  words  of  the  prayer,  "a  holy  Sacrifice,  an  im- 
maculate Host,"  appear  to  relate  to  the  primitive  sacrifices.  Can  this 
be  so? 

P.  Those  words  refer  to  the  oblation  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  men- 
tioned at  the  beginning  of  the  prayer ;  not  to  the  sacrifices  of  the 
patriarchs,  which  are  introduced  in  the  way  of  parenthesis. 

C.  I  observe  that,  after  the  consecration,  the  priest  holds  the  thumb 
and  forefinger  of  each  hand  joined  together.    Why  is  this  ? 

P.  Partly  out  of  reverence  to  the  adorable  Sacrament,  in  order 
that,  after  having  handled  the  sacred  Body  of  our  Lord,  he  may 
touch  no  other  object  except  itself  till  the  fingers  have  undergone  ablu- 
tion ;  and  partly  in  order  to  prevent  minute  portions  of  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  which  may  possibly  have  adhered  to  the  fingers  sustain- 
ing any  irreverence  by  the  fingers  coming  into  contact  with  other  sub- 
stances. 

C.  How  full  of  reverence  and  love  to  our  Lord  are  all  these  ar- 
rangements ! 

P.  Moreover  you  should  know  that,  for  a  similar  reason,  the  priest, 
when  he  kneels  after  the  consecration,  places  his  hands  within  the 
corporal,  whereas  previously  he  laid  them  on  each  side  of  it ;  and  that 
whereas  before  he  placed  the  palms  of  the  hands  on  the  altar,  now, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  consecrated  fingers  touching  it,  he  presses  it 
with  the  sides  of  the  hand  alone  ;  and,  once  more,  that  whereas,  up  to 
the  consecration,  the  priest  inclined  toward  the  crucifix,  he  makes  his 
reverence  after  it  to  our  Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

C.  How  does  the  Canon  proceed  ? 

P.  With  a  prayer  which  the  priest  says  in  a  posture  of  profound 
humility,  resting  his  joined  hands  on  the  edge  of  the  altar.  It  is 
as  follows:  "We  humbly  beseech  Thee,  Almighty  God,  that  Thou 
'wouldest  command  these  to  be  carried  by  the  hands  of  Thy  Holy 
Angel  to  Thy  sublime  altar,  before  the  sight  of  Thy  Divine  Majesty, 
that  all  of  us  who  (here  he  kisses  the  altar)  by  this  participation  shall 
receive  the  most  holy  Body  *f«  and  Blood  ►J*  of  Thy  Son  may  be  filled 
with  all  celestial  benediction  and  grace :  through  the  same  Christ  our 
Lord.    Amen." 

At  the  mention  of  the  most  holy  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord,  the 
priest  makes  one  cross  over  the  Sacred  Host  and  another  over  the 

*  St..  John  viii.  56.  f  Gen.  xiv.  18. 


44  ORDER  AND  CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

chalice;  and  at  the  words  "all  celestial  benediction "  he  makes  the 
sign  of  the  cross  upon  himself. 

C.  Who  is  understood  by  the  "  HolyAngel"? 

P.  Some  interpret  it  of  the  Angel  deputed  by  God  to  watch  over 
the  particular  Mass — the  Guardian  of  the  Sacrifice,  or  the  Guardian 
of  the  priest,  who  especially  watches  over  his  solemn  ministerial  acts. 
For  if  Angels  assisted  at  the  sacrifices  of  the  old  law,  as  we  learn 
from  several  places  of  Holy  Scripture,*  it  is  but  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  similar  assistants  are  not  wanting  at  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
Church.  Other  divines  of  still  higher  authority  understand  the 
"  Holy  Angel "  to  mean  Christ  Himself — the  "Angel  of  great  counsel," 
as  He  is  styled  by  the  Church,  in  allusion  to  His  title  of  Counsellor 
(Isa.  ix. :  see  the  Introit  of  the  third  Mass  of  Christmas-day). f 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  lay  his  joined  hands  on  the  altar,  and  kiss 
it  in  the  course  of  the  prayer  ? 

P.  A  posture  of  the  humblest  devotion  and  most  fervent  suppli- 
cation is  natural  in  a  prayer  which  asks  that  such  immense  favors 
should  be  granted  to  the  request  of  sinners.  The  kiss  is  a  sign  of 
confidence  and  reconciliation. 

THE  MEMENTO   OF  THE  DEAD. 

C.  What  follows  the  prayer  last  explained  ? 

P.  The  "Memento  of  the  Dead,"  corresponding  with  the  "Me- 
mento of  the  Living,"  which  occurs  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  Canon. 
It  is  as  follows  : 

"  Remember,  also,  O  Lord,  Thy  servants  and  handmaids,  who  have 
gone  before  us  in  the  sign  of  faith,  and  sleep  in  the  sleep  of  peace,  N. 
N. :  to  them,  O  Lord,  and  to  all  who  rest  in  Christ,  we  beseech  that 
Thou  wouldest  grant  a  place  of  refreshment,  light,  and  peace :  through 
the  same  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

At  the  last  words,  the  priest  bows  toward  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

C.  Was  this  prayer  always  used  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  it  is  so  ancient  and  was  so  universal  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
of  its  being  an  apostolical  tradition. 

\_C.  How  far  may  those  who  have  died  out  of  Catholic  communion 
be  remembered  in  this  prayer  ? 

P.  The  same  rule  applies  here  as  in  the  "  Memento  of  the  Living," 
except  that  the  conversion  of  those  I'emembered  cannot  here  enter  into 
the  objects  of  the  petition.     But  considering  the  great  excuses  which 

*  Gen.  xxii. ;  .Judg.  vi.  xiii. ;  St.  Luke  i. 

\  On  this  title  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  see  Le  Brun,  Ger&m.  de  la  Messe,  p.  iv.  art.  13. 


THE  "nobis  quoque  peccatoribus."  45 

want  of  opportunity,  the  defects  of  education,  and  other  similar  dis- 
advantages, furnish  in  the  case  of  material  {i.  e.,  actual  but  uncon- 
scious) heresy  and  schism,  the  Church  is  willing  to  extend  the  judgment 
of  charity  to  many  (we  know  not  how  many)  who  have  died  out  of  her 
pale.  Still  the  trembling  hope  with  which  we  ask  God  to  extend  to 
them  the  benefits  of  a  propitiation  intended  for  the  faithful,  is  some- 
thing very  different  indeed  from  the  comfort  with  which  we  can  appeal 
to  Him  for  those  who  have  "  gone  before  us  "  at  least  "  in  the  sign  of  • ' 
true  Catholic  "faith."]  * 

THE   "nobis   quoque  PECCATORIBUS." 

p.  The  priest  here  breaks  silence  with  a  mournful  confession,  at 
which,  like  the  publican  in  the  parable,  he  strikes  his  breast ;  then 
immediately  resuming  silence,  he  continues  the  prayer  of  which  these 
sorrowful  words  form  the  commencement.   It  is  altogether  as  follows  : 

"  Vouchsafe  to  give  us  sinners,  Thy  servants,  hoping  in  the  multi- 
tude of  Thy  mercies,  some  part  and  fellowship  with  Thy  holy  Apostles 
and  Martyrs  ;  with  John,  Stephen,  Matthias,  Barnabas,  Ignatius,  Alex- 
ander, Marcellinus,  Peter,  Felicitas,  Perpetua,  Agatha,  Lucy,  Agnes, 
Csecilia,  Anastasia,  and  all  Thy  Saints,  into  whose  company  we  beseech 
that  Thou,  who  weighest  not  merits  but  pardonest  offences,  wouldest 
be  pleased  to  admit  us  :  through  Christ  our  Lord." 

C.  What  is  the  force  of  this  prayer  ? 

P.  Mention  having  been  made  in  the  prayer  for  the  dead  of  the 
state  of  eternal  blessedness,  the  Church  proceeds  to  ask  that  we  sin- 
ners may  likewise  receive  a  portion  in  the  same  inheritance,  together 
with  those  members  of  the  kingdom  of  glory  who  are  enumerated,  and 
all  other  the  Saints  of  God. 

C.  Who  is  St.  John,  named  in  this  catalogue  ? 

P.  Most  probably  St.  John  the  Baptist,  who,  with  St.  Stephen,  first 
received  the  crown  of  martyrdom  after  the  coming  of  Christ.  But  others 
have  supposed  that  it  is  the  Evangelist ;  and  that,  having  been  for- 
merly named  as  an  Apostle  and  Martyr,  here  he  is  commemorated  as 
eminent,  together  with  St.  Stephen,  for  the  grace  of  virginity.  But 
the  former  opinion  is  the  more  approved.  I  have  already  said  why  St. 
Matthias  was  omitted  in  the  earlier  list ;  here  the  omission  is  supplied. 

C.  I  would  know  also  something  of  the  other  Saints  here  com- 
memorated. 

*  The  passage  here  contained  within  brackets  is  omitted  in  the  Italian  translation,  as 
being  "applicable  rather  to  a  Protestant  than  to  a  Catholic  country."  It  is  consequently 
not  included  in  the  Roman  "imprimatur." 


46  ORDEK  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

P.  St.  Alexander  was  Poj^e  early  in  the  second  century  ;  St.  Mar- 
cellinus  and  St.  Peter  suffered  for  the  Faith  under  Diocletian ;  SS. 
Perpetua  and  Felicitas  were  martyred  under  the  Emperor  Severus  in 
the  third  century.   The  rest  are  better  known.   Cardinal  Bona  remarks 
{Rer.  Liturg.  1.  ii.  c.  14,  n.  5),  that  in  this  catalogue  various  orders  of 
sanctity  are  represented.     Thus  St.  Stephen  was  a  deacon  ;  St.  Mat-  , 
thias  arid  St.  Barnabas,  apostles ;  St.  Ignatius,  a  bishop  ;  St.  Alex-  ■ 
ander,  a  pope  ;  St.  Marcellinus,  a  priest ;  SS.  Felicitas  and  Perpetua  ' 
were  married  ;  and  the  rest  were  virgins.     We  may  observe  also  that, 
as  before,  none  but  martyrs  are  commemorated. 

THE   CANON   CONTINUED. 

C.  How  does  the  Canon  proceed  ? 

P.  Taking  up  the  last  words  of  the  preceding  prayer,  "  Through 
Christ  our  Lord,"  it  continues :  "  By  whom,  O  Lord,  Thou  dost  always 
create,  sanctify,  ^  vivify,  "J*  and  bless,  ^  and  grant  us  all  these  good 
things."  (At  the  crosses  the  priest  signs  the  Sacred  Host  and  chalice 
together  ;  and  then  with  the  former  makes  five  crosses,  three  over  the 
chalice,  and  two  between  it  and  himself,  at  the  same  time  saying) 
"  through  4*  Him,  and  with  •{•  Him,  and  in  *fi  Him,  to  Thee  God  the 
Father  Almighty,  ^  in  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honor  and 
glory."  (Here  the  priest  holds  the  Sacred  Host  over  the  chalice,  and 
slightly  elevates  both  of  them  together.) 

C.  Why  are  these  attributes  of  God  here  commemorated  ? 

P.  In  reference  to  the  Adorable  Sacrament,  He  who  "  creates  all 
these  things,"  can  also  "  sanctify,"  "  vivify  "  (that  is,  renew  as  to  their 
nature  and  object),  "  bless  "  them  to  our  profit,  and  "  grant "  them  to 
our  use.  Durandus  thus  paraphrases  this  prayer :  "  Thou  dost  cre- 
ate "  these  gifts  by  giving  them  a  being  ;  "  sanctify  "  them  by  conse- 
cration ;  "  vivify  "  them  by  changing  their  substance  ;  "  bless  "  them 
that  they  may  be  profitable  ;  and  "  grant "  them  so  as  to  profit  us. 

C.  What  is  the  action  which  the  priest  performs  in  raising  the 
Sacred  Host  with  the  chalice  ? 

P.  It  is  called  the  Little  Elevation ;  and  is  of  greater  antiquity 
than  that  which  follows  upon  the  consecration.  Since,  however,  the 
latter  has  been  introduced  in  the  Church,  this  second  Elevation  has 
been  less  solemn  ;  the  Sacred  Host  and  chalice  are  raised  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  altar,  and  are  not  presented  to  the  people  for 
adoration.  * 

C.  What  does  the  Little  Elevation  express ;  and  what  thoughts 
should  accompany  it  ? 

P.  It  may  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  homage  to  the  majesty  of  God 


OUR  lord's  prayer.  47 

in  the  creation  of  the  world  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Divine 
Word ;  for  by  this  act  we  make  Him  a  distinct  and  special  oblation  of 
the  Divine  Holocaust ;  the  Body  and  Blood  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

•  C.  Is  not  the  bell  sometimes  rung  at  this  second  Elevation  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  this  custom  prevails  in  several  Catholic  countries.  I  have 
heard  of  it  as  existing  in  Spain,  Portugal,  France,  and  Ireland  ;  but  it 
is  not  universal  in  the  Church.  At  Kome,  the  bell  is  rung  at  the 
Sanctus  and  Elevation  only.* 


OUR  lord's  prayer. 

C.  Here  the  priest  again  says  aloud,  "  Per  omnia  saecula  sseculo- 
rum,"  does  he  not  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  in  this  place  he  again  lifts  up  his  voice,  which,  except  in 
the  penitential  words,  "Nobis  quoque  peccatoribus,"  has  not  been 
heard  since  the  beginning  of  the  Canon. 

C.  Is  the  sentence  "  Per  omnia  saecula  sseculorum  "  the  end  of  a 
prayer,  as  in  the  former  instance  % 

P.  Yes  ;  it  is  so  on  each  of  the  three  occasions  on  which  it  forms 
the  introduction  of  an  address  to  the  people.  And  in  every  instance 
it  is  a  kind  of  pledge  to  the  people  that  the  priest  has  been  all  the 
while  interceding  for  them.  Here  it  is  the  termination  of  the  prayer 
last  cited,  which  ends,  you  remember,  with  an  ascription  of  honor  and 
glory  to  the  Blessed  Trinity.  This  doxology  concludes,  as  usual,  with 
the  words,  which  are  said  aloud:  "For  ever  and  ever."  R.  Amen. 
Then  the  priest  immediately  rejoins  :  "  Let  us  pray  ";  after  which  he 
prefaces  the  Lord's  Prayer  with  the  following  introduction :  "  Admon- 
ished by  salutary  precepts,  and  informed  by  the  Divine  institution, 
we  presume  to  say,"  etc. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  introduction  ? 

P.  It  imports  that,  except  with  the  encouragement  of  our  Lord's 
precept  and  institution,  sinners  such  as  we  could  not  venture  upon 
addressing  God  in  those  terms  of  filial  confidence  and  affection  with 
which  the  "  Our  Father  "  opens. 

C  And  now  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  itself.  Is  it  of  great  antiquity 
in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes ;  all  the  older  Liturgies  contain  it ;  and  it  is  generally 
thought  to  have  been  introduced  by  the  Apostles,  if  not  under  the 
direct  sanction  of  our  Lord  Himself. 

*  When  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  exposed,  it  is  not  rung  at  all ;  nor  between  Holy 
Thursday  and  Holy  Saturday. 


48  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF   THE  MASS. 

C.  But  do  not  some  attribute  its  insertion  in  the  Mass  to  St. 
Gregory  ? 

P.  If  so,  they  mean  that  St.  Gregory  confirmed  or  modified  its  use. 

C.  By  what  ceremonies  is  it  accompanied  ? 

P.  The  priest  having  covered  the  chalice,  after  holding  the  Sacred 
Host  over  it,  adores  the  precious  Blood  of  our  Lord  (as  is  customary 
before  and  after  exposing  it),  then  laying  the  palms  of  his  hands  on 
the  altar,  within  the  corporal,  he  proceeds  to  the  "Our  Father";  at 
the  words  "  Let  us  pray  "  he  joins  his  hands,  and  keeps  them  joined 
during  the  short  preface.  Then  extending  them,  and  inclining  his 
head  toward  our  Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  keeping  his  eyes 
intently  fixed  on  Him,  he  goes  on  to  say,  slowly  and  reverently,  our 
Lord's  Prayer. 

C.  May  the  priest  be  considered  to  say  our  Lord's  Prayer  in  any 
particular  spirit  and  intention,  such  as  may  also  be  shared  by  those 
present  ? 

P.  Beyond  all  doubt ;  he  may  be  understood  to  use  it  with  an 
especial  eye  to  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  Blessed  Eucharist. 

C.  Could  you  throw  this  idea  into  a  paraphrase  ? 

P.  I  will  attempt  to  do  so.  "  Our  Father,"  whom  we  so  address 
in  the  spirit  of  adoption,  as  sons  begotten  to  Thee  through  the  Blood 
of  Jesus  Christ,  our  great  High-Priest  and  salutary  Victim  ;  "who  art 
in  Heaven,"  yet  condescendest  to  our  weakness  ;  "  hallowed  be  Thy 
Name,"  and  especially  for  these  Divine  mysteries.  O,  may  this  act 
of  ours  be  some  compensation  for  all  the  injuries  and  blasphemies 
which  Thy  Eternal  Son  sustains  in  this  most  precious  instance  of  His 
condescension  to  man  !  "Thy  kingdom  come,"  in  anticipation  and 
hastening  whereof  we  do  thus  continually  "  show  our  Lord's  death  " 
by  "eating  this"  Divine  "Bread,"  and  "drinking  this"  precious 
"Chalice"  (1  Cor.  xi.  26).  "Thy  will  be  done  on  earth,"  by  all  Thy 
people,  and  especially  by  Thy  priests,  who  strive  to  serve  Thee  and  to 
fulfil  all  Thy  mind,  even  "  as  it  is  in  Heaven  "  accomplished  by  the 
Angels,  whose  office  they  bear  as  Thy  ministers,  and  whose  alacrity 
they  would  imitate  with  the  intensity  and  ardor  of  a  "  burning  fire  " 
(Ps.  ciii.  4).  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  even  as  Thou  art 
now  about  to  give  it  us  in  this  most  holy  banquet,  even  the  bread  of 
Angels,  the  bread  which  Thou  hast  given  us  from  Heaven,  "  having 
in  It  all  that  is  delicious,  and  the  sweetness  of  every  taste  "  (Wisd. 
xvi.  20).  "  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses,"  through  the  great  Sacrifice 
of  Propitiation,  which  here  we  commemorate,  and  represent,  and  con- 
tinually offer  in  its  unbloody  form  ;  "  as  we  forgive  them  that  tres- 
pass against  us,"  desiring,  before  bringing  our  own  offering  to  the 


THE    "pax  DOMINI."  49 

altar,  to  be  reconciled  with  them  (St.  Matt.  v.  23,  24),  whose  light 
"trespasses  against  us,"  how  can  we  remember  amid  these  i)recio us 
memorials  of  Thy  pardoning  love  for  sinners  ?  But  forasmuch  as  this 
precious  Sacrifice  is  a  pledge  not  less  of  Thy  sanctifying  than  of  Thy 
saving  power  ;  therefore  we  ask  that  through  it  Thou  wouldest  be 
pleased  not  only  to  "  lead  us  not  into  temptation,"  but  also  to  "  deliver 
us  from  "  all  "  evil "  both  of  soul  and  body.  And,  therefore,  we  say, 
Amen.     So  be  it. 

THE  SEQUEL  OF  OUR  LORD's  PRAYER. 

P.  Then  straightway,  taking  up  the  last  words  of  our  Lord's  most 
holy  Prayer,  and,  as  it  were,  paraphrasing  its  last  petition,  the  priest 
continues :  "  Deliver  us,  O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee,  from  all  evils, 
present,  past,  and  future,  and  through  the  intercession  of  the  blessed 
and  glorious  ever  Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  with  Thy  blessed 
Apostles,  Peter  and  Paul,  and  Andrew,  and  all  the  Saints,  grant  of 
Thy  goodness  peace  in  our  days,  that,  being  holpen  by  the  aid  of  Thy 
mercy,  we  may  be  ever  free  from  sin,  and  secure  against  all  disturb- 
ance, through,"  etc.  During  this  prayer  the  priest  holds  the  paten 
in  his  right  hand,  and  at  the  words,  "  Grant  of  Thy  goodness  peace  in 
our  days,"  he  crosses  himself  with  it  from  the  forehead  to  the  breast, 
and  across  the  shoulders  ;  at  the  words,  "  that  by  the  aid,"  he  kisses 
the  paten,  and  then,  with  all  reverence  and  devotion,  places  it  under 
the  Sacred  Host. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  these  actions  ? 

P.  The  priest  signs  himself  with  the  paten,  to  remind  himself 
that  all  our  hope  of  that  peace  and  deliverance  from  evil,  for  which 
he  is  then  praying,  is  in  the  Passion  and  Death  of  Christ ;  and  he 
kisses  it,  as  though  it  were  the  Feet  of  Christ,  or  the  ground  beneath 
His  feet,  to  intimate  his  ardent  love  of  peace,  both  of  soul  and  body, 
in  Him. 

1  THE  "pax  DOMINI." 

C.  What  now  follows  ? 

P.  The  priest,  having  uncovered  the  chalice  while  he  concludes 
the  forementioned  prayer,  and  adored  the  precious  Blood  of  our 
Lord,  concludes  it  with  the  words,  through  the  same  Christ  our  Lord, 
during  which  he  breaks  the  Sacred  Host  over  the  clialice  into  two  parts, 
one  of  which  he  places  on  the  paten,  and  then  from  the  remaining 
part  breaks  off  also  a  small  portion  which  he  holds  over  the  chalice, 
in  the  meantime  joining  on  the  part  from  which  he  has  taken  it  to 


50  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF   THE   MASS. 

the  part  previously  laid  on  the  paten.  With  the  particle  in  his  hand, 
he  says,  as  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  "  For  ever  and  ever."  R. 
Amen.  Then  he  adds,  at  the  same  time  making  three  crosses  over  the 
chalice  with  the  particle, "  The  peace  ►J*  of  our  Lord  -f"  be  always  •{* 
with  you."  And  then  he  drops  the  particle  into  the  chalice,  saying, 
"  May  this  commixtion  and  consecration  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  to  us  receiving  it  unto  life  eternal." 

C.  Explain,  sir,  if  you  please,  these  various  and  apparently  most 
important  ceremonies. 

P.  To  begin,  then,  with  the  fraction,  or  breaking,  of  the  Sacred 
Host.  This  is  found  in  the  ancient  Liturgies.  The  Sacred  Host  was 
everywhere  divided,  but  not  always  into  the  same  number  of  portions. 
The  Liturgy  of  St.  James  appoints  a  division  into  two  parts  only  ;  the 
Greeks  divide  into  four,  following  St.  Chrysostom  ;  but  the  Latins  have 
always  used  the  division  into  three.  The  practice  comes  from  the  in- 
stitution of  Christ  and  the  example  of  the  Apostles.  For  the  three 
former  Evangelists  expressly  tell  us  that  our  Lord  brake  the  bread  ; 
St.  Luke  says,  describing  the  feast  at  Emmaus  (which  appears  to  have 
been  a  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist),  that  our  Lord  took  bread, 
and  blessed,  and  brake  it  (c.  xxiv.  30) ;  and  adds,  that  our  Lord  was 
known  thereby  (v.  35).  From  the  Acts  we  learn  that  the  disciples  as- 
sembled to  break  bread  (c.  xx.  7) ;  and  St.  Paul  says,  "  The  bread 
which  we  break  "  (1  Cor.  x.  16). 

C.  Can  the  Body  of  Christ,  then,  be  broken  ? 

P.  No ;  the  division  is  in  the  species  or  form  alone  ;  the  Body  of 
our  Lord  remains  unimpaired  and  alike  in  every  portion  of  the  conse- 
crated matter.  As  the  Church  sings  in  the  Sequence  for  the  Feast  of 
Corpus  Christi  the  words  of  the  great  St.  Thomas  of  Aquin : 

"  And  they  who  of  their  Lord  partake, 
Nor  sever  Him,  nor  rend,  nor  break  ; 

Nought  lacks  and  nought  is  lost  ; 
The  boon  now  one,  now  thousands  claim, 
But  one  and  all  receive  the  same, 

Keceive,  but  ne'er  exhaust."  * 


•  "  A  sumente  non  concisus, 
Non  confractus,  non  divisua. 

Integer  accipitur ; 
Sumit  unus,  sumunt  mille, 
Quantum  iste,  tantum  ille, 
Uec  sumptus  consumitur.*' 


And  a^ain : 


THE   "pax  DOMINI."  51 

,g.aiii: 

"  Nor  be  thy  faith  confounded,  though 
The  Sacrament  be  broke  ;  for  know 
The  life  which  in  the  whole  doth  glow 

In  every  part  remains  ; 
The  Substance  which  those  portions  hide. 
No  force  can  cleave  ;  we  but  divide 
The  sign — the  while  the  Signified 
Nor  change  nor  loss  sustains."  * 

C.  What  is  probably  the  reason  of  this  division  of  the  Sacred  Host  ? 

P.  It  suflBces  for  the  Church  to  know  that,  in  making  it,  she  is  fol- 
lowing the  institution  of  Christ  and  the  practice  of  the  Apostles. 
Nevertheless,  various  significations  of  the  action  have  been  found  by 
holy  men,  of  which  one  of  the  most  appropriate  and  devout  is  that 
which  sees  in  the  three  several  j^ortions  of  the  Sacred  Host  symbols  of 
the  three  sections  of  the  Church  at  the  time  of  the  Resurrection, — the 
Court  of  Heaven,  the  "  Spirits  in  prison,"  to  whom  Christ  preached 
during  the  three  days  in  which  His  Divine  Soul  and  Body  were  sepa- 
rated, and  the  Faithful  on  earth.  Of  these  the  departed  in  Christ 
were,  at  the  Resurrection,  united  with  the  glorious  Church,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  larger  portion  of  the  Sacred  Host ;  while  the  smaller  jDor- 
tion,  the  Church  militant,  is,  as  it  were,  plunged  into  the  chalice,  that 
is,  made  to  partake  of  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord. 

You  should  observe,  however,  that  one  such  symbolical  application 
of  these  mysteries  by  no  means  precludes  others.  For  what  is  certainly 
true  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  as  it  is  the  heavenly  nourishment  of  our 
souls,  is  no  less  true  of  it  as  it  supplies  food  of  meditation  to  a  devout 
spiritual  ingenuity.  It  is  the  "sweetness  of  every  taste."  All  the 
powers  of  the  mind  are  set  in  action  upon  its  exhaustless  materials. 
It  exercises,  without  either  satisfying  or  yet  wearying,  the  intellect ; 
it  leads  the  imagination  into  a  new  world  of  wonders,  where,  with  the 
clue  of  a  devout  intention,  and  under  the  guidance  of  the  Saints,  she 
may  expatiate  at  will  without  danger  of  error,  and  certainly  without 
limit  of  discovery. 

*  "Fracto  demum  Sacramento 
Ne  vacilles,  sed  memento 
Tantum  esse  sub  fragmento 

Quantum  tolo  tcgitur. 
Nulla  rei  fit  scissura 
Signi  tantum  fit  fractura, 
Qua  nee  status  iieo  statura 

Signati  miuuitur." 


62  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 


THE   "AGNUS  DEl"  AND  PRAYERS  BEFORE  COMMUNION. 

C.  Proceed,  sir,  if  you  please,  with  your  explanation  of  the  Mass. 

P.  We  have  now  reached  the  "  Agnus  Dei,"  which  is  the  beginning 
of  the  priest's  preparation  for  receiving  the  Holy  Communion.  It  con- 
sists in  an  address,  thrice  rejDeated,  to  our  Blessed  Lord  as  the  Lamb 
of  God,  slain  for  the  remission  of  sin,  and  is  said  by  the  priest  with 
eyes  fixed  on  the  Sacred  Host : 

"0  Lamb  of  God,  who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  have 
mercy  upon  us";  and  these  words  he  repeats  thrice.  The  third  time 
he  says,  "  0  Lamb  of  God,  who  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world,  grant 
us  Thy  peace."  This  address  appropriately  follows  the  "  Pax  Domini " : 
for  it  was  just  after  our  Lord  had  said  to  His  disciples,  "  Peace  be  to 
you,"  that  He  gave  them  power  of  remitting  sins  (St.  John  xx.  21-23). 
The  prayer  refers  to  the  words  of  the  Baptist :  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God,  behold  Him  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  "  (St.  John  i. 
29).  The  triple  repetition  of  the  "  Agnus  Dei "  was  ordered  by  Pope 
Sergius,  toward  the  end  of  the  sixth  century.  It  is  considered  to  be 
in  honor  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  who  "  sent  forth  the  Lamb,  the  Ruler  of 
the  earth  "  (Isaiah  xvi.  1),  and  gives  a  peculiar  intensity  to  the  prayer. 

G.  Why  is  "  grant  us  Thy  peace  "  said  the  third  time,  in  the  place 
of  "  have  mercy  upon  us  "  ? 

P.  Anciently  each  petition  was  in  the  same  words  ;  but  as  persecu- 
tions multiplied,  the  third  was  changed  into  a  prayer  for  the  peace  of 
the  Church.     This,  at  least,  is  the  account  given. 

C.  AVhat  ceremonies  are  here  used  ? 

P.  The  priest  begins  the  "  Agnus  Dei "  with  hands  joined  before 
him ;  but  when  he  comes  to  the  words,  "  have  mercy  upon  us,"  he 
places  the  left  hand  upon  the  altar,  and  with  the  right  strikes  his 
breast,  in  token  of  humility  and  contrition. 

C.  Is  the  "  Agnus  Dei "  always  said  in  the  Mass  % 

P.  Yes  ;  except  on  Good  Friday,  when  it  is  omitted,  together  with 
all  this  portion  of  the  Mass,  out  of  respect  to  the  great  Sacrifice  con- 
summated on  that  day  ;  and  on  Holy  Saturday,  when  the  Mass,  which 
is  in  honor  of  the  Resurrection,  is  also  shortened,  because  the  heart  of 
the  Churcli  is,  as  it  were,  too  full  of  joy  to  say  many  words.  In  Masses 
of  the  Dead,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  the  form  of  the  "  Agnus  Dei " 
is  changed. 

C.  What  follows  the  "  Agnus  Dei " « 

P.  Three  prayers,  in  immediate  preparation  for  the  communion  of 
the  priest.    In  the  first  of  them,  the  Church  prolongs  her  petition  for 


IxiE   "AGNUS   DEl"   AND   PRAYERS   BEFORE   COMMUNION.  53 

peace  which  she  had  before  summed  up  in  the  last  "Agnus  Dei." 
She  continues : 

"O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  didst  say  to  Thine  Apostles,  Peace  I 
leave  to  you,  My  peace  I  give  to  you  ;  regard  not  my  sins,  but  the 
faith  of  Thy  Church  ;  and  vouchsafe,  according  to  Thy  will,  to  pacify 
and  unite  it  together,  who  livest  and  reignest,  God,  world  without 
end.    Amen." 

C.  Why  does  the  Church  speak  so  much  of  peace  in  this  part  of 
the  Mass  ? 

P.  Because  by  the  union  of  the  two  species  in  the  chalice  at  the 
"  Pax  Domini "  is  mystically  represented  the  reunion  of  the  Most 
Sacred  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord  in  His  glorious  Resurrection,  the 
first-fruits  of  which  were  bestowed  in  the  gift  of  peace  to  the  disci- 
ples :  (see  St.  John  xx.  19,  21,  26).  Then  it  was  that  our  Lord  ratified 
the  promise,  of  which  we  remind  Him  in  this  prayer,  made  on  the 
eve  of  His  death  (St.  John  xiv.  27).  In  like  manner,  the  Church  also, 
while  commemorating  in  the  holy  mysteries  the  glorious  Resurrection, 
takes  the  oi)X)ortunity  of  asking  Him  to  extend  to  the  faithful  of 
all  times  the  benefit  of  that  same  precious  legacy ;  and  particularly  in 
reference  to  the  Holy  Communion  of  His  most  Sacred  Body  and 
Blood,  for  which  the  peace  of  God  is  the  best  preparation,  as  it  is  also 
its  most  blessed  fruit. 

This  latter  prayer  the  priest  says  with  head  inclined,  and  hands 
joined,  and  resting  upon  the  altar.  In  the  same  posture  he  repeats 
also  the  following  prayers  :  "  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  the  living 
God,  who  by  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  Thy  death  hast  given  Life  to  the  world  ;  deliver  me 
by  this  Thy  most  sacred  Body  and  Blood  from  all  my  iniquities 
and  from  all  evils,  and  make  me  to  cleave  always  to  Thy  Command- 
ments, and  never  permit  me  to  be  separated  from  Thee,  who  with  the 
same  God  the  Father,  and  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  livest  and  reignest, 
God,  world  without  end.     Amen." 

The  third  prayer,  which  the  priest  says  directly  before  receiving 
the  sacred  Body  of  our  Lord,  is  as  follows  :  "  Let  not,  O  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  receiving  of  Thy  Body,  which  I,  all  unworthy,  presume  to 
take,  be  to  me  unto  judgment  and  condemnation  ;  but,  according  to 
Thy  goodness,  let  it  profit  me  to  the  safe  keeping  of  soul  and  body, 
and  to  spiritual  healing,  who  livest  and  reignest  with  God  the  Father 
in  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  God,  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 

These  prayers  require  no  other  remark  than  that  which  a  careful 
perusal  will  suggest.  You  will  observe  several  blessings,  which  in 
the  former  are  asked  through  Holy  Communion ;  viz.,  1.  Deliverance 


54  ORDER  AIS^D   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

from  personal  sins  ;  2.  From  all  evils  ;  3.  Adherence  to  the  Divine 
precepts  ;  4.  Adherence  to  God  Himself.  The  latter  prayer  is,  on  the 
other  hand  (as  couched  in  the  language  of  deepest  humility),  depre- 
catory of  evils  as  well  as  supplicatory  of  benefits,  and  asks  that  the 
priest  may  not  (after  the  awful  threatening  of  the  Apostle ;  1  Cor. 
xi.  29)  receive  judgment  to  himself  in  partaking  of  these  holy  mys- 
teries, but  contrariwise,  the  nourishment  of  soul  and  body,  and  the 
cure  of  all  diseases. 

C  What  devotion  may  the  faithful  use  at  this  time  ? 

P.  They  should  put  themselves  into  communion  with  the  prie«t, 
and  endeavor,  as  much  as  possible,  to  join  in  his  intentions. 

THE   COMMUNION   OF   THE  PRIEST. 

C.  At  this  part  of  the  Mass  I  observe  that  the  priest  kneels  down. 

P.  Yes  ;  he  first  adores  on  his  knees  our  Lord,  whom  he  is  about 
to  receive ;  for,  as  St.  Augustine  says,  "  none  doth  eat  the  flesh  of 
Christ  till  he  have  first  adored";  then  rising,  he  says,  still  in  secret, 
some  words  derived  from  Ps.  cxv.  5, 13,  excepting  that  for  "  chalice  of 
salvation,"  he  here  says  "  Bread  of  Heaven."  The  words  he  uses  are 
these :  "  I  will  receive  the  Bread  of  Heaven,  and  will  call  upon 
the  name  of  our  Lord."  The  words  are  again  repeated,  and  in  the 
form  in  which  they  stand  in  the  Psalms,  at  the  Communion  of  the 
Chalice. 

C.  Again  I  observe  that  the  precious  Body  of  our  Lord  is  called 
"Bread." 

P.  It  is  so  ;  there  being,  as  I  have  already  observed,  no  danger  of 
any  doctrinal  mistake,  when  the  great  verity  of  Transubstantiation  is 
so  fully  secured  by  the  whole  language  and  ceremonial  of  the  Mass. 
Our  Saviour  having  called  Himself  the  "  Living  Bread  which  came 
down  from  Heaven  "  (St.  John  vi.  1),  we  may  confidently  speak  of  Him 
under  that  gracious  and  beneficent  image. 

And  here,  dear  brother,  I  cannot  but  draw  your  devout  attention 
to  the  sweetness  of  this  expression  of  confidence,  as  following  directly 
upon  the  last  most  humble  prayer.  The  priest  first  prepares  himself 
by  humility  for  adoring  his  Lord ;  then  rising  up,  as  if  with  renewed 
strength,  he  goes  on  to  adventure  on  receiving  Him  almost  with  a 
holy  freedom  and  boldness.  Tlien,  having  reverently  taken  his  Beloved 
into  his  hands,  he  is  again  seized  with  awe,  and  the  Church  puts  the 
lowly  words  of  the  good  centurion  into  his  mouth.  He  says  aloud, 
"Lord,  I  am  not  worthy";  and  then  continues  in  secret,  "that  Thou 
shouldest  enter  under  my  roof ;  but  only  speak  the  word,  and  my 


THE  COMMUNION   OF   THE   FAITHFUL.  55 

soul  shall  be  healed."  And  these  humble  words  he  repeats  thrice, 
each  time  striking  his  breast.  At  length  he  receives  the  Body  of  our 
Lord,  making  with  the  Sacred  Host  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  as  he  says 
the  words,  "  The  Body,"  and  the  rest ;  and  then  joining  his  hands,  re- 
mains for  some  seconds  in  profound  meditation  on  the  great  Gift  of 
which  he  has  been  made  partaker.  Then  he  uncovers  the  Chalice  imme- 
diately (so  it  is  prescribed  in  the  rubric),  saying  the  words  of  the  115th 
Psalm,  V.  12  :  "  What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  all  that  He  hath 
rendered  to  me  ?"  and  goes  on  to  adore  the  precious  Blood  of  our  Lord. 
Rising  from  his  knees,  he  removes  from  the  corporal  upon  the  paten 
any  particles  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  our  Lord's  Body  which  may 
appear  on  it ;  and  then  with  the  thumb  and  foreiinger  of  the  right 
hand,  or  one  of  them,  transfers  them  all,  together  with  any  which 
may  be  upon  the  paten,  into  the  chalice.  This  over,  he  continues,  in 
the  words  of  the  115th  Psalm  :  "  I  will  receive  the  Chalice  of  salvation, 
and  will  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Then  making  with  the 
Chalice  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  he  receives  the  precious  Blood  with  the 
words,  "  The  Blood,"  and  the  rest. 

THE   COMMUNION   OF  THE  FAITHFUL. 

P.  At  this  point  the  priest  administers  the  Holy  Communion  to 
any  of  the  Faithful  who,  being  duly  qualified,  may  desire  it. 

C.  May  he,  then,  refuse  Communion  to  any  who  desire  it  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  he  not  only  may,  but  is  bound  to  withhold  the  Adorable 
Sacrament  from  any  excommunicated  i)erson,  or  notorious  sinner,  or 
person  approaching  it  without  due  external  reverence. 

C.  What  are  the  other  qualifications  of  a  Communicant,  besides 
being  under  no  ecclesiastical  or  public  disqualification  ? 

P.  The  Communicant  should  be  in  the  state  of  grace  ;  either  free, 
or  having  been  by  confession  and  absolution  freed,  from  mortal  sin  ; 
he  must  have  fasted  strictly  from  the  preceding  midnight,  and  of 
course  approach  with  the  requisite  disjDOsitions. 

C.  Is  the  state  of  fasting  obligatory  upon  Communicants,  and  what 
are  the  conditions  of  it  ? 

P.  It  is  not  obligatory  only,  but  indispensable,  except  in  the  case 
of  persons  in  danger  of  death,  who  receive  the  Holy  Sacrament  in  the 
way  of  Viaticum  {i.  <?.,  as  a  provision  for  their  passage  into  the  unseen 
world),  and  in  one  or  two  other  extreme  cases  ;  as,  for  instance,  when 
priests,  in  order  to  avoid  some  yet  graver  violation  of  the  Church's 
rules,  are  allowed  to  receive  it,  after  having  previously,  and,  of  courso. 
without  foresight  of  such  emergency,  broken  their  fast. 


S6  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

C.  But  do  not  priests  say  three  Masses,  and  consequently  receive 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  three  times  on  Christmas-day  1 

P.  Yes  ;  and  in  countries  where  there  is  a  scarcity  of  priests,  they 
are  sometimes  allowed,  even  at  other  times,  to  duplicate,  i.  e.,  to  saj^ 
Mass  twice  on  the  same  day.  But  in  neither  of  these  cases  do  they 
partake  of  any  food  or  liquid,  except  the  Holy  Sacrament  itself,  which, 
not  being  ordinary  food,  is  not  considered  to  militate  against  the  fast, 
and  consequently  they  do  not  drink  the  wine,  or  wine  and  water,  of 
the  Ablutions,*  till  the  last  of  the  Masses  which  they  say  on  the  same 
day. 

C.  And  now,  sir,  about  the  nature  of  this  fast  before  Communion. 
Does  it,  like  the  ecclesiastical  fast,  allow  of  taking  liquids  ? 

P.  No  ;  it  is  what  is  called  a  physical,  i.  e.,  natural,  fast,  and  pre- 
cludes the  swallowing  of  any  food  or  liquid  whatever  ;  so  that  water, 
taken  even  by  accident,  would  debar  the  person  from  going  to  Com- 
munion on  the  same  day. 

G.  What,  even  a  drop  ? 

P.  A  drop  swallowed  by  accident  along  with  the  natural  secretion 
of  the  mouth  is  a  case  excepted  by  the  rubric  from  the  general  law. 

C.  How  minute  are  these  provisions ;  an  enemy  might  say,  how 
trivial ! 

P.  Yes ;  but  he  would  be  a  very  shallow  reasoner ;  for  consider 
only  the  natural  tendency  of  men  to  encroach  upon  laws  which  are 
not  carried  out  into  detail,  and  you  will  acknowledge  the  wisdom  of 
the  Church  in  making  no  exceptions  to  her  rules  but  such  as  are  re- 
quired by  necessity  and  charity. 

G.  Be  pleased,  sir,  to  explain  the  manner  of  giving  Communion, 
during  Mass,  to  the  Faithful. 

P.  The  priest,  having  received  of  the  chalice,  takes  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  the  Sacred  Hosts,  of  a  smaller  size  than  that  used  for  the  Sacri- 
fice, either  on  the  paten,  or  in  the  ciborium,  the  vessel  in  which  they 
remain  in  the  tabernacle  on  the  altar.  These  particles  have  either  been 
consecrated  in  the  Mass,  or  reserved  from  former  consecrations.  Plac- 
ing them  on  the  paten,  or  if  they  be  in  the  ciborium,  uncovering  it,  he 
first  adores  the  sacred  Body  of  our  Lord,  and  then  turning  sideways 
toward  the  people,  in  order  not  to  turn  his  back  on  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, he  pronounces  over  the  communicants  the  two  prayers  of  Abso- 
lution, at  the  same  time  blessing  them  with  his  hands,  saying,  "  May 
Almighty  God  have  mercy  upon  you,  forgive  you  your  sins,  and  lead 
you  to  life  eternal.    Amen."    And  then:  "May  the  Almighty  and 

*  See  page  60. 


THE   COMMUNION    OF   THE   FAITHFUL.  57 

merciful  Lord  grant  you  indulgence,  absolution,  and  remission  of  your 
sins." 

Q.  Are  not  these  the  same  prayers  which  were  used  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  with  these  exceptions,  that  here  "  your  sins  "  is  said  for 
"  our  sins  ";  and  the  form  not  being  simply  precatory,  but  authoritative 
also,  it  is  accompanied  by  an  act  of  benediction. 

The  priest  then  turns  to  the  altar,  and  having  again  adored  on  his 
knee,  takes  into  his  hand  the  paten,  or  vessel  containing  the  Sacred 
Hosts,  and  slightly  raising  one  of  them,  so  as  to  exhibit  it  to  the 
people,  he  pronounces  aloud  the  whole  of  the  following  words,  repeat- 
ing them  three  times,  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldest 
enter  under  my  roof  ;  but  only  speak  the  word,  and  my  soul  shall  be 
healed."  After  the  third  time,  he  descends  the  altar-steps  to  the  com- 
municants, to  whom  he  administers  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  beginning 
from  those  at  the  epistle  side. 

CJ.  Can  Communion  be  given  out  of  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes,  if  there  be  a  reason.  In  that  case,  the  priest  habited  in  a 
surplice,  with  a  stole  of  the  color  appropriate  to  the  day,*  communi- 
cates the  faithful  from  the  pre-consecrated  Hosts  reserved  for  that 
purpose  in  the  tabernacle  ;  and  the  communion  over,  he  returns  to  the 
altar,  saying  the  Antiphon  at  the  Magnificat  on  the  Feast  of  Corpus 
Christi,  "-0  sacrum  conmmumy  "  O  sacred  Banquet,  in  which  Christ 
is  received,  the  memory  of  His  Passion  cherished,  the  mind  filled  with 
grace,  and  a  pledge  given  to  us  of  future  glory  ";  wdth  the  versicle  and 
response  from  the  Book  of  Wisdom  :  V.  "  Thou  didst  give  them  Bread 
from  heaven."  R.  "  Having  in  it  all  that  is  delicious."  And  then  the 
Collect  of  Corpus  Christi :  "  O  God,  who  under  this  wondrous  Sacra- 
ment hast  left  us  the  memory  of  Thy  Passion  ;  grant  us,  we  beseech 
Thee,  so  to  venerate  the  sacred  Myst-eries  of  Thy  Body  and  Blood,  that 
we  may  constantly  experience  the  fruit  of  Thy  redemption ;  Who 
livest  and  reignest,"  etc.f  Then  the  communicants  are  dismissed  \\ith 
the  blessing,  "  The  benediction  of  God  Almighty,  Father,  -f"  and  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  descend  upon  you,  and  abide  with  you  always."  This 
is  said  in  the  plural  number  even  when  there  is  but  one  communicant. 
But  when  Communion  is  given  in  the  Mass,  this  benediction  is  not  said, 
because  the  communicants  are  blessed  in  the  Mass  itself. 

*  See  Rituale  Romanura.     But  white  may  be  used. 

f  Durin!^-  Easter-time,  A.llehiia  is  added  to  the  versicle  and  response,  and  the  following 
prayer  said  instead  of  "  Deus  qui  nobis":  "Pour  into  us,  O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee,  the 
Spirit  of  Thy  love,  and  as  Thou  hast  satisfied  us  with  paschal  sacraments,  make  us  iu  Thy 
pity  to  be  of  one  heart ;  through,"  etc. 


58  OEDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 


THE  COMMUNION   OF  THE  FAITHFUL   CONTINUED. 

C.  I  suppose  that  the  chief  part  of  the  Mass  is  now  over  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  all  divines  consider  that  the  Sacrifice  is  complete  in  the 
Communion  ;  and  it  is  the  common  opinion  that  the  Consecration  is 
alone  essential  to  it.  Even  those,  however,  who  so  hold,  regard  the 
Communion  as  necessary  to  its  integrity.  And,  accordingly,  the 
Church  makes  the  greatest  point  of  the  Sacrifice  not  being  interrupted 
before  the  communion  of  the  priest,  which  is  the  consumption  of  the 
Holy  Victim,  Should  the  celebrating  priest  die  between  the  consecra- 
tion and  communion,  or  in  any  other  way  be  disabled  from  proceed- 
ing to  complete  the  Sacrifice,  the  rubric  prescribes  that  another  priest 
be  called  in  to  carry  on  the  Mass.  And  so  strong  is  the  Church  on 
this  point,  that  she  even  waives  in  its  favor  her  all  but  necessary  rule, 
which  requires  that  the  holy  Communion  should  be  received  fasting  ; 
for  in  this  extreme  case  she  allows  a  priest  who  is  not  fasting  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  Mass,  where  another  cannot  be  found. 

O.  What  is  a  priest  to  do  who  forgets  that  he  has  accidentally 
broken  his  fast  till  he  has  begun  and  got  some  way  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  If  he  should  have  begun  the  Canon,  all  agree  that  he  ought  not 
to  break  off ;  if  he  has  not  reached  the  Offertory,  all  agree  that  he 
should  do  so ;  if  the  disqualification  be  remembered  between  the 
Offertory  and  the  Canon,  he  would  not  err  in  adopting  either  course  ; 
still  it  would  be  better  to  desist. 

C.  And  a  person  going  to  Communion,  who  remembers,  when  he 
is  kneeling  to  receive  it,  that  he  is  similarly  disqualified  ? 

P.  If  the  person  could  withdraw  without  particular  observation, 
it  would  be  best  to  do  so ;  otherwise  it  would  be  better  to  receive, 
on  account  of  scandal  which  might  ensue  from  retiring  at  the  last 
moment. 

C.  And  what  now,  if  one  were  to  remember,  after  having  received, 
that  one  had  previously  broken  fast  ? 

P.  In  all  such  cases,  where  there  has  been  no  wilful  irreverence, 
or  neglect,  we  should  make  ourselves  perfectly  easy.  To  admit  scru- 
ples in  such  cases  is  far  worse  than  to  commit  a  mere  material  fault, 
i.  e.,  a  fault  which  is  only  such  in  itself,  not  in  the  individual. 

C.  AVe  have  got  into  a  digression,  and  may  as  well  go  on  with  it 
a  little  longer.  What  should  be  done,  if  by  accident  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament were  to  fall  in  the  act  of  conveying  it  into  the  mouth  of  the 
communicant  ? 

P.  A  cloth  or  card  is  always  held  under  the  chin.  If  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  fall  by  accident  into  the  ciborium,  or  on  the  paten,  nothing 


THE   COMMUNION   OF  THE  FAITHFUL.  59 

needs  to  be  done  (as  the  vessels  are  sacred),  though  every  care  must 
be  taken  to  prevent  any  such  accident  at  all.  But  if  it  fall  on  the 
cloth,  or  what  is  worse,  on  the  ground,  the  spot  on  which  it  rests 
must  be  noted  and  carefully  washed,  and  the  water  which  has  touched 
the  spot  thrown  into  the  sacrarium  (or  drain  of  sacred  liquids).  In 
such  a  case  the  communicant  should  assist  the  priest  to  observe  the 
spot.  If  (which  is  unlikely,  but  possible)  it  were  to  fall  on  the  dress 
of  the  communicant,  the  best  thing  to  do  would  be  to  note  the  spot, 
and  go  after  Mass  into  the  sacristy  to  get  it  washed.  The  priest,  of 
course,  and  not  the  communicant,  must  remove  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
from  the  dress. 

G.  May  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ever  be  touched  except  by  a  priest  ? 

P.  By  no  means  whatever ;  if  done  consciously  and  intention- 
ally, out  of  irreverence,  or  even  negligence,  it  would  be  a  mortal  sin  so 
to  touch  it. 

O.  Accidents  at  the  time  of  communion  must  be  very  distressing. 

P.  Nothing  should  be  very  distressing  which  is  purely  uninten- 
tional ;  however,  I  do  not  deny  that  we  may  well  be  distressed,  within 
due  limits,  at  any  even  purely  accidental  injury  to  the  Majesty  of  our 
Lord  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  and  on  this  account  communicants 
should  be  very  careful  to  assist  the  priest  in  xhe  act  of  giving  com- 
munion, by  opening  the  mouth  and  presenting  a  sufficient  surface  of 
the  tongue,  though  without  opening  tlie  mouth  too  wide,  or  drawing 
the  head  too  much  back  (which  looks  unseemly),  or  holding  the 
tongue  too  much  down,  which  is  dangerous. 

But  now  to  proceed  with  the  explanation  of  Mass.  The  priest, 
having  received  of  the  chalice,  or  if  there  be  communicants,  having 
rearranged  everything  on  the  altar  after  communicating  the  Faithful, 
first  inspects  the  paten,  and  receives  any  atoms  of  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment which  may  have  escaped  his  notice,  then  holding  out  the  chalice 
to  the  server,  he  goes  on  to  receive  the  first  ablution. 


60  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

PART  III 
^rom  ttxe  ^omtnunxou  to  tUc  gM  of  gt^asB* 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    ABLUTIONS. 

C.  WTiat  are  the  ablutions  ? 

P.  They  are  wine  and  wine  and  water  poured  into  the  chalice,  and 
afterward  received  by  the  priest,  in  order  to  insure  his  receiving  any 
particles  of  the  Sacred  Blood  remaining  in  it.  The  first  ablution  con- 
sists of  wine  only,  which  is  poured  into  the  chalice  in  about  the  same 
quantity  as  at  the  offertory.  The  priest,  while  it  is  being  poured  in, 
says  the  following  prayer :  "  Let  us,  O  Lord,  with  pure  mind  receive 
what  we  have  taken  with  our  mouth,  and  may  it  of  a  temporal  gift 
become  an  eternal  remedy." 

C.  Why  is  holy  Communion  called  a  "  temporal  gift "  ? 

P.  Because  it  is  received  in  this  our  state  of  pilgrimage. 

When  the  wine  is  poured  in,  the  priest  turns  round  the  chalice,  so 
as  to  let  the  wine  take  up  any  drops  which  may  have  adhered  to  the 
inside,  and  then  drinks  it.  Once  more  glancing  at  the  paten  (this 
being  the  last  suitable  opportuntity  of  receiving  any  minute  fragments 
of  the  Blessed  Sacrament)  he  sets  it  down,  and  holding  the  thumb 
and  forefinger  of  each  hand  joined  over  the  chalice,  he  takes  it  to  the 
epistle  side,  where  the  server  pours  first  wine  and  then  water  over  his 
fingers  into  the  chalice.  The  priest,  having  wiped  his  fingers,  receives 
the  wine  and  water. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  wash  his  fingers  and  receive  the  ablution  ? 

P.  To  guard  against  any  fragment  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ad- 
hering to  them,  and  to  secure  his  eating  and  drinking  the  whole  fruit 
of  the  consecration. 

C.  Why  is  water  used  as  well  as  wine  ? 

P.  In  order  to  neutralize  the  sacred  species,  which  wine  alone  does 
not  neutralize.  There  should  therefore  be  at  least  as  much  water  as 
wine  infused. 

C.  Does  the  priest  say  any  prayer  at  the  second  ablution  ? 

P.  Yes,  before  he  receives  it,  he  says,  "May  Thy  Body,  O  Lord, 
which  I  have  taken,  and  Thy  Blood  which  I  have  drunk,  cleave  to  my 


THE   "  COMMUNIO  "   AND   POSTCOMMUJSriON.  61 

interior :  and  grant  that  no  stain  of  sin  may  remain  in  me,  whom  pure 
and  holy  Sacraments  have  refreshed,  who  livest  and  reignest  for  ever 
and  ever.    Amen." 

C.  I  observe  that  all  the  latter  prayers  have  been  addressed  to  our 
Blessed  Lord. 

P.  Yes,  from  the  "  Agnus  Dei "  till  the  "  Postcommunion." 

C.  \\Tiyisthis? 

P.  Because  all  these  prayers  relate  directly  to  the  act  of  holy 
Communion. 

C.  Why  does  the  priest  here  stay  at  the  middle  of  the  altar  ? 

P.  To  wipe  and  rearrange  the  chalice  and  paten,  and  cover  them 
with  the  veil.  All  these  things  the  Church  desires  to  be  done  with 
care  and  neatness,  but  without  needless  delay. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   "COMMUjSTIO"   AND   POSTCOMMUNION. 

C.  What  is  the  "  Communio  "  ? 

P.  A  short  sentence  so  called  because  said,  and  (at  Solemn  Mass) 
also  sung,  immediately  after  the  communion  of  the  Faithful,  the 
Missal  having  been  previously  removed  by  the  server  from  the  gospel 
to  the  epistle  side. 

0.  Has  this  been  always  in  the  Mass  ? 

P.  It  has  not.  In  the  time  of  St.  Ambrose  the  priest  said  the 
"  Nunc  dimittis  "  in  his  own  name  and  that  of  the  Faithful.  In  some 
other  ancient  Liturgies  a  psalm  was  said  in  this  place  ;  but  in  process 
of  time  it  appears  to  have  been  curtailed  into  a  single  verse  or  sentence, 
like  the  Introit  and  Offertory. 

C.  What  is  the  purport  of  the  verse  called  "  Communio  "  ? 

P.  It  bears  upon  the  subject  of  the  Mass,  where  proper  to  any 
Festival.  At  other  times  it  generally  embodies  some  holy  sentiment 
or  edifying  lesson. 

C.  Why  is  it  so  short  ?    Is  not  this  a  departure  from  antiquity  ? 

P.  I  have  said  that  it  is  probably  abbreviated  from  some  longer 
devotion.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  take  every  provision  of  our  Holy 
Church  as  it  comes  before  us,  and  never  to  contrast  her  manner  at  one 
time  with  her  manner  at  another,  to  the  disadvantage  of  any  one  of 
her  institutions.  The  ancient  Church  was  best  for  the  ancients,  and 
the  modern  Church  is  best  for  us.  Holy  Scripture  itself  discourages 
such  comparisons  as  "foolish."  It  says,  "Say  not.  What  thinkest 
thou  is  the  cause  that  former  times  were  better  than  they  are  now  ? 


62  OEDER  AND  CEREMONIAL  OF  THE  MASS. 

for  tMs  manner  of  question  is  foolish."  *  As  there  was  in  ancient  times 
a  beauty  in  the  prolixity  of  these  forms,  so  there  is  also  now  a  beauty 
in  their  brevity,  as  they  enable  persons  in  the  world,  who  cannot  spare 
a  long  time  for  their  devotions,  to  assist  at  the  public  offices  of  the 
Church  and  reap  their  fruit.  Moreover  it  is  ever  to  be  borne  In  mind 
that  the  essence  of  the  Mass  is  not  a  form  of  prayer,  but  a  great  action, 
to  which  all  the  words  contained  in  it  conspire,  and  are  entirely  sub- 
ordinate ;  so  that  whether  more  or  fewer,  they  fulfil  their  office  with 
the  like  effect.  And  this  may  reconcile  you  to  a  more  rapid  enuncia- 
tion of  those  words  than,  jDerhajDS,  you  can  at  first  understand  to  be 
consistent  with  devotion.  It  is  no  doubt  very  possible  to  be  rapid 
even  to  irreverence  in  saying  Mass.  But  it  is  also  possible  to  be  too 
slow.  Many  persons  of  undoubted  piety  find  themselves  greatly 
assisted  in  devotion  by  a  rapid  articulation,  as  being  apt  to  lose  the 
spirit  of  their  action  in  proportion  as  they  make  too  much  of  its,  form. 
IN'othing,  indeed,  is  more  to  be  guarded  against  in  celebrating  the 
Church  offices  than  languor  and  heaviness.  The  ministry  of  the 
angels,  of  which  ours  is  the  earthly  counterpart,  is  likened  to  the 
briskness  of  a  darting  fire.  All  this  is  especially  true  of  Mass,  for 
the  reason  I  have  given ;  that  it  is,  even  beyond  other  religious  serv- 
ices, an  act. 

C.  Thank  you,  sir ;  this  thought  will  be  of  great  use  to  me  in 
checking  harsh  judgments  and  restless  imaginations. — With  what 
sentiments,  should  the  Faithful  listen  to  the  "  Communio  "  ? 

P.  They  should  join  with  the  Church  in  thanksgiving  to  our  Lord 
for  the  great  Gift  of  Himself.  But,  remember,  I  am  here  instructing 
you  in  the  ceremonies,  not  undertaking,  except  in  this  indirect  way, 
to  supply  you  with  devotions. 

THE  POSTCOMMUNION. 

C.  What  is  the  Postcommunion  2 

P.  That  part  of  the  Mass  which  immediately  follows  the  Com- 
munion, and  precedes  the  termination  of  the  whole. 

Having,  then,  passed  from  the  epistle  side  to  the  middle  of  the 
altar,  the  priest  kisses  it,  and  says,  turning  to  the  people,  "  Our  Lord 
be  with  you  ";  which  is  answered  as  usual  by  the  people.  Then  mov- 
ing again  to  the  epistle  side,  he  reads  the  Postcommunion  Collects, 
one  or  more,  according  to  the  number  of  the  Collects  for  the  day. 
You  should  know  that  every  Collect,  whether  of  the  season,  or  occa- 
sional, has  its  proper  Secret  and  Postcommunion  belonging  to  it. 

*Ecclus.  vii.  11. 


THE   POSTCOMM  UNION".  '  63 

And  as  the  Postcommunions  correspond  in  number,  so  do  tliey  like- 
wise in  subject,  form,  and  ceremonies  accompanying,  with  the  Collects 
which  have  gone  before  them,  I  will  take  two  specimens  :  the  Collect 
for  "the  Suffrages  of  the  Saints,"  beginning  "A  cunctis,"  which  is 
used  at  certain  times  to  make  up  the  requisite  number  of  Collects  on 
a  semi-double  festival ;  and  another  occasional  one  for  Bishops  and 
their  flocks.  Here  are  these  Collects  with  their  proper  Secrets  and 
Postcomm  anions. 

Collect. 

Defend  us,  0  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee,  from  all  dangers  both  of  mind 
and  body  ;  and  by  the  intercession  of  the  blessed  and  glorious  Ever- 
Virgin  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  with  Thy  blessed  Apostles  Peter  and 
Paul,  and  blessed  N.,  and  all  the  Saints,  grant  us  of  Thy  goodness, 
salvation  and  peace,  that  all  adversities  and  errors  being  destroyed, 
Thy  Church  may  serve  Thee  in  secure  liberty.    Through  the  same. 

Secret. 

Hear  us,  0  God  of  our  salvation,  and  by  the  virtue  of  this  Sacra- 
ment protect  us  from  all  enemies  both  of  mind  and  body  ;  granting  us 
grace  for  the  present,  and  glory  in  time  to  come.     Through  our  Lord. 

Postcommunion. 

We  beseech  Thee,  0  Lord,  that  the  offering  of  the  Divine  Sacra- 
ment may  cleanse  and  fortify  us ;  and  by  the  intercession  of  Blessed 
Mary,  Mother  of  God,  with  Thy  blessed  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and 
blessed  N.,  and  all  the  Saints,  may  make  us  clean  from  all  perversities 
and  ready  for  all  adversities.    Through  the  same. 

C.  Does  the  letter  N".  stand  for  some  other  saint  ? 

P.  Yes ;  it  is  usual  to  insert  there  the  patron  of  the  church  or 
country  ;  thus,  St.  George  is  named  in  England,  except  where  there  is 
some  special  patron  of  the  place,  as  in  a  college,  etc.  Should  the 
patron  happen  to  be  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
or  St.  Joseph,  spouse  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the  name  of  such  patron 
is  to  be  prefixed  to  those  of  the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

The  following  is  the  other  Collect,  with  its  two  accompaniments. 

Collect. 

Almighty  and  eternal  God,  who  doest  great  wonders  alone,  send 
forth  on  Thy  servants,  and  on  the  congregations  committed  to  their 
charge,  the  Spirit  of  Thy  healthful  grace ;  and  that  they  may  truly 


64  ORDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

please  Thee,  pour  on  them  the  continual  dew  of  Thy  blessing.   Through 
our  Lord.     In  the  unity  of  the  same. 

Secret. 

Be  propitious,  0  Lord,  to  the  sacrifices  of  Thy  people  ;  that  wnat 
we  celebrate  for  them  with  a  devout  mind,  in  honor  of  Thy  Name, 
they  may  know  to  profit  them  unto  healing.    Through  the  same. 

Postcommunion. 

Accompany,  O  Lord,  with  Thy  protection  those  whom  Thou  dost 
recreate  with  a  heavenly  gift ;  and  as  Thou  never  ceasest  to  cherish 
them,  so  grant  them  to  become  worthy  of  eternal  redemption.  Through 
the  same. 

These  specimens  will  show  you  the  several  characters  of  the  Col- 
lect, Secret,  and  Postcommunion.  The  Collect  asks  for  some  bless- 
ing, without,  in  general,  any  special  reference  to  the  Sacrifice ;  the 
Secret  adverts  to  the  sacrifice  about  to  be  offered ;  the  Postcommunion 
to  its  fruits  in  the  soul. 

In  Lent,  as  often  as  the  Mass  is  of  the  season,  the  priest  here  says, 
"Let  us  pray:  humble  your  heads  before  God";  and  then  recites  a 
short  penitential  prayer. 

THE  END   OF   MASS. 

p.  And  now  the  priest,  having  closed  the  Missal  if  there  be  no 
final  Gospel,  or  left  it  open  for  the  server  to  remove,  if  there  be,  goes 
to  the  middle  of  the  altar,  and  once  more  addresses  the  people  with 
"  Our  Lord  be  with  you,"  to  which  they  respond.  Then  he  says,  ac- 
cording to  the  day,  "Ite,  missa  est,"  or  "Benedicaraus  Domino"; 
in  the  former  case  turning  toward  the  people,  in  the  latter  toward 
the  altar. 

C.  What  mean  these  short  forms,  and  why  do  they  differ  on  dif- 
ferent days  ? 

P.  " Ite,  missa  est"  means,  " Depart,  the  sacrifice  is  over";  "Bene- 
dicamus  Domino  "  means,  "  Let  us  bless  our  Lord."  The  difference  of 
subject  shows  why  one  is  said  to  the  people  and  the  other  to  God. 
As  to  the  several  uses  of  these  forms,  "  Ite,  missa  est "  is  the  more 
jubilant  of  the  two,  and  is  therefore  used  on  all  days  when  "  Gloria  in 
excelsis  "  is  said  in  the  Mass  ;  "  Benedicamus  Domino  "  is  proper  to 
days  on  which  "  Gloria  in  excelsis "  is  not  said,  such  as  f erias  (or 
week-days),  to  penitential  seasons,  and  to  Votive  Masses  (except  of 
the  Angels  or  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  when  said  on  Saturday).    The 


THE   END   OF   MASS.  65 

rule  is,  that  when  the  "  Te  Denm  "  is  said  in  the  Divine  Office,  then 
"  Gloria  in  excelsis  "  and  "  Ite,  raissa  est "  are  said  in  the  Mass,  and 
vice  versa.  But  Votive  Masses,  being  out  of  the  usual  order,  furnish 
exceptions  to  this  rule.  j 

C.  What  account  do  you  give  of  the  form  "  Ite,  missa  est "  ?  ^ 

P.  The  whole  form  is  probably  "  Ite,  missa  est  Hostia,"  "  Go,  the 
Victim  is  sent  forth,  and  received  up  into  heaven."  It  is  equivalent 
to  "  Go  in  peace,"  which  is  found  in  ancient  times.  "VVe  may  hear  in 
it  the  words  of  the  Angel :  "  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  you  look- 
ing up  into  heaven?"  (Acts  i.  11.)  'The  time  of  contemplation  is 
over,  that  of  action  is  come  ;  go  to  your  work,  and  think  of  the  visions 
which  have  been  vouchsafed  you.' 

To  this  dismissal  the  people  respond  by  the  minister,  "  Deo  gra- 
tias,"  "  Thanks  be  to  God,"  in  imitation  of  the  Apostles,  who,  when 
they  parted,  at  the  Angel's  bidding,  from  the  vision  of  their  peace, 
"  adoring  went  back  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy,  and  were  always 
praising  and  blessing  God  "  (St.  Luke  xxiv.  63). 

C.  Is  this,  then,  the  time  for  the  people  to  depart  ? 

P.  The  Mass  (properly  speaking)  is  now  over,  and  they  are  ai 
liberty  to  go  ;  but  devout  persons  always  remain,  if  possible,  at  least 
till  the  priest  leaves  the  altar.  Were  they  to  go  at  this  point,  they 
would  lose  his  blessing. 

C.  How  much  of  the  Mass  must  be  heard  in  order  to  fulfil  the 
obligation  on  Sundays  and  great  kolydays  ? 

P.  Certainly  not  less  than  from  the  Offertory  to  the  Communion 
inclusive.  The  safest  opinion  says,  from  the  Gospel  to  the  Commun- 
ion inclusive. 

C.  What  kind  of  presence  is  necessary  at  Mass  in  order  to  hear  it  ? 
Must  the  priest  be  actually  heard  or  seen  ? 

P.  No,  this  is  not  indispensable  ;  but  the  person  must  be,  morally 
speaking,  present,  i.  e.,  must  form  one  of  the  worshiping  body.  Henc» 
a  person  may  hear  Mass  outside  a  church  with  the  door  open,  if  hfe 
form  one  of  a  continuous  train  of  worshippers,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
Ireland  and  other  Catholic  countries ;  or,  again,  in  another  room  with 
an  opening  upon  the  altar.  Thus,  in  old  ranges  of  ecclesiastical  build- 
ings, the  hospital  commonly  opened  upon  the  chapel,  to  let  the  sick 
hear  Mass  from  their  beds,  in  fulfilment  of  the  Psalmist's  words, 
"Ljetabuntur  sancti  in  cubilibus  suis."*  You  may  see  the  same 
beautiful  arrangement  at  some  colleges  in  England,  to  enable  the  stu- 
dents to  hear  Mass  when  ill  in  bed. 

*  "  The  saints  shall  rejoice  in  their  beds  "  (Ps.  xlix.  5). 
I 


66  ORDER   AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE  MASS. 

C.  Does  not  the  priest  say  a  prayer  in  this  place  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  after  the  minister  has  replied  in  the  name  of  the  people, 
"  Deo  gratias,"  he  inclines  to  the  altar,  and  says  : 

"  O  Holy  Trinity,  may  the  obedience  of  my  service  be  well-pleasing 
to  Thee  ;  and  grant  that  the  sacriiice  which  I,  unworthy,  have  offered 
in  the  sight  of  Thy  Majesty  may  be  acceptable  to  Thee,  and  a  means 
of  propitiation  to  me  and  all  those  for  whom  I  have  offered  it.  Through 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

Then  kissing  the  altar,  and  raising  and  joining  his  hands,  he  blesses 
the  people,  saying  first  toward  the  altar : 

"May  God  Almighty  bless  you." 

Then  turning  to  the  people,  and  making  over  them  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  he  continues : 

"  Father,  and  Son,  ^  and  Holy  Ghost." 

Then  completing  the  circuit,  he  turns  toward  the  altar,  goes  to  the 
gospel  side,  and  there  reads  from  a  card  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel 
according  to  St.  John  i.  1-14.  Or  if  there  be  a  proper  (second)  Gospel 
in  the  Mass  (as  on  Sundays  not  kept  as  such,  or  on  festivals  in  Lent), 
he  reads  this  from  the  Missal,  which  in  that  case  will  have  been  trans- 
ferred from  the  epistle  to  the  gospel  side  by  the  server. 

C.  Does  the  priest  use  the  same  ceremonies  here  as  in  reading  the 
first  Gospel  ? 

P.  He  crosses  the  text  of  the  Gospel,  or  (if  he  read  from  the  card) 
the  altar,  and  himself  on  the  forehead,  lips,  and  breast,  but  he  does 
not  kiss  the  book  at  the  end.  The  minister  responds  as  before  to  the 
announcement  of  the  Gospel,  " Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  Lord";  but  ends, 
"Thanks  be  to  God." 

C.  Does  not  the  priest  kneel  at  some  part  of  the  last  Gospel  ?    . 

P.  Yes  ;  he  kneels,  in  honor  of  the  Incarnation,  at  the  words  "  Et ' 
Verbum  caro  factum  est,"  "And  the  Word  was  made  flesh." 

The  priest  then,  taking  the  sacred  vessels  under  the  veil,  as  at  the 
beginning  of  Mass,  inclines  slightly  to  the  altar  and  descends  the 
step  to  the  plane  below  ;  where,  having  bowed,  if  the  blessed  Sacra- 
ment be  not  in  the  tabernacle,  or  gone  on  one  knee  if  it  be,  he  re- 
ceives the  herretta  from  the  server,  and  returns  to  the  sacristy  as  he 
came  from  it. 

MASS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

C.  Masses  of  the  dead  seem  to  differ  in  ceremonies  from  ordinary  ' 
Masses  ;  will  you  kindly  say  in  what  respects  ? 

P  I  must  first  tell  you  how  a  Mass  of  the  Dead  differs  in  itself 
from  another  Mass,  and  then  I  will  explain  the  ceremonies.     Unlike 


MASS   OF  THE  DEAD.  67 

cinother  Mass,  then,  it  is  offered  j)rimarily  and  specially  for  the  repose 
of  a  soul  or  souls  in  purgatory  ;  either  for  one  lately  deceased,  or  on 
the  anniversary  or  about  the  anniversary  of  a  death  or  burial,  or  at 
any  other  time,  for  one  or  more  to  whom  the  priest  is  specially  bound, 
as  relations,  friends,  benefactors,  superiors  ;  or,  lastly,  on  All  Souls' 
Day,  for  all  the  faithful  departed,  whom  it  is  also  customary  to  com- 
memorate by  a  Collect  in  special  Masses  of  the  Dead,  and,  at  certain 
times,  in  the  Mass  of  the  day  also.  In  the  Missal  you  will  find  four 
different  forms  of  Mass  for  the  Dead :  one  for  All  Souls'  Day  (which 
is  prescribed  also  for  some  other  occasions),  one  for  the  day  of  death 
or  burial,  one  for  the  anniversary  of  those  days,  and  one  termed 
"  Daily,"  which  may  be  used  at  any  time.  There  are  also  added  special 
prayers  for  deceased  persons,  such  as  Bishops,  priests,  and  the  parents 
of  the  priest  (where  Catholics),  which  may  be  incorporated  into  the 
Mass,  so  as  to  limit  or  modify  the  intention,  which  would  otherwise  be 
general. 

C.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  a  Mass  "  pro  def unctis  "  must  be 
offered  primarily  and  specially  for  the  Dead.  Must  another  Mass  be 
offered  in  the  same  special  manner  for  the  living  ? 

P.  The  special  intention  of  a  Mass  "  pro  defunctis  "  must  be  for  the 
dead ;  but  the  special  intention  of  another  Mass  is  not  necessarily  con- 
fined to  the  living. 

C.  Do  the  dead,  then,  gain  as  much  from  an  ordinary  Mass  as  from 
a  Mass  "  pro  defunctis  "  ? 

P.  As  far  as  the  benefit  of  the  Mass  itself  goes,  or  as  divines  say, 
looking  to  its  fruit  ex  opere  operato,  i.  e.,  as  an  act  having  an  intrinsic 
efficacy  in  obtaining  the  grace  of  God,  for  those  who  are  its  proper  ob- 
jects, the  dead  gain  as  much  from  one  Mass,  specially  offered  for  them, 
as  from  another.  But  it  is  certain  that  the  prayers  and  other  devo- 
tions, which  are  directed  to  their  benefit  in  a  Mass  for  the  Dead,  carry 
with  them  an  additional  benefit,  as  divines  say,  ex  opere  operantis ; 
that  is,  not  in  virtue  of  the  act  itself,  but  through  the  pious  intentions 
of  the  celebrant. 

G.  Now,  then,  as  the  dead  may  gain  special  benefit  from  an  ordinary 
Mass,  can  the  living  gain  any  benefit  from  a  Mass  "  for  the  Dead  "  % 

P.  Certainly  from  the  ''  memento  "  which  is  made  of  them  in  every 
Mass,  Masses  for  the  Dead  included.  But  I  should  also  tell  you  that 
the  most  special  benefit  of  er>ery  Mass  accrues  to  the  priest  ceJehratinc) 
it,  and  therefore  to  one  living.  And  what  is  called,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  general  fruit  goes  to  the  Faithful  at  large,  whether  living  or  dead. 
It  is,  then,  what  divines  call  the  special  fruit  (as  distinguished  from 
the  most  special  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  general  on  the  other),  which 


68  OEDER  AND   CEREMONIAL   OF  THE   MASS. 

avails  to  the  person  or  persons  for  whom  the  priest  intends  to  offer 
the  particular  Mass  ;  and  these  it  is  who,  in  the  case  of  a  Mass  "  for 
the  Dead,"  must  be  deceased,  and  in  the  case  of  another,  may  be  such. 
And  now  of  the  ceremonies. 

The  vestments,  you  know,  in  a  Mass  for  the  dead  are  black.  At  the 
foot  of,  the  altar,  in  the  beginning  of  Mass,  the  Psalm  "  Judica  "  is 
omitted,  probably  on  account  of  "  Conlitebor  Tibi  in  cithara  "  ("  I  will 
confess  to  Thee  on  the  harp  "),  which  is  inaj)propriate  to  a  mournful 
occasion.  Next,  instead  of  crossing  himself  as  he  begins  the  Introit, 
the  priest  makes  a  cross  toward  the  book,  as  if  he  were  blessing  a  per- 
son. The  "  Gloria .  Patri "  is  omitted  everywhere  ;  and,  of  course,  the 
hymn,  "  Gloria  in  excelsis."  The  priest  does  not  say  before  the  Gos- 
pel, "  O  Lord,  grant  me  a  blessing,"  nor  the  prayer  following,  "  May 
the  Lord  be  in  my  heart,"  etc.,  but  goes  at  once  to  read  the  Gospel 
after  the  "  Munda  cor  meum"  ("  Cleanse  my  heart,"  etc.).  At  the  end 
of  the  Gospel  the  priest  does  not  kiss  the  sacred  text.  The  Creed  is 
never  said.  The  water  is  not  blessed  by  the  priest  before  he  pours  it 
into  the  chalice.  At  the  "Agnus  Dei,"  instead  of  "  Have  mercy  on  us," 
is  said  (for  the  dead),  "  Grant  them  rest";  and,  the  third  time,  "  eternal 
rest."  Consequently,  the  priest  does  not  strike  his  breast,  because  he 
is  praying  not  for  himself,  but  for  others  ;  neither  should  the  Faithful 
assisting  do  so.  The  first  of  the  three  prayers  before  the  Communion 
is  omitted,  because  it  bears  upon  the  prayer  for  peace  in  the  "Agnus 
Dei,"  which  is  omitted  also.  At  the  end,  neither  "  Ite,  missa  est,"  nor 
"Benedicamus  Domino"  is  said,  but  "Requiescant  in  pace"  ("'May 
they  rest  in  peace"),  always  in  the  plural  number,  even  when  Mass  is 
said  for  one  deceased  person  only.  The  priest  does  not  bless  the  peo- 
ple, but  having  said  the  prayer  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  kissed  the 
altar,  goes  at  once  to  read  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

C.  Why  are  blessings  omitted  ? 

P.  Because  the  Mass  is  said  for  the  departed,  who  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  sacerdotal  benedictions. 

C.  But  this  does  not  explain  why  the  priest  omits  to  bless  the  water 
at  the  Offertory,  or  to  ask  for  a  blessing  on  himself  before  the  Gospel  ? 

P.  Gavant  gives  a  mystical  reason  for  the  former  of  these  omissions. 
He  says  that  the  water  is  not  blessed  at  the  Offertory  in  Masses  of  the 
Dead  because  it  represents  the  Church  militant,  as  the  wine  represents 
Christ ;  whereas  the  dead  in  Christ  have  fought  the  good  fight,  and 
though  detained  from  glory,  are  yet  certain  of  salvation.  This,  how- 
ever, is  rather  a  pious  construction  of  the  matter  than  a  full  account 
of  it.  It  would  seem  that  all  blessings  are  suspended  in  Masses  of  the 
Dead,  either  because  blessings  are  joyful  things,  and  these  Masses  are 


MASS   OF   THE  DEAD.  69 

mournful ;  or  because,  inasmuch  as  the  dead,  who  are  chiefly  in  mind, 
are  not  subjects  of  benediction,  therefore  the  Church,  to  keej)  them 
continually  before  her,  lets  them  set  the  rule  of  the  whole  Mass  in  this 
particular. 

(7.  Do  not  priests  receive  stipends  for  saying  Masses,  especially 
Masses  for  the  dead  ?  Is  not  this  like  buying  sacred  things  ?  Does  it 
not  also  give  the  rich  an  unfair  advantage  over  the  poor  ? 

P.  Certainly,  priests  receive  stipends  for  saying  Mass,  when  the 
benefit  of  a  Mass  is  wished,  and  the  party  wishing  it  likes,  or  is  able, 
to  make  an  offering.  To  your  other  queries,  I  answer  :  1st.  That  this 
remuneration  is  not  purchase-money,  but  a  fee  or  rather  offering  ;  and 
I  suppose  no  one  denies  that  the  "laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,"  or 
that  what  is  given  to  the  clergy  is  given  to  the  Church.  2d.  The  rich 
have  certainly  a  great  advantage  over  the  poor  in  being  privileged  to 
contribute,  in  whatever  way,  to  the  service  of  God's  Church  or  the 
maintenance  of  His  priests — for  a  privilege  it  is  to  the  rich  themselves, 
not  any  favor  to  the  Church.  It  may  be  admitted,  too,  that  the  rich 
gain  in  this  way  blessings  upon  themselves  and  their  friends,  whether 
living  or  dead,  from  which  the  poor  are  necessarily  debarred  ;  but  the 
poor,  on  the  other  hand,  have  blessings  which  the  rich  have  not.  It  is 
probable  that  all  which  the  rich  gain  in  the  redemption  of  their  souls 
and  those  of  their  relations  and  friends  from  purgatory,  is  more  than 
made  up  to  the  poor  by  the  sufferings  in  which  they  are  so  much  their 
superiors,  and  which,  we  may  hope,  are  to  the  poor  full  often  in  the 
place  of  a  purgatory.  I  should  tell  you  also  that  Masses,  like  Indidg- 
ences,  do  not  profit  the  dead  according  to  any  fixed  and  known  law, 
as  they  profit  the  living  ;  but  as  divines  say,  "  by  the  way  of  suffrage  " 
only  ;  or  as  far  as,  and  in  the  way,  God  pleases.  Hence,  though  it  be 
a  needful  act  of  piety  and  charity  in  richer  persons  to  obtain  Masses 
to  be  said  for  themselves  and  their  friends,  it  is,  after  all,  uncertain  in 
what  precise  ratio,  or  according  to  what  fixed  principle,  the  mercy  of 
God  is  distribiited,  in  the  case  of  the  dead,  among  rich  and  poor.* 
Moreover,  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  (besides  the  opportunity  which 
f)riests  have  of  applying  to  particular  poor  the  benefit  of  their  disen- 
gaged intentions  in  Mass)  every  Catholic  has  it  in  liis  power  to  gain 
partial  or  plenary  Indulgences  for  any  soul  in  purgatory  in  wliom  he 
may  be  especially  interested.  But  the  benefit  of  Indulgences,  when 
applied  to  the  dead,  is  limited  by  the  above  ccmditions.    Let  me,  then, 

*Perrone  gives  it  as  undoubted,  "  pfetiam  temporalcm  ipsis  (mortuis)  non  rcmitti  certa 
lege,  sed  solum  per  modum  suffragii  (Sacrificium  Missae)  eis  prodesse,  proul  Deo  placuerit 
illud  acceptare,  exquoinfertur  effectum  hujus  Sacriflcii  non  ita  certum  ease  erga  defunctos, 
sicut  est  erga  viventes."    De  Eucharist,  n.  282. 


70  OKDEli  AND   CEEEMONIAL   OF   THE   MASS. 

observe  that  all  this  uncertainty  as  to  the  mode  and  degree  in  which 
the  living  can  benefit  the  departed,  while  it  is  no  reason  for  relaxing 
our  charitable  efforts  on  their  behalf,  is  a  great  reason  for  doing  all  we 
can  toward  our  deliverance  from  sin,  its  penalties  as  well  as  its  guilt, 
while  alive ;  according  to  the  spirit  of  that  touching  prayer  of  the 
Psalmist,  "  Remitte  mihi,  ut  refrigerer,  priusquam  abeam.''''  *  Or,  as 
it  is  in  the  Song  of  Ezechias,  "  Vivens,  vivens,  ipse  confitebitur  tibi, 
sicut  et  ego  hodie."  f 

C.  Does  not  the  celebrated  Dies  irce  occur  in  the  Mass  of  the  Dead  1 
P.  Yes,  it  is  the  Sequence.    Its  use  is  obligatory  on  the  priest  at 
certain  times,  optional  at  others. 


Note  A,  p.  36. 


The  opening  words  of  the  "  Communicantes  "  are  varied  on  the  greatest  Festivals,  and 
during  tlieir  octaves,  as  follows  :  At  Christmas,  "  communicating,  and  celebrating  this  most 
sacred  day  on  which  the  incorrupt  Virginity  of  the  Blessed  Mary  gave  to  the  world  a 
Saviour."  At  Epiphany,  ".  .  .  .  on  which  Thine  Only-begotten,  coeternal  with  Thee  in 
glory,  appeared  visibly  in  a  bodily  form  in  verity  of  our  flesh."  At  Easter,  "  .  .  .  .  and  cele- 
brating the  most  sacred  day  of  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  according  to  the 
flesh."  At  Ascension,  ".  .  .  .  on  which  our  Lord,  Thine  only-begotten  Son,  placed  at  the 
right  hand  of  Thy  glory,  the  substance  of  our  frail  nature  united  with  Himself."  At  Pente- 
cost, " .  .  .  .  celebrating  the  most  sacred  day  of  Pentecost,  on  which  the  Holy  Ghost  mani- 
fested Himself  to  the  Apostles  in  the  form  of  fiery  tongues." 

Note  B,  p.  37. 

At  Easter  and  Pentecost,  the  two  great  seasons  of  Baptism,  this  form  is  varied  thus  : 
" .  .  ,  .  oblation  ....  family,  which  we  offer  Thee,  for  these  also,  whom  Thou  hast  deigned 
to  regenerate  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  grantmg  them  remission  of  all  sins,"  etc. 

Note  C,  p.  39. 

On  Holy  Thursday,  the  day  of  the  institution  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  is  said,  "  who, 
the  day  before  He  suffered  for  our  salvation  and  that  of  all  men,  to  wit,  on  this  day,  took 
bread,"  etc 

*  "Forgive  me,  that  I  may  be  refreshed  before  1  go  hence  "  (Ps.  xxxviii.  14).  ^ 

f  "  The  living,  the  living,  he  shall  give  praise  to  Thee,  as  I  do  this  day  "  (Is.  xxxviii.  19). 


APPENDIX. 


I.— HIGH  OR  SOLEMN  MASS. 
Chapter  I. 

C.  Wliat  is  Higli  or  Solemn  Mass  ? 

P.  High  Mass  is  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  with  the  full 
complement  of  ministers  and  solemnities.  Sometimes  Mass  is  cele- 
brated with  solemnities,  but  without  the  assistance  of  sacred  minis- 
ters.    This  is  called  a  "  Missa  cantata,"  or  "  Mass  Tvdth  music." 

C.  Who  are  the  proper  ministers  to  assist  the  celebrating  priest  ? 

P.  The  deacon,  who  is  next  to  him  in  sacred  orders ;  and  the  sub- 
deacon,  who  is  next  to  the  deacon. 

C.  What  are  these  respective  orders  and  ofiices  ? 

P.  The  deacon  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  highest  minister  [i.  e., 
assistant)  in  the  Church  ;  for  the  priest  does  not  minister,  he  offers. 
The  subdeacon  is  a  minister  of  inferior  rank ;  but  he  too  is  in  sacred 
orders. 

C.  Are  there,  then,  orders  in  the  Church  which  are  not  sacred  ? 

P.  Yes ;  there  are  four,  called  minor  orders,  through  which  all 
who  attain  sacred  orders  must  pass.  They  are :  1.  Ostiary ;  2.  Ex- 
orcist ;  3.  Reader ;  4.  Acolyte. 

C.  Vs\2X  are  the  offices  respectively  of  the  deacon  and  subdeacon  ? 

P.  The  deacon's  office  is  to  assist  the  priest ;  the  subdeacon's  to 
assist  the  deacon.  Or  rather,  the  deacon's  is  to  assist  at  the  Sacrifice 
directly  and  principally ;  the  subdeacon's  to  assist  at  it  indirectly 
and  subordinately.     This  will  ajipear  in  detail  as  we  proceed. 

C.  Are  not  the  clergy  who  assist  the  priest  at  Mass  sometimes 
jDriests  like  himself  ? 

P.  When  there  are  none  to  assist  in  the  proper  orders,  it  is  cus- 
tomary for  priests  to  act  as  deacons  and  subdeacons  at  High  Mass. 
In  this  case  they  wear  the  habits  and  badges,  not  of  the  order  to  which 
they  have  attained,  but  of  those  through  which  they  have  x>assed,  and 
which  they  are  then  fulfilling. 

C.  What  are  these  habits  and  badges  % 

P.  The  deacon  wears  his  stole  across  the  left  shoulder,  instead  of 

(71)      • 


72  APPENDIX. 

crossed  in  front  like  the  priest.  Also,  instead  of  the  chasuble,  the 
deacon  and  subdeacon  wear  i3eculiar  vestments,  called  Dalmatic  and 
Tunic,  or  sometimes  Dalmatics  only. 

C.  Are  deacons  and  subdeacons  bound  by  the  same  laws  as  priests  ? 

P.  Like  priests,  they  are  obliged  to  a  single  life.  They  are  also 
bound  to  recite  the  whole  of  the  divine  office  every  day. 

C,  Will  you  now,  sir,  explain  to  me  the  ceremonies  of  High  Mass  ? 
And  first,  will  you  say  generally  how  it  differs  from  Low  Mass  % 

F.  Merely  in  the  way  of  addition.  It  is  substantially  the  same 
rite.  But  such  is  the  dignity  of  this  great  Sacrifice,  that  the  Church 
prefers  its  being  solemnized  with  every  accompaniment  of  outward 
grandeur  and  beauty  ;  and  dispenses  with  these  additions  only  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  procuring  them  in  frequent  and  daily  cel- 
ebrations. It  is  certain  that  masses  are  much  more  frequent  in  later 
than  in  earlier  ages  ;  and  their  multiplication  has  necessarily  tended 
to  divest  them  of  all  such  ceremonial  as  is  not  indispensable  to  their 
essence.  But  the  Church  all  the  w  hile  has  never  failed  to  maintain 
the  type  of  a  more  solemn  and  ornate  celebration.  Hence  it  is  cus- 
tomary, w  henever  it  is  possible,  to  celebrate  Mass  with  solemnity  at 
least  on  all  Sundays  and  holydays. 

Supposing  you,  then,  to  be  now  fully  instructed  in  the  substantial 
ceremonies  of  Mass,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  such  as  are  peculiar  to 
High  Mass.  But  I  shall  speak  first  of  a  ceremony  by  which,  on  all 
Sundays,  High  Mass  is  usually  preceded  ;  I  mean, 

THE  ASPERGES. 

C.  What  is  the  Asperges  ? 

P.  It  is  a  solemn  service  of  purification,  by  which  the  Church  pre- 
pares her  altars,  temples,  and  worshippers,  for  the  holy  mysteries  of 
which  the  material  church  is  about  to  be  the  scene,  and  the  faithful 
the  participants.  At  this  ceremony  she  makes  use  of  the  Holy  Water, 
which  has  been  blessed  for  the  service  of  the  faithful. 

C.  Is  the  use  of  Holy  Water  very  ancient  ? 

P.  Yes ;  it  was  customary  in  very  early  ages  of  the  Christian 
Church  to  bless  water  with  salt  mingled  in  it,  for  the  faithful  to  purify 
their  hands  on  entering  places  set  apart  for  Divine  worship.  Pope 
Alexander  I.  issued  a  decree  to  that  effect  in  109,  apj)arently  ratifying 
a  custom  already  in  use  ;  so  that  we  may  fairly  conclude  the  practice 
to  date  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles.  The  custom  was  derived  from 
the  Jewish  Church.     It  is  enjoined  in  Exod.  xxx.  18. 

C.  Why  is  salt  mingled  with  the  water  ? 

P.  Salt  is  an  antidote  against  corruption,  and  thus  denotes  purl- 


HIGH   OR   SOLEMN   MASS.  73 

fication.     It  also  expresses  wisdom  (Col.  iv.  6) ;  while  water  is  every- 
where in  the  Church  the  sign  of  God' s  cleansing  grace. 

C.  What  are  the  ceremonies  of  blessing  the  water  for  the  use  of 
the  Church,  and  of  the  "  Asperges,"  or  sj^rinkling  ? 

P.  The  "  Asperges "  only  is  seen  by  the  congregation ;  the  wate^ 
is  blessed  by  the  priest  previously  to  its  being  brought  into  the  church. 
The  ceremony  is  as  follows :  First  the  salt  is  exorcised,  then  the  water. 
The  salt  is  then  put  into  the  water,  and  the  mixture  is  blessed. 

C.  What  means  "  exorcised  "  ? 

P.  To  "  exorcise "  is  to  banish  the  Evil  Spirit  from  a  person  or 
thing  by  solemn  adjuration. 

C.  Why  should  the  Evil  Spirit  be  thought  to  reside  in  the  crea- 
tures of  God  ? 

P.  Every  creature  of  God  naturally  labors  under  the  curse  of  the 
Fall.  The  devil,  by  prevailing  over  man,  got  a  hold  on  creation — man, 
beast,  and  things  inanimate.  Hence  the  corruption  of  the  human  race, 
the  malicious  tempers  of  certain  animals,  and  the  noxious  properties 
of  the  elements.  The  air,  which  is  for  refreshing,  is  converted  by  this 
evil  agent  into  tempests  and  whirlwinds,  which  carry  desolation  in 
their  train.  Fire  and  water,  which  are  for  man's  use  and  convenience, 
break  their  boundaries  and  spread  havoc  far  and  wide ;  while  the 
earth  naturally  brings  forth  thorns  and  briers.  Meanwhile,  "  He  that 
sits  on  the  throne  saith.  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new  "  (Apoc.  xxi.  5). 
Man  He  maketh  new  in  holy  baptism  ;  other  creatures  by  exorcisms 
and  benedictions.  Thus  in  the  Church  we  can  say,  "  Benedicite  omnia 
opera  Domini,  Domino," — "  O  all  ye  works  of  the  Lord,  bless  ye  the 
Lord";  even  those  of  His  works  which,  without  His  blessing,  become 
instruments  of  mischief,  such  as  fire  and  heat,  vdnd  and  rain,  seas  and 
floods,  beasts  and  all  cattle. 

C.  But  does  the  Church  ever  bless  other  creatures  besides  articles 
of  food,  or,  as  in  the  case  before  us,  the  matter  of  Sacraments  and 
Sacramentals  ? 

P.  Yes ;  for  example,  fire  on  Holy  Saturday.  She  even  blesses 
animals  for  the  use  of  man.  There  is  a  ceremony  of  this  kind  annually 
performed  at  Rome. 

C.  What  a  beautiful  thought,  that  the  Church  should  thus  make 
all  creation,  as  it  were,  one  great  sacrament ! 

.  P.  Yes,  and  a  religious  and  practical  thought  also,  the  true  fulfil- 
ment of  the  Psalmist's  loving  words  :  "  Aperis  Tu  manum,  et  imi)les 
'otnne  animal  benedictione,"— "  Thou  openest  Thine  hand,  and  fillest 
every  living  creature  with  benediction"  (Ps.  cxliv.  16).     Such  is  the 
fruit  of  the  great  Gift  which  the  Church  received  on  the  day  of  Pen- 


74  APPENDIX. 

tecost:  "Emittes  Spiritum  Tuum,  et  creabuntnr,  et  renovahis  faciem 
terrce^ — "  Thou  shalt  send  forth  Thy  Spirit,  and  they  shall  be  created ; 
and  Thou  sJialt  renew  the  face  of  the  earth''''  (Ps.  ciii.  30,  proper  to 
Whit  Sunday).  Thus  you  see  that  the  Church  on  earth  is  a  type 
and  forerunner  of  the  celestial  Jerusalem,  which  was  revealed  to  the 
Prophet  as  a  "new  heaven  and  a  new  earth "  (Apoc.  xxi.  1). 

C  Why  are  so  many  things  blessed  on  Holy  Saturday, — fonts, 
fire,  etc.  ? 

P.  Because  it  was  by  rising  from  the  dead  that  our  Lord  renewed, 
blessed,  and  glorified  the  whole  world. 

C.  "When  does  the  priest  receive  the  power  of  exorcising  ? 

P.  In  the  third  of  the  four  lesser  orders,  called  the  Order  of 
Exorcists.  He  then  receives  power  over  evil  spirits,  which  he  may 
use  with  persons  possessed,  though  not  without  special  permission ; 
and  this  leave  is  cautiously  and  very  rarely  granted.  But  as  a  priest 
he  uses  this  authority  in  the  ceremonies  of  baptism,  and  here  in  the 
benediction  of  water  for  the  use  of  the  Church  and  Faithful. 

G.  What  is  the  form  of  blessing  the  water  % 

P.  You  will  find  it  at  the  end  of  your  Latin  Missal,  under  the  title 
of  "  Ordo  ad  faciendam  Aquam  benedictam."  It  is  rather  too  long  to 
translate. 

C.  But  now  as  to  the  "  Asperges,"  to  which  it  is  preparatory.  This 
ceremony  is  a  public  one,  which,  I  observe,  precedes  the  High  Mass 
every  Sunday.     Will  you  kindly  explain  it  ? 

P.  The  priest  who  is  to  celebrate  the  High  Mass,  vested  in  a  cope 
of  the  color  proper  to  the  day,  proceeds  to  the  altar  attended  by  his 
ministers,  and  an  acolyte  *  bearing  the  vessel  of  holy  water.  He  kneels 
with  the  attendants  (even  at  Easter- time),t  and,  receiving  at  the  hands 
of  the  deacon  X  the  aspersory,  or  sacred  brush,  dips  it  into  the  water 
and  sprinkles  the  altar  thrice.  Receiving  some  drops  from  it  with  his 
finger,  he  makes  with  them  the  sign  of  the  Cross  upon  his  own  person  ; 
then,  after  having  sprinkled  the  ministers,  he  rises  from  his  knees, 
and,  when  erect,  intones,  according  to  a  prescribed  chant,  the  first 
words  of  the  antiphon  from  Ps.  1.  9,  "Asperges  me," — "Thou  shalt 
sprinkle  me,"  which  the  choir  takes  up,  and  proceeds  to  sing  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  the  verse,  and  afterward  the  opening  of  the  Psalm 
"  Miserere,"  in  which  they  occur,  with  the  "  Gloria  Patri  ";  after  which 
the  first  words  (at  least)  of  the  antiphon  are  repeated.     In  the  mean- 

*  The  duties  of  acolyte  are  commonly  performed,  with  permission,  by  boys  attached  to    ' 
the  church. 

f  "  Genuflexus,  etiam  tempore  Paschali." — Rubric  in  the  Missal. 
X  "  Accipit  a  diacono." — i6. 


HIGH  OR  SOLEMN  MASS.  75 

time  the  priest,  reciting  in  a  low  voice  the  words  of  the  psalm,  sprinkles 
first  the  clergy  and  then  the  people,  from  the  water  carried  by  the 
acolyte.  Returning  to  the  altar,  and  having  venerated  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  (if  in  the  tabernacle)  with  the  proper  act  of  adoration,  he 
says,  standing,  and  with  hands  joined,  the  following  versicles,  re- 
sponses, and  prayer : 

V.  O  Lord,  show  us  Thy  mercy. 

R.  And  grant  us  Thy  salvation. 

y.  O  Lord,  hear  my  prayer. 

R.  And  let  my  cry  come  to  Thee. 

V.  Our  Lord  be  with  you. 

R.  And  with  thy  spirit. 

Let  us  pray. 
Hear  us,  holy  Lord,  Almighty  Father,  Eternal  God ;  and  vouch- 
safe to  send  from  heaven  Thy  holy  angel  to  guard,  cherish,  protect, 
visit,  and  defend  all  who  dwell  in  this  habitation  ;  through  Christ  our 
Lord. 

During  Easter- time  the  form  is  dijfferent.  Instead  of  the  penitential 
"  Asperges  me  "  and  "  Miserere,"  during  that  joyful  season  the  Church 
sings  the  following  antiphon  (founded  on  Ezech.  xlvii.  1,  2)  to  another 
and  more  varied  chant :  "  I  saw  water  coming  forth  of  the  Temple  on 
the  right  side.  Alleluia  ;  and  all  to  whom  that  water  came  were  saved, 
and  shall  say,  Alleluia,  alleluia."  Then  follow  the  first  words  of  the 
Psalm  "  Confitemini "  (cxvii.) :  "  Give  praise  to  the  Lord :  for  He  is 
good :  for  His  mercy  endureth  forever.  V.  Glory  be  to  the  Father. 
R.  As  it  was.  I  saw  water."  On  Trinity  Sunday  the  "Asperges "  and 
"  Miserere  "  are  resumed. 

If  the  "  Asperges  "  be  given  after  the  priest  and  his  ministers  have 
entered  for  the  Mass,  they  merely  assume  the  proper  vestments  in  the 
sanctuary,  and  begin  the  Mass  at  once.  If  there  be  no  "Asperges,"  or 
if  it  have  been  given  apart  from  the  Mass,  as  a  separate  ceremony,  then 
the  priest  with  his  ministers  go  in  procession  from  the  sacristy  to  the 
altar,  preceded  by  the  thurifer,  acolytes  with  lighted  candles,  and  other 
attendants,  two  and  two.  The  clergy  and  choristers  separate  after  the 
proper  reverence  to  the  altar,  and  take  their  places  on  either  side  of 
the  choir ;  the  celebrant  and  his  ministers,  with  the  attendants  of  the 
Mass,  enter  the  sanctuary,  and  the  Mass  is  immediately  begun. 

C.  Why  does  the  Church  sing  the  "  Miserere  "  during  so  great  a 
part  of  the  year  ? 

P.  To  show  that  in  this  life  we  rather  "  sow  in  tears  "  than  "  reap 
in  joy." 


76  APPENDIX.  -^ 

C.  What  is  a  cope  ?    You  have  not  yet  mentioned  that  vestment. 

P.  It  is  a  rich  habit,  covering  the  whole  person,  with  a  hood  or 
cape,  generally  bearing  some  embroidery,  joined  in  front  by  a  clasp. 

C.  On  what  occasions  is  it  used  ? 

P.  At  all  solemn  offices  except  the  Mass. 

C.  Is  it,  like  the  chasuble,  peculiar  to  the  priest  ? 

P.  No  ;  it  may  be  worn  by  any  assistant  at  solemn  ceremonies,  even 
by  a  cantor  not  in  orders. 


Chapter  II. 

The  Incensing  of  the  Altar. 

C.  What  is  the  first  ceremony  after  the  priest  reaches  the  altar  ? 

P.  The  incensing. 

C.  Is  the  use  of  incense  very  ancient  in  the  Church  ? 

P.  Yes  ;  it  is  prescribed  in  all  the  older  Liturgies,  and  mentioned 
in  the  writings  of  the  Fathers. 

C  What  is  its  origin  ? 

P.  It  was  adopted  from  the  Jewish  Church  into  the  Christian.  It 
is  prescribed  in  Exod.  xxx.,  and  a  rule  given  for  its  composition. 
Zacharias  was  accosted,  while  engaged  in  sacrifice,  by  the  Angel  of  the 
Lord,  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  the  altar  of  incense  (St.  Luke  i. 
10, 11).  And  to  St.  John  (Apoc.  iii.  5)  it  was  revealed,  as  part  of  the 
worship  in  heaven :  "  Another  Angel  came,  and  stood  before  the  altar, 
having  a  golden  thurible  ;  and  there  was  given  to  him  much  incense, 
that  he  should  offer  of  the  prayers  of  all  Saints  upon  the  golden  altar, 
which  is  before  the  throne  of  God And  the  Angel  took  the  thuri- 
ble, and  filled  it  with  the  fire  of  the  altar." 

C\  Do  not  some  object  to  the  Church  preserving  portions  of  the 
outward  worship  of  Jews  and  Heathens  ? 

P.  The  outward  shell  of  religion  is  everywhere  the  same,  having 
been  constructed  on  a  type  which  came  originally  from  God ;  but  the 
spirit  by  which  this  framework  is  animated  and  informed,  was  one 
thing  in  Heathenism,  another  in  Judaism,  and  is  still  quite  another  in 
the  Christian  Church.  In  Heathenism,  it  was  a  diabolical  spirit ;  in 
Judaism,  a  true  but  imperfect  one ;  in  the  Church  alone  is  it  the  Spirit 
of  all  Truth,  not  given  in  the  way  of  earnest  or  instalment,  but  "  with- 
out measure  ";  even  as  at  His  first  coming  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  He 
stinted  not  His  gracious  vouchsafements,  but  at  once  "  filled  the  whole 
house  where  they  were  sitting,"  that  is,  the  whole  of  the. then  Church 
of  God  (Acts  ii.  2). 


HIGH   OR   SOLEMN   MASS.  77 

01  Please  to  explain  tlie  ceremony  of  incensing  the  altar. 

P.  The  priest  having  said  the  introductory  prayers  of  Mass,  tnms 
round  by  his  right,  and  then,  with  his  side  to  the  altar,  puts  incense 
into  the  thurible,  the  deacon  ministering  the  spoon  and  holding  the 
incense-boat.  The  priest  then  blesses  the  incense  with  the  words : 
"  Mayest  thou  be  blessed  by  Him  in  whose  honor  thou  art  burned."  * 
Then  receiving  the  thurible  from  the  deacon,  who  kisses  the  end  of  its 
chain,  and  the  hand  of  the  priest,  on  giving  it,  he  proceeds  to  incense 
the  altar,  beginning  with  the  crucifix,  to  w^hich  he  gives  three  incens- 
ings  ;  and  then  proceed^  along  the  epistle,  and  goes  on  to  the  gospel 
side,  genuflecting  f  if  the  Blessed  Sacrament  be  present,  or  bowing  if 
otherwise ;  and  passing  back  to  the  epistle  corner,  w^here  he  returns 
the  thurible  to  the  deacon,  who  receives  it  with  the  aforementioned 
ceremonies,  and  then  incenses  the  priest  himself  three  times,  and 
finally  restores  the  thurible  into  the  hands  of  the  thurifer.  The  priest 
then  reads,  while  the  choir  sings,  the  "  Introit." 


Chapter  III.  ^ 

The  Kyrie  and  Gloria  in  excelsis. 

P.  The  priest  then  recites  in  a  low  voice  the  "  Kyrie  eleison,"  tuc; 
deacon  and  subdeacon  joining  him  at  the  epistle  end  of  the  altar,  and 
reciting  it  alternately  with  him.  Then  they  go  with  the  priest  to  the 
seats  and  remain  seated  while  the  choir  sings  the  "  Kyrie,"  or  if  it  be 
short,  remain  at  the  altar.  The  Kyrie  of  the  choir  ended,  the  priest 
goes  to  the  middle  of  the  altar,  and  gives  out  the  first  words  of  the 
"  Gloria  in  excelsis,"  which  the  choir  takes  up.  The  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon,  after  the  proper  reverence  in  these  places,  behind  the  priest, 
go  to  either  side  of  him  and  repeat  with  him  the  words  of  the  "  Gloria." 
Then  all  go  to  the  seats,  where  they  remain  with  heads  covered  (except 
at  the  words  at  which  inclinations  of  the  head  were  noted  in  Low  Mass), 
while  the  "  Gloria  "  is  singing  by  the  choir.  Then  all  rise,  and,  on  com- 
ing in  front  of  the  altar,  make  the  proper  reverence.  The  priest  as- 
cends to  the  altar,  the  deacon  retiring  behind  him,  and  the  subdeacon 
taking  his  place  behind  the  deacon. 

THE   COLLECTS,   EPISTLE,   AND   GOSPEL. 

P.  The  priest  having  sung  "Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  been 
answered  by  the  chok,  moves  to  the  Missal  at  the  epistle  corner, 
and  sings  the  Collect  or  Collects  of  the  day.     The  deacon  and  sub- 

*  The  Bishop,  where  assisting  pontifically,  blesses  the  incense.  f  See  above. 


78  APPENDIX. 

deacon  move  to  their  proper  places  behind  him.  The  Collects  over,  the 
deacon  moves  np  to  the  side  of  the  priest,  and  assists  and  answers  him, 
while  he  reads  the  Epistle,  Gradual,  and,  if'  so  be.  Tract  or  Sequence. 
Meanwhile  the  Epistle  of  the  day  is  sung  from  behind  the  priest  by 
tlie  subdeacon,  in  the  exercise  of  the  power  given  him  at  his  ordina- 
tion. Having  first  received  the  book  of  Epistles  and  Gospels  from  the 
proper  assistant,  he  carries  it  to  the  steps  of  the  altar,  and  there  genu- 
flects with  it.  Then  returning  to  his  place  and  holding  the  book  in  his 
hands,  he  sings  in  a  loud  voice  the  Epistle  of  the  day.  At  its  close,  he 
again  takes  the  book  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  after  genuflecting,  car- 
ries it  to  the  epistle  corner,  where  he  kneels  with  the  book,  kisses  the 
hand  of  the  priest  laid  on  the  book,  and  receives  his  blessing.*  He 
then  restores  the  book  to  the  assistant,  and  removes  the  Missal  to  the 
other  side  of  the  altar  for  the  priest  to  read  the  Gospel. 

The  priest  then  goes  to  the  centre  of  the  altar  to  say  in  secret  the 
prayers  of  preparation  for  the  Gospel,  as  at  Low  Mass  ;  and  afterward, 
in  a  low  voice,  reads  the  Gospel,  with  the  ceremonies  formerly  de-, 
scribed.  The  choir  is  now  singing  the  Gradual,  and  (when  they  occur) 
the  Tract  or  Sequence.  During  the  Sequence  the  priest  and  ministers  . 
either  sit,  or  stand  one  behind  the  other. 

Meansvhile  the  deacon  receives  the  book  of  the  Gospels,  and,  car- 
rying it  to  the  front  of  the  altar,  genuflects,  goes  up  to  the  altar,  and 
sets  the  book  upon  it.f  He  next  assists  the  priest  in  putting  incense 
into  the  thurible,  with  the  same  ceremonies  as  before. 

C.  For  what  is  this  incense  ? 

P.  For  the  ceremonies  at  the  singing  of  the  Gospel,  which  is  draw- 
ing near. 

The  deacon,  having  thus  assisted  with  the  incense-boat,  kneels  on 
the  top  step  to  say  the  '•'•Munda  cor  menin^''  in  preparation  for  singing 
the  Gospel :  an  office  especially  assigned  him  at  his  ordination.  Then 
he  takes  from  the  altar  the  book  of  the  Gospels,  and  kneeling  with  it 
before  the  priest,  asks  his  blessing  with  the  words,  "  Jube,  domne,  be- 
nedicere," — "My  lord,  be  pleased  to  bless  me";  then  the  priest  pro- 
nounces the  blessing  over  him  as  follows  :  '•  Our  Lord  be  in  thy  heart 
and  on  thy  lips,  that  worthily  and  competently  thou  mayest  announce 
His  Gospel.  In  the  Name  of  the  Father,  ^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost";  at  the  same  time  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  over 
him  with  his  right  hand,  which  the  deacon  kisses. 

The  deacon  then  rises  and,  bowing,  retires  with  the  book  below  the 

*  Where  the  Bishop  assists  pontifically,  the  subdeacon  receives  the  blessing  from  him. 
f  The  6ac/fc  of  the  sacred  book  is  never  turned  toward  the  tabernacle. 


HIGH   OR  SOLEMN   MASS.  79 

steps,  where,  with  the  subdeacon  and  attendants,  he  genuflects,  and 
goes,  accompanied  by  the  subdeacon,  assistants,  and  acolytes  bearing 
their  lighted  candles,  to  the  place  prepared  for  singing  the  Gospel. 
Then,  the  subdeacon  holding  the  book,  the  deacon  sings  in  a  loud  voice, 
"  Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  is  answered  by  the  choir  with  the  usual  re- 
sponse. On  announcing  the  title  of  the  Gospel,  he  signs  the  book  and 
himself,  according  to  the  form  specified  at  Low  Mass,  Tlie  title  hav- 
ing been  announced,  he  receives  the  thurible  from  the  thurifer  ;  and 
while  the  choir  is  singing  "  Gloria  Tibi,  Domine,"  in  answer  to  the  an- 
nouncement, incenses  the  sacred  text  three  times,  and  makes  a  moder- 
ate inclination  of  the  head.  Having  returned  the  thurible  to  the 
thurifer,  he  proceeds  to  sing  the  Gospel  in  the  ecclesiastical  tone. 
Having  concluded  it,  and  pointed  out  the  first  words  to  the  subdeacon, 
the  latter  carries  the  book  to  the  priest,  that  he  may  kiss  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Gospel.  The  deacon  afterward  incenses  the  priest  three 
times.  Then  (if  there  be  a  sermon)  all  make  the  proper  inclination  at 
the  altar,  and  retire  to  the  seats,  as  at  the  "  Gloria." 


Chapter  IV. 
The  Creed. 

P.  After  the  sermon  (if  there  be  one),  the  priest  rises  from  his  seat, 
and,  attended  by  the  deacon  and  subdeacon,  proceeds  in  front  of  the 
altar.  The  priest  then  goes  up  to  the  altar,  and  the  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon fall  behind  into  their  places.  The  priest  then  intones  the  first 
words  of  the  Creed,  "  Credo  in  unum  Deum,"  to  a  form  supplied  him 
in  the  Missal.  The  deacon  and  subdeacon  having  genuflected,  or 
bowed,  leave  their  places  and  come  to  either  side  of  the  priest,  where 
they  repeat  with  him,  in  a  low  voice,  the  remainder  of  the  Creed,  all 
kneeling  at  "  Et  incarnatus  est,"  and  bowing  to  the  crucifix  at  the 
words  specified  in  the  account  of  Low  Mass.  At  the  words,  "  Et  vitam 
venturi  sa?culi.  Amen,"  the  deacon  and  subdeacon  cross  themselves, 
with  the  priest.  Then  all  go  to  the  seats,  where  they  remain  till  the 
choir  (which  has  taken  up  the  Creed  after  the  intonation  of  the  priest) 
has  concluded  the  singing  of  it. 

C.  I  observe  the  deacon  get  up  from  his  seat,  and  go  to  the  altar, 
after  the  choir  has  sung  "  Et  incarnatus  est,"  in  the  Creed. 

P.  Yes  ;  this  is  to  remove  from  the  credence-table  to  tlie  altar  the 
hurse,  containing  the  corporal,  which  he  spreads  for  the  Sacrifice,  and 
then  draws  the  Missal  from  the  gospel  aide  toward  the  middle,  for 
the  convenience  of  the  priest  who  is  to  use  it.    During  this  ceremony, 


80  APPE]srDix. 

the  subdeacon  rises,  and  stands  uncovered  ;  the  acolytes  also  rise  and 
stand.    On  passing  the  priest,  the  deacon  inclines  his  head. 


Chapter  Y. 
The  Solemn  Offertory. 

P.  The  Creed  having  been  ended  by  the  choir,  the  priest,  attended 
by  the  deacon  and  subdeacon,  goes  to  the  altar  (for  the  last  time)  in 
the  same  form  as  after  the  '"  Gloria  "  and  the  sermon.  The  deacon  and 
subdeacon  again  fall  into  their  places  behind  him,  and  the  priest,  after 
kissing  the  altar,  sings  the  ''  Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  is  answered  by 
the  choir.  (See  Low  Mass.)  He  then  sings  the  "Oremus"  for  the 
"  Offertorium,"  which  he  says  in  a  low  voice ;  the  choir  meanwhile 
singing  or  reciting  it. 

The  deacon  now  leaves  his  place,  having  first  made  the  proper  rev- 
erence, and  goes  to  tlie  epistle  side  of  the  altar ;  while  the  subdeacon 
proceeds  to  the  credence-table  before  mentioned,  where  he  finds  the 
chalice  and  paten  prepared  for  the  Sacrifice,  covered  with  a  long  veil 
of  the  color  of  the  day,  as  well  as  the  short  one  by  which  they  are 
always  covered  when  not  in  use.  The  long  veil  is  placed  over  his 
shoulders  to  cover  the  sacred  vessels,  which  he  then  receives  into  his 
hands,  and  carries  to  the  epistle  side  of  the  altar,  where  the  deacon, 
putting  aside  the  long  veil,  receives  the  vessels  and  sets  them  on  the 
altar.  The  deacon  then  presents  the  priest  with  the  paten  bearing 
the  Bread  of  the  Sacrifice,  kissing  the  paten  and  his  hand.  While 
the  priest  is  offering  the  paten  (as  at  Low  Mass),  the  deacon  pours 
sufficient  wine  into  the  chalice  ;  and  the  subdeacon,  holding  the  cruet 
of  water  in  his  hand,  invokes  the  blessing  of  the  priest  in  the  words, 
"Benedicite,  pater  reverende  (or  reverendissime)," — "Reverend  (or 
Right  Reverend)  Father,  please  to  give  your  blessing." 

C  Why  "benedicite"  in  the  plural,  and  not  "benedic"? 

P.  The  plural  is  always  a  token  of  respect.  Then  the  priest* 
blesses  the  water,  as  at  Low  Mass,  and  the  subdeacon  proceeds  to  pour 
a  few  drops  into  the  chalice,  which  the  deacon  wipes  in  the  inside 
with  the  purificatory  down  to  the  surface  of  the  liquid. 

C.  Now  I  see  that  the  ministers  of  the  Church  are  fulfilling  all 
their  proper  functions. 

P.  Yes,  because  High  Mass  is  the  most  perfect  celebration  of  the 
Sacrifice.  You  have  seen  that  the  subdeacon  sings  the  Epistle,  and 
the  deacon  the  Gospel.    Now  you  see  the  subdeacon  assisting  with 

*  Or  Bishop,  when  assisting  pontifically. 


HIGH   OR   SOLEMN   MASS.  81 

the  water,  and  tlie  deacon  with  the  wine.  All  this  is  according  to  the 
proper  duties  of  their  several  offices. 

The  deacon  now  presents  the  priest  with  the  chalice,  as  before  with 
the  paten,  kissing  it  at  the  foot  and  the  priest's  hand.  Then,  with,  his 
left  hand  holding  back  the  priest's  vestment  to  leave  play  for  his 
arm,  and  with  his  right  touching  the  foot  of  the  chalice,  or  the  arm 
of  the  priest  holding  it,  he  repeats  with  the  priest  the  words  of  obla- 
tion, which,  you  may  remember,  I  told  you  were  put  in  the  plural 
form  on  that  account. 

C.  Can  the  deacon  touch  the  Blessed  Sacrament  ? 

P.  'No ;  but  he  can  touch  vessels  containing  it ;  which  the  sub- 
deacon  may  not  do.  When  the  Blood  of  our  Lord  was  given  in 
ancient  times  to  the  Faithful,  it  was  the  deacon  who  administered  it. 
You  see,  therefore,  the  beautiful  harmony  of  the  Church's  pro- 
visions ;  the  wi7ie  is  the  deacon's  charge, — the  more  honorable  mate- 
rial belongs  to  the  more  honorable  ministry ; — the  water  falls  to  the 
subdeacon,  as  the  inferior. 

But  to  proceed ;  the  oblation  of  the  chalice  over,  the  deacon  next 
gives  the  paten,  after  wiping  it  with  the  purificatory,  into  the  hands  of 
the  subdeacon,  and  covers  it  with  the  end  of  the  long  veil  still  worn  by 
the  latter,  who,  bearing  the  paten  so  covered,  proceeds  with  it  to  his 
proper  place  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  where  he  continues  holding  it 
till  the  end  of  the  "  Pater  noster." 

a  Why  is  this  ? 

P.  It  is  said  to  date  from  the  time  when  the  Faithful  offered  bread 
and  wine  on  the  paten.  As  these  offerings  were  large,  the  size  of  the 
paten  Avas  in  proportion,  and,  being  inconvenient  on  the  altar,  it  was 
removed,  and  held  by  the  subdeacon  till  wanted  again  by  the  priest.* 
Certainly  it  is  very  much  in  the  Church's  way  to  maintain  practices 
in  symbol  after  she  has  dropped  them  in  their  official  use. 

C  Does  not  the  choir  sing  something  here  ? 

P.  Yes ;  first  (properly)  the  sentence  called  the  Offertorium,  and 
then,  according  to  a  common  practice,  what  is  called  an  Offertory 
piece^  or  Motett,  on  some  appropriate  subject.  There  is  always  a 
considerable  pause  in  this  part  of  the  Mass,  to  allow  time  for  the  va- 
rious ceremonies  at  the  altar,  and  it  seems  reasonable  enough  that 
the  devotions  of  the  Faithful  should  be  assisted  by  some  suitable 
piece  of  music. 

THE  INCENSING  AT  THE  OFFERTORY. 

P.  And  now,  the  priest  having  said  in  secret  the  prayers  following 


*  Vid.  Le  Brun.  Cerem.  de  la  Messe. 


82 


APPENDIX. 


the  oblation  of  the  chalice  (as  given  at  Low  Mass),  turns  his  left  side 
to  the  altar,  to  put  incense  into  the  thurible,  the  thurifer  holding  it, 
and  the  deacon  ministering  the  boat,  as  on  the  two  former  occasions. 
But  as  this  incensing  is  the  most  solemn  of  all,  the  Church  orders  that, 
it  be  accompanied  by  special  words. 

Instead,  then,  of  blessing  the  incense  in  the  usual  form,  "  Mayest 
thou  be  blessed  by  Him  in  whose  honor  thou  art  burned,"  the  priest 
now  says  secretly,  on  casting  in  the  three  separate  portions,  "  By  the 
intercession  of  blessed  Michael  the  archangel,  standing  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  altar  of  incense,^  and  of  all  His  elect,  the  Lord  vouchsafe 
to  bless  "f"  this  incense,  and  to  receive  it  in  the  odor  of  sweetness, 
through  Christ  our  Lord";  making  over  the  incense  the  sign  of  the 
cross.f 

Then  the  priest,  receiving  the  thurible  from  the  deacon,  who  kisses 
it  and  his  hand,  proceeds  to  incense  the  ohlata,  or  bread  and  wine  of 
the  Sacrifice.  Making  over  them  with  the  thurible  three  crosses, 
and  then  round  them  three  circles  (the  last  in  reverse  order),  he  says 
the  following  words,  still  in  secret :  "  May  this  incense,  blessed  by 
Thee,  ascend  to  Thee,  O  Lord  ;  and  may  there  descend  upon  us  Thy 
mercy." 

He  next  incenses  the  crucifix  thrice,  with  the  words  of  Psalm  cxl. 
verse  2 :  "  Let  my  prayer  be  directed  as  incense  in  Thy  sight."  Then, 
while  he  incenses  the  whole  altar  on  the  epistle  and  gospel  side,  and 
returns  to  the  former  (as  at  the  beginning  of  the  Mass),  he  continues 
the  words  of  the  same  Psalm  :  "  The  lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  an  even- 
ing sacrifice.:}:  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before  my  mouth,  and  a  door 
round  about  my  lips  ;  that  my  heart  incline  not  to  evil  words,  to  make 
excuses  in  sins."  Then  he  restores  the  thurible  to  the  deacon  at  the 
epistle  side,  saying,  "  May  our  Lord  enkindle  within  us  the  fire  of 
His  love,  and  the  flame  of  eternal  charity."  The  deacon  receives  it, 
kissing  it  and  his  hand  as  before,  and  incenses  him  thrice. §  Then  the 
deacon  goes  off  to  incense  the  clergy  in  choir.  Last  of  all,  he  incenses 
the  subdeacon,  and  is  himself  incensed  by  the  thurifer.  But  whereas 
he  incenses  the  celebrating  priest  thrice,  he  incenses  the  clergy,  the 
subdeacon,  and  is  himself  incensed,  but  twice.  The  celebrant  remain- 
ing at  the  epistle  end  of  the  altar,  washes  his  hands,  saying  secretly 
the  psalm  "  Lavabo,"  as  already  explained.     He  then  proceeds  with 


*  See  St.  Luke  \.  11.  t  See  note  at  p.  77. 

%  These  words  are  beautifully  applied  by  the  Church  to  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  which 
was  consummated  toward  eventide. 

§  If  the  Bishop  assist  at  the  Mass  pontifically,  he  also  is  incensed  thrice. 


HIGH   OR   SOLEMN   MASS.  83 

the  additional  prayer  of  oblation,  the  "  Orate  fratres,"  and  the  secret 
prayers,  as  at  Low  Mass,  the  chief  attendant  assisting  at  the  Missal. 

Chapter  VI. 
The  Preface  in  Solemn  Mass. 

C.  The  Preface  seems  to  be  a  very  prominent  feature  in  solemn 
Mass. 

P.  It  is  so  ;  the  Church  invests  it  with  great  dignity,  by  clothing 
its  words  of  unspeakable  majesty  in  a  chant  which  may  be  truly  said, 
though  it  is  saying  a  great  deal,  to  be  worthy  of  thfem. 

C.  Is  this  chant  of  great  antiquity  ? 

P.  Yes ;  it  is  believed  to  preserve  portions  of  the  music  of  the 
Temple- worship  ;  and  some  think  that  fragments  of  it  were  learned 
by  apostles  and  apostolic  men  in  moments  of  intimate  communion 
with  heaven. 

C.  And  the  choir  responds,  does  it  not,  also  in  song,  to  the  versicles 
which  occur  in  the  Preface  1 

P.  Yes  ;  so  as  to  resemble  and  represent  the  voices  of  angels  meet- 
ing with  sympathetic  joy  these  reiterated  appeals  to  their  devotion 
and  gratitude. 

C.  Does  the  tone  or  chant  of  the  solemn  Preface  vary  at  different 
times  ? 

P.  Yes ;  because  the  words  of  the  Preface  themselves  vary.  On 
Ferial  Days,  or  in  Masses  of  the  Dead,  it  has  less  variety  of  notes,  and 
is  consequently  less  joyful. 

C.  Does  the  priest  sing  the  "  Sanctus  "  at  the  end  of  the  Preface  ? 

P.  No  ;  he  says  it,  and  the  choir  sings  it. 

C.  Does  the  priest  say  the  "  Sanctus "  with  any  particular  cere- 
monies ? 

P.  The  deacon  and  subdeacon  go  to  either  side  of  him  at  the  altar, 
and  say  it  with  him.  The  subdeacon  then  returns  to  his  own  place, 
and  the  deacon  takes  Jiis  place  at  the  priest's  left  hand,  to  assist  in 
turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  Missal  at  the  Canon. 


Chapter  VII. 

The  Canon  and  Consecration  in  Solemn  Mass. 

P.  The  Consecration  is  now  drawing  on,  and,  with  a  view  to  it,  the 
principal  assistant  at  the  ceremonies  goes  out  to  bring  additional 
acolytes  with  lighted  torches.     The  rubric  directs  that  at  every  Mass 


84  APPENDIX. 

a  candle  shall  be  lighted  for  the  consecration,  but  this  is  commonly 
interpreted  of  High  Mass  alone.  The  acolytes  having  come  in, 
arrange  themselves  in  presence  of  the  altar  ;  and  shortly  before  the 
consecration,  the  deacon,  having  genuflected,  moves  round  to  the  right 
of  the  priest,  and  goes  on  both  knees.  At  the  same  time  the  subdeacon, 
lowering  the  paten  which  he  still  carries,  kneels  in  his  place.  Incense 
is  then  put  into  the  thurible  to  honor  the  Blessed  Sacrament  at  the 
consecration.  When  the  priest  inclines  to  say  the  words  of  consecra- 
tion, all  the  ministers  and  assistants  bend  forward,  and  remain  in  a 
posture  of  profound  inclination  till  after  the  consecration  in  both 
species.  When  the  consecration  and  adoration  of  the  Sacred  Body  are 
over,  the  deacon  rises  and  removes  the  pall  from  the  chalice  ;  and  after 
the  consecration  and  adoration  of  the  precious  Blood,  he  replaces  it. 
The  chief  assistant  incenses  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord ;  after 
the  Consecration,  it  is  usual  for  th6  choir  to  sing  the  "  Benedictus." 


Chaptee  YIII. 

From  the  Oonsecration  to  the  '■''Pater  nosterP 

P.  After  the  Consecration  the  deacon  and  subdeacon  rise ;  and  the 
deacon,  having  genuflected,  goes  again  to  the  left  side  of  the  priest  to 
assist  at  the  Missal.  All  proceeds  as  at  Low  Mass,  till  after  the  Me- 
mento of  the  Dead,  when  the  deacon  again  genuflects,  and  goes  to  the 
right  of  the  priest  to  remove  the  pall  from  the  chalice  for  the  "  Little 
Elevation  "  (see  Low  Mass) ;  also,  when  the  priest  makes  the  sign  of 
the  Cross  over  the  Sacred  Host  and  chalice,  the  deacon  steadies  the 
latter  at  the  foot,  in  virtue  of  his  privilege  of  touching  vessels  contain- 
ing the  Body  or  Blood  of  our  Lord.  When  the  priest  comes  to  the 
"  Pater  noster,"  the  deacon,  having  genuflected,  leaves  the  altar,  and 
goes  to  his  place  behind  the  priest. 


Chaptee  IX. 
From  the  ^'■Pater  noster  "  to  the  Communion. 

C.  Does  not  the  priest  sing  the  "  Pater  noster "  as  well  as  the 
Preface  ? 

P.  Yes,  to  a  beautiful  tone  prescribed  in  the  Missal.  This,  like  the 
tone  of  the  Preface,  is  simpler  on  Ferias  and  in  Masses  of  the  Dead 
than  at  other  times.  When  the  priest  comes  near  the  end,  the  deacon 
and  subdeacon,  having  genuflected  at  their  places,  go  up  to  the  altar. 
The  subdeacon  then  delivers  up  the  paten  to  the  deacon,  who  wipes  it 


HIGH   OR  SOLEMN   MASS.  85 

with  the  purificatory,  and  gives  it  to  the  priest  after  the  "Pater 
noster"  (see  Low  Mass),  kissing  its  edge  and  the  priest's  hand.  An 
attendant  removes  the  long  veil  from  the  shoulders  of  the  subdeacon, 
who  genuflects,  and  returns  to  his  place.  The  deacon  stays  by  the 
priest  at  his  right  to  remove  the  pall  from  the  chalice,  and  steady  it 
when  necessary.  At  the  proper  place  the  priest  sings,  to  a  tone  pre- 
scribed in  the  Missal,  the  '' Pax  Domini."  Then  the  subdeacon  joins 
him  at  the  altar,  and,  with  the  deacon,  accompanies  the  priest  in  saying 
the  "  Agnus  Dei."  This  over,  the  subdeacon  goes  down  to  his  place  ; 
the  deacon  goes  on  both  knees  while  the  priest  says  the  first  of  the 
three  prayers  before  the  Communion. 

And  here  succeeds  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  affecting  cere- 
monies of  Mass,  called  the  "  Pax  "—the  memorial  of  the  holy  "  kiss  of 
peace,"  mentioned  in  St.  Paul's  epistles,  and  practiced  in  the  early 
ages,  but  afterward  discontinued  in  consequence  of  abuses  or  scandals. 
I  have  lately  said  that  the  Church  is  not  apt  to  drop  holy  customs 
altogether,  but  preserves  them  in  ceremonies  after  their  use  has  passed 
away.  Thus  it  is  with  the  "kiss  of  peace."  This  kiss  is  given  at 
Solemn  Mass,  after  the  "  Agnus  Dei,"  to  the  deacon  and  subdeacon  ; 
and  when  there  are  clergy  present,  to  them  also.  The  manner  of  giv- 
ing it  is  as  follows  : 

After  the  first  of  the  three  jjrayers  before  Communion,  the  deacon 
rises  from  his  knees,  and  kisses  the  altar  with  the  celebrant ;  then  the 
celebrant,  placing  his  hand  on  the  deacon,  inclines  toward  his  cheek, 
saying,  "  Pax  tecum,"  "  Peace  be  with  you  ":  and  is  answered  by  the 
deacon,  "  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo,"  "  And  with  thy  spirit."  The  priest  then 
goes  on  with  the  following  prayers.  The  deacon  meanwhile  goes  down, 
and  gives  the  same  "  peace  "  to  the  subdeacon,  in  the  same  form.  Then 
both  genvfiect  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  and  the  subdeacon  goes  off 
to  the  choir,  where  he  again  gives  the  "  peace  "  to  the  superior  of  the 
clergy,  he  to  the  next  below,  and  so  on,  till  all  have  received,  down  to 
the  youngest  of  those  in  surplices.  In  each  case  the  inferior  bows 
to  the  superior,  before  and  after  giving  the  "  Pax,"  but  not  vice 
versa. 

C.  Is  the  "  peace  "  given  in  all  Masses  ? 

P.  No  ;  not  in  the  Masses  of  the  Dead,  when,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
form  of  the  "  Agnus  Dei "  is  changed,  and  the  first  of  the  following 
Prayers  not  said.  It  is  likewise  omitted  on  the  great  "  Triduum," 
or  Three  sacred  Days  of  the  Passion  of  our  Divine  Redeemer  ;  this  is 
said  to  be  in  abhorrence  of  the  treacherous  kiss  of  Judas.  Even  in  the 
joyful  Mass  of  Holy  Saturday  the  "  peace  "  is  omitted,  to  be  resumed 
with  all  the  greater  propriety  on  Easter  morning,  when,  in  early  times, 


86  APPENDIX. 

Christians  embraced  one  another,  as  they  said,  "The  Lord  is  risen 
indeed,  Alleluia." 

C.  Does  the  ceremony  of  the  "  Pax  "  proceed  in  silence  ? 

P.  The  words  are  said  in  audibly  ;  but  the  choir  meanwhile  is  sing- 
ing the  "Agnus  Dei,"  having  taken  it  up  after  the  priest.  The  sub- 
deacon,  after  giving  the  Pax,  returns  to  the  altar  to  assist  the  priest 
at  the  Communion,  at  which  he  and  the  deacon  incline  the  head. 

C.  Do  the  faithful  ever  communicate  at  High  Mass  ? 

P.  Yes,  often,  when  it  is  at  an  early  hour  ;  but  when,  as  is  usual 
among  ourselves,  it  is  the  latest  of  all  the  Masses  of  the  day,  and  is 
seldom  over  till  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  the  Faithful  generally  com- 
municate at  an  earlier  Mass. 

C.  "When  given  at  High  Mass,  is  the  Communion  in  any  way  more 
solemn  ? 

P.  The  deacon  and  subdeacon  receive  (if  at  all)  first,  and  on  the  top 
step  of  the  sanctuary  ;  then  the  clergy  (if  any)  in  surplices,  and  then 
the  laity.  The  deacon,  having  himself  communicated,  accompanies  the 
priest  in  giving  Communion  to  the  rest,  holding  the  paten  under  the 
Sacred  Host,  as  it  is  placed  on  the  tongue  of  the  receiver. 

C.  Do  priests  ever  communicate,  except  at  the  Mass  which  they 
themselves  celebrate  ? 

P.  Rarely ;  because  the  same  reason  which  hinders  them  from 
saying  Mass,  is  likely  to  hinder  them  from  going  to  Communion.  But 
sometimes  this  is  not  so,  as,  for  example,  with  a  priest  newly  ordained, 
who  has  not  as  yet  said  his  first  Mass  ;  and  on  Holy  Thursday,  when 
but  one  priest  celebrates  and  the  rest  communicate. 

C.  Does  a  priest  communicating  at  the  Mass  of  another  priest  re- 
ceive our  Lord  under  one  or  under  both  species  ? 

P.  Under  oiie;  and  this  even  though  he  were  a  Bishop,  or  the 
Pope  himself. 

C.  Indeed  ?  Then  it  is  untrue  to  sjjeak  of  the  law  which  restricts 
the  communion  of  the  chalice,  as  made  against  the  laity  f 

P.  Yes  ;  the  distinction  which  the  Church  makes  is  not  between 
the  clergy  and  laity,  but  between  the  celebrant  and  all  others. 

C.  Is  this  generally  known  ? 

P.  Very  possibly  not ;  for  the  ignorance  which  prevails  about  our 
institutions  is  wonderfiil,  and  only  equalled  by  the  freedom  with 
which  they  are  discussed  and  criticised. 

C.  But,  after  all,  if  I  may  ask,  why  does  the  Church  refuse  the 
precious  Blood  of  our  Lord  to  any  of  the  Faithful,  contrary,  as  might 
seem,  to  His  institution,  and  the  practice  of  early  times  ? 

P.  Do  you  ask  for  your  own  satisfaction,  or  with  a  view  to  others  ' 


HIGH   OR  SOLEMN   MASS.  87 

C  For  others  only. 

P.  Well,  then,  hear  me.  Do  you  know  what  is  meant  by  the  doe- 
trine  of  concomitance  ? 

C.  I  think  so.  It  is  that  our  Divine  Lord  is  entire  under  each 
species  ;  so  that  the  bread,  after  consecration,  is  not  His  Body  in  any 
such  sense  as  to  be  without  His  precious  Blood  ;  nor  the  wine,  after 
consecration.  His  Blood  in  any  such  sense  as  to  be  without  His  most 
sacred  Body. 

P.  Very  well.  And  now  see  what  Protestant  objectors  to  the  with- 
holding of  the  chalice  in  certain  cases  suppose ;  namely,  that  the  doc- 
trine you  have  just  stated  is  untrue. 

C  How  so  ? 

P.  Because  they  suppose  that  such  as  receive  our  Lord  under  one 
species  alone,  receive  Him  but  in  part.  Consequently,  in  their  com- 
munions (if  they  profess  any  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence  at  all),  they 
think  that  they  receive  the  Body  of  our  Lord  without  His  most  pre- 
cious Blood,  and  His  Blood  apart  from  His  most  sacred  Body.  This 
opinion  presumes  such  a  separation  between  the  constituents  of  the 
One  Christ  as  was  never  realized,  except  during  the  three  days  be- 
tween His  crucifixion  and  resurrection.  It  supposes  the  whole  Christ 
to  be  received  by  receiving  the  two  parts  of  which  the  Whole  is  made 
up,  but  which,  in  His  living  Person,  are  inseparable.  We  not  only 
condemn  the  doctrine,  but  abhor  the  notion  of  so  unnatural  a  separa- 
tion. We  remember  that  our  Lord,  "  being  risen  from  the  dead,  dieth 
no  more."  "  He  is  not  dead.  He  is  risen."  We  cannot  even  imagine 
receiving  Him  at  all,  without  receiving  Him  as  He  is.  Those  essential 
parts  of  His  bodily  nature,  His  entire  Flesh  and  His  Blood,  once  and 
forever  joined,  we  dare  not  sunder  even  in  idea,  even  in  figure,  still 
less  in  act.  It  would  seem  to  us  almost  like  crucifying  Him  afresh, 
and  then  feeding  upon  Him,  not  by  a  most  high  and  mystical  and  yet 
real  participation,  but  rather  as  we  might  partake  of  merely  human 
food. 

Now  the  limitation  of  the  chalice  to  the  celebrant  was  introduced 
as  a  point  of  discipline,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the  Church's  undoubted 
power  of  regulating  all  matters  of  practice  according  to  the  necessities 
of  the  occasion  ;  yet,  incidentally,  her  modification  of  the  Eucharistic 
institute  has  undoubtedly  subserved  the  great  purpose  of  investing 
with  life,  and  embodying  in  action,  this  great  doctrine  of  concomi- 
tance, the  neglect  of  which  has  led  to  results  so  unspeakably  preju- 
dicial to  the  doctrine  of  the  integritj^  of  our  Lord's  bodily  nature. 

C.  But  is  not  the  restriction  of  the  chalice  to  the  celebrant  against 
the  institution  of  Christ,  and  the  practice  of  the  early  Church  ? 


88 


APPENDIX. 


P.  It  is  anything  but  clear,  even  from  the  letter  of  Holy  Scripture 
itself,  that  our  Lord,  in  giving  of  the  chalice  to  His  Apostles,  de- 
signed to  impose  on  them  and  their  successors  the  necessary  duty  of 
dispensing  it  to  all  others.  Theii*  office  was  peculiar ;  and  the  first  cele- 
bration of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  in  which  the  Apostles  were  gifted  with 
powers,*  and  not  merely  admitted  to  a  privilege,  is  no  precedent  for  all 
subsequent  celebrations.  Had  others  besides  the  Twelve  been  present 
at  the  Last  Supper,  and  received  of  the  chalice,  that  would  have  been 
a  precedent.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  remarkable  that,  in  all  the 
earliest  notices  of  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  subsequently  to  the  Resur- 
rection, bread  only  is  named  as  the  sacramental  matter. f  Again:  it 
is  certain  that,  in  the  early  Church,  infants  were  communicated  under 
the  species  of  wine  alone. 

Thus  you  see  that  the  Church  has  ever  taken  on  herself  to  dispense 
this  precious  Gift  according  to  the  free  discretion  with  which  our  Lord 
has  intrusted  her ;  modif  jdng  first  the  institution  itself,  and  then 
modifying  even  her  own  modifications ;  relaxing,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, the  restriction  upon  the  faithful  at  large,  and  placing 
even  her  priests  upon  a  par  with  others,  when  they  present  themselves 
with  others  at  her  banquet ;  as  if  to  take  from  her  people  the  reproach 
of  exclusion,  and  from  her  priests  the  boast  of  prerogative ;  that  so 
"  the  eyes  of  all  may  hope  "  in  her,  she  "  giving  them  meat  in  due  sea- 
son": X  true  dispenser  of  that  celestial  Manna,  whereof  "one  gathereth 
more,  another  less";  yet  so  that  "neither  had  he  more  that  gathered 
more,  nor  did  he  find  less  that  had  provided  less  ;  but  every  one  gath- 
ered according  to  what  they  were  able  to  eat."-  § 


Chapter  X. 

From  the  Communion  to  the  end  of  High  Mass. 

P.  When  the  subdeacon  has  concluded  giving  the  "  Pax,"  he  re- 
joins the  priest  at  his  right  hand,  and  removes  the  pall  from  the  chalice 
when  the  priest  is  about  to  receive  the  precious  Blood  of  our  Lord. 
When  the  communion  of  the  priest  and  Faithful  (if  any  of  the  Faithful 
communicate)  is  over,  the  subdeacon  ministers  wine  for  the  first  ablu- 
tion ;  and  then,  withdrawing  to  the  epistle  end,  wine  and  water  for 
the  second.  The  deacon  now  removes  the  Missal  to  Xhe  epistle  side. 
The  priest,  having  received  the  second  ablution,  leaves  the  sacred  ves- 
sels and  linen,  and  goes  to  the  Missal  at  the  epistle  side  to  read  the 


*  Toi'To  noielre — Do  this. 
X  See  Ps.  cxliv.  15. 


f  See  St.  John  xxi.  13  ;  Acts  ii.  42,  xx.  7. 
§  Exod.  xvi.  17, 18. 


EIGH   OK  SOLEMN  MASS.  89 

"  Communion."  The  snbdeacon  arranges  the  sacred  vessels  and  linen, 
puts  the  corporal  into  the  burse,  and,  having  covered  the  chalice  and 
paten  with  the  veil,  bears  them,  with  the  burse  resting  on  them,  to 
the  credence-table.  Having  deposited  the  sacred  vessels  on  the  cre- 
dence-table, he  goes  to  his  place  behind  the  priest  and  deacon.  The 
priest  having  read  the  "Communion,"  goes  to  the  middle  of  the 
altar,  sings  the  "  Dominus  vobiscum,"  and  is  answered  by  the  choir ; 
then,  going  to  the  Missal,  he  sings  the  Postcommunion  prayer  or 
prayers.  Returning  to  the  middle,  he  again  sings  "  Dominus  vobis- 
cum," and  is  answered  by  the  choir.  Then  the  deacon,  turning  to  the 
people,  sings  the  "Ite,  missa  est";  or,  if  proper  to  the  day,  "Benedi- 
camus  Domino,"  toward  the  altar. 

C.  Are  the  tones  of  these  prescribed,  and  do  they  vary  ? 

P.  They  are  j)rescribed  in  the  Missal  itself.  There  are  six  tones 
of  the  "  Ite,  missa  est,"  and  three  of  the  "  Benedicamus  Domino,"  ac- 
cording to  the  occasions.  Of  the  "Ite,  missa  est":  1.  With  the  two 
"  Alleluias  "  for  Easter-day  and  week  ;  2.  For  the  more  solemn  festi- 
vals at  other  times  of  the  year ;  3.  For  ordinary  double  festivals ;  4. 
For  Masses  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  5.  For  semi-doubles ;  6.  For  sim- 
ples. x\nd  of  the  "Benedicamus  Domino":  1.  For  Sundays  in  Ad- 
vent and  Lent ;  2.  For  Ferias ;  3.  For  the  Vigil  of  the  Nativity,  and 
the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Innocents. 

C.  What  is  the  peculiarity  of  this  last  tone  compared  with  the  rest  I 

P.  It  is  more  joyful. 

G.  But  I  thought  the  "  Benedicamus  Domino  "  was  never  used  on 
joyful  days. 

P.  Neither  is  it ;  but  the  Vigil  of  the  Nativity,  and  the  Feast  of 
the  Holy  Innocents,  are  days  of  a  very  unusual  character.  The  former 
is  a  strict  Fast,  upon  which  nevertheless  the  coming  Feast  of  our 
Lord's  Nativity  reflects  a  certain  joyfulness.  The  latter  is  an  excep- 
tion to  all  other  Martyrs'  days,  in  having  mournful  accompaniments — 
purple,  instead  of  red  vestments  ;  no  "  Te  Deum,"  nor  "  Gloria  ";  and 
therefore  no  "  Ite,  missa  est."  *  Yet,  coming  as  it  does,  at  Christmas 
time,  it  is  not  simply  a  mournful  festival. 

C.  Why  is  this? 

P.  The  Church  deems  it  no  prejudice  to  the  memory  of  those  earli- 
est and  very  glorious  Martyrs,  the  Holy  Innocents,  to  mourn  at  the 
same  time  for  the  unparalleled  atrocity  of  the  crime  which  cut  them 
off,  like  budding  flowers,  from  the  earth — a  crimp,  too,  which  was 
especially  directed  against  our  Blessed  Lord  Himself  (at  this  time, 

•*  If.  lio'Aever.  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Innocents  occur  on  a  Sunday  it  is  treated  as  srny 
jther  martyr's  day. 


90  ArPENDIX. 

Christmas,  so  fresh  in  the  Church's  love),  and  which  was  a  kind  of 
first-fruits  of  the  malice  to  which  He  afterward  fell  a  victim.  '•  The 
kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  princes  assembled  together,  against 
the  Lord,  and  against  His  Christ."  * 

But  the  Church,  having  paid  her  tribute  to  the  memory  of  those 
innocent  sufferers  on  the  day  of  their  Festival,  feels  herself  at  liberty  to 
rejoice  with  unclouded  joy  at  their  actual,  though  unconscious,  testi- 
mony to  Christ  on  the  Octave  of  their  Feast,  when  she  appears  in  red, 
symbolical  of  their  precious  blood,  sings  the  "Te  Deum,"  and  rejoins 
the  angels  in  the  Hymn  of  the  Nativity. 

And  now,  if  there  be  a  second  Gospel  of  the  day,  the  deacon  re- 
moves the  Missal  from  the  epistle  side.  He  then  kneels  with  the  sub- 
deacon,  to  receive  the  jDriest's  blessing.  The  blessing  over,  the  deacon 
and  subdeacon  join  the  priest  at  the  reading  of  the  Gospel ;  and  if  it 
be  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  the  subdeacon  holds  the  card.  The  deacon 
kneels  with  the  priest  at  "  Et  Verbum  caro  factum  est,"  but  not  the 
subdeacon,  because  he  holds  the  card.  Then  all  bow  to  the  middle  of 
the  altar,  descend  the  steps,  make  the  proper  inclination,  and,  preceded 
by  the  acolytes  with  lights  and  the  clergy,  return  to  the  sacristy. 


II.— HIGH  MASS  OF  THE  DEAD. 

G.  Will  you  kindly  explain,  sir,  what  are  the  varieties  of  cere- 
monial in  High  Mass  of  the  Dead  % 

P.  There  are  several,  besides  those  already  noticed  as  existing  be- 
tween the  ordinary  Low  Mass  and  that  of  the  Dead. 

1.  The  altar  is  incensed  at  the  Offertory  alone. 

2.  The  deacon  and  subdeacon  take  more  time  over  their  genuflec- 
tion on  first  ascending  to  the  altar  with  the  priest,  in  order  that  a 
second  genuflection  may  not  be  necessary  on  leaving  the  middle  for 
the  epistle  side  at  the  Introit. 

3.  The  celebrant  (as  before  observed)  makes  the  sign  of  the  cross 
toward  the  Missal,  instead  of  on  himself ;  and  the  deacon  and  sub- 
deacon do  not,  as  at  the  ordinary  High  Mass,  make  any  corresponding 
sign. 

4.  Tlie  subdeacon,  after  singing  the  Epistle,  does  not  receive  the 
priest's  blessing,  nor  kiss  his  hand.  » 

5.  The  celebrant,  having  said  the  Dies  irm  after  the  Gradual  and 
Tract,  goes  with  his  two  ministers  to  the  seats,  or  stands  at  the  altar, 

*  Ps.  ii.  2. 


HIGH   MASS   OF   THE  DEAD.  91 

while  that  Sequence  is  snng  by  the  choir.  Just  before  the  last  stanza 
of  the  Sequence,  the  deacon,  having  previously  laid  the  book  of  the 
Gospels  upon  the  altar,  proceeds  to  say  the  "  Munda  cor  meum,"  with- 
out asking  the  benediction  of  the  priest ;  and  having  genutiected  with 
the  subdeacon,  goes  with  him  and  the  attendants  (but  without  lights 
and  incense)  to  sing  the  Gospel.  At  the  end,  he  gives  the  book  to  the 
subdeacon  ;  but  the  latter  does  not  carry  it  to  the  priest,  as  the  text  is 
not  kissed. 

6.  At  the  Offertory  the  subdeacon  does  not  wear  the  long  veil  on 
his  shoulders,  in  carrying  the  chalice  to  the  altar.  He  omits  the  words, 
"  Reverend  father,  be  pleased  to  give  a  blessing,"  because  the  water  is 
not  blessed.  He  does  not  bear  away  the  paten,  but  goes  without  it  to 
his  place  behind  the  deacon. 

7.  After  the  Invocation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Bread  and  Wine  of 
the  Sacrifice,  the  crucifix,  and  the  altar,  are  incensed  by  the  priest  as 
usual,  and  with  the  usual  words  ;  the  subdeacon,  who  is  not  engaged 
in  bearing  the  paten,  going  up  to  the  altar  to  assist  the  deacon  in  hold- 
ing back  the  priest's  vestments  at  the  incensing. 

8.  The  deacon  and  subdeacon  assist  at  the  "  Lavabo,"  or  washing  of 
the  priest's  hands,  with  the  basin  and  towel. 

9.  Shortly  before  the  Consecration,  the  subdeacon  moves  toward 
the  epistle  side  ;  then  receiving  the  thurible  from  the  attendant  (who 
has  previousl  j^  supplied  it  with  incense,  but  without  any  benediction), 
incenses  the  Body  and  Blood  of  our  Lord  at  the  time  of  consecration. 
The  subdeacon  fulfils  this  office  at  High  Mass  of  the  Dead,  because  he 
does  not,  as  in  other  High  Masses,  hold  the  paten. 

10.  Not  having  to  deliver  up  the  paten,  the  subdeacon  does  not 
move  from  his  place  till  the  "  Pax  Domini,"  when  he  goes  to  the  left 
of  the  priest  at  the  altar,  and  then  joins  the  deacon  in  saying,  with  the 
priest,  the  "Agnus  Dei";  but  (as  was  observed  in  the  proper  place  at 
Low  Mass)  the  striking  of  the  breast  is  omitted. 

11.  At  the  end  of  Mass,  the  deacon  sings,  toward  the  altar,  "  Re- 
quiescant  in  pace,"  to  a  tone  prescribed  in  the  Missal ;  and  as  there  is 
no  final  blessing,  the  ministers  join  the  priest  at  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
(which  in  Masses  of  the  Dead  is  always  said)  without  previously  kneel- 
ing.   All  else  proceeds  as  usual. 

N.  B. — The  ferial  tone  is  used  for  the  Preface  and  "  Pater  noster." 


92 


APPENDIX. 


III.— SOLEMN  VESPERS. 

C.  Tliere  are,  I  believe,  two  evening  offices  of  tlie  Church,  are  there 
not? 

P.  Yes,  Vespers  and  Compline  ;  the  first  proper  to  the  earlier  part 
of  the  evening,  the  second  to  its  close. 

C.  Are  both  these  offices  commonly  celebrated  with  solemnity  in 
the  Church  at  large  ? 

P.  No ;  Vesi)ers  alone  are  so  celebrated  as  a  general  rule ;  but  it  is 
the  practice  in  some  places  to  sing  Compline  also  as  a  part  of  the  pub- 
lic evening  devotion.  In  communities  w^here  the  diities  of  the  choir 
are  performed,  all  the  Seven  Hours  of  Prayer  are  observed  in  choir, 
and  in  that  case  Vespers  and  Compline  go  together.  Solemn  Vespers 
are  always  sung,  where  there  are  the  means  of  singing  them,  on  Sun- 
days and  Holydays  ;  and  are,  of  course,  intended  by  the  Church  to  be 
sung  at  other  times  also. 

C.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "  First "  and  "  Second  "  Vespers  ? 

P.  Every  Festival  is  considered  by  the  Church  to  begin  and  end  in 
the  evening.  First  and  Second  Vespers,  therefore,  express  its  opening 
on  one  evening,  and  its  close  on  the  next. 

C.  How  is  the  succession  and  arrangement  of  Festivals  determined  ? 

P.  By  certain  rules  contained  in  the  rubrics,  and  applied  to  prac- 
tice in  the  "Ordo  recitandi  Divini  Officii."  or  yearly  Calendar  of  the 
Church,  which  is  published  in  all  countries  of  the  Christian  world. 

C.  What  is  the  general  principle  on  which  these  arrangements  are 
made  ? 

P.  All  Festivals,  except  those  of  the  highest  class,  admit  of  the  in- 
troduction into  their  office  of  Commemorations,  /.  e.,  of  the  subsidiary 
celebration  of  other  Festivals  inferior  to  themselves,  or  of  days  within 
the  Octaves  of  the  great  Festivals,  or  of  Ferias,  or  week-days  in  cer- 
tain special  seasons,  such  as  Advent  and  Lent.  These  commemorations 
are  made  in  the  form  of  an  antiphon,  versicle  and  response,  and  col- 
lect, and  sometimes  of  a  special  stanza  at  the  close  of  the  Hymn.  There 
are  also  certain  coimnoii  commemorations  introduced  on  all  semi- 
doubles  in  the  year,  excepting  at  the  more  solemn  seasons.  These  are : 
1.  Of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  2.  Of  the  holy  Apostles  SS.  Peter  and  Paul; 
3.  Of  the  Patron  Saint  of  the  country  (in  England,  St.  George),  or  of 
the  church,*  or  communit}^ ;  4.  For  peace. 

C.  Does  Compline  admit  of  similar  introductions  ? 

P.  No  ;  Compline  is  not  ordinarily  liable  to  these  variations,  ex- 


*  i.  e. ,  where  it  has  been  consecrated. 


SOLEMN   VESPEKS.  9S 

cept  that  of  the  final  stanza  of  the  Hymn.     During  Easter-time,  how- 
ever,  "  Alleluias  "  are  added  in  it. 

C.  These  additions  must  tend  to  complicate  the  office,  and  make  it 
difficult  to  follow. 

P.  Most  things  which  are  worth  knowing  require  time  and  pains 
to  understand.  But  many  members  of  the  Christian  laity  are  quite  at 
home  in  the  office  of  the  Church,  at  least  so  far  as  it  is  publicly  cele- 
brated ;  priests  are  always  ready  to  give  assistance  in  such  inquiries ; 
and  the  order  of  the  Church  offices  is  annually  published  for  the  use 
of  the  laity. 

C.  Is  the  Vesper  office  on  Sundays  always  that  proper  to  the 
Sunday  ? 

P.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  more  frequently  the  second  Yesper  office 
of  a  Festival  (when  of  superior  rank  to  the  Sunday),  or  the  first  Vesper 
office  of  a  Festival  on  the  following  day  ;  the  Sunday  being,  in  such 
cases,  generally  commemorated. 

C.  Do  the  Psalms  vary  on  different  days  ? 

P.  The  first  four  are  generally  those  of  the  Sunday.  But  on  the 
first  Vespers  of  Saints'  days  (except  days  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  of  Vir- 
gins, and  Holy  Women),  the  fifth  is  changed  into  the  llbtli,  "  Laudate 
Dominum  omnes  gentes."  On  the  First  Vespers  of  the  office  for  the 
Dedication  of  a  Church,  which  very  rarely  occurs,  the  last  Psalm  is 
tlie  147th,  "Lauda  Jerusalem."  On  Feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
Psalms  are  the  109th,  112th,  121st,  126th,  and  147th ;  and  the  same  are 
projDer  to  the  Feast  of  a  Virgin  or  Holy  Woman.  At  the  First  Ves- 
pers of  Corpus  Christi,  the  Psalms  are  special.  But  all  this,  together 
Mith  the  variations  of  the  Hymns,  etc.,  you  will  find  explained  in  the 
ordinary  Vesper-Book.  On  the  Second  Vespers  of  an  Apostle,  the 
Psalms  are  (in  addition  to  the  109th  and  112th)5  the  115th,  "  Credidi "; 
125th,  "  In  convertendo";  and  138tli,  "  Domine,  probasti  me."  On  the 
Second  Vespers  of  a  Confessor  not  a  Bishop,  the  last  Psalm  is  "  Lau- 
date Dominum  "  (116tli) ;  but  on  those  of  a  Confessor  Bishoj^,  it  is 
Psalm  cxxxi.,  "Memento  Domine,  David";  and  on  those  of  one  or 
more  Martyrs,  Psalm  cxv.,  "  Credidi."  On  certain  days  at  the  Second 
Vespers,  "  Lauda  Jerusalem  "  is  the  last  Psalm,  and  on  all  Feasts  of 
the  Angels,  "Confitebor  tibi"  (Psalm  cxxxvii.).  The  five  Sunday 
Psalms  are  consecutive  in  the  Psalter  from  the  109th  to  the  113th. 
The  first  is  a  kind  of  commemoration  of  all  the  great  mysteries  of  our 
redemption  ;  the  second  alludes  to  the  praise  of  God  "  in  the  congrega- 
tion"; the  third  commemorates  the  graces  and  privileges  of  the  Just : 
the  fourth  is  a  Psalm  of  praise,  with  a  prophecy  toward  its  close  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Church  (on  which  account  it  is  one  of  the 


94 


APPENDIX. 


Psalms  proper  to  her  festivals) ;  while  the  last  celebrates  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  Israelites  from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  is  therefore  appro- 
priate to  Sundays,  which  are  days  in  honor  of  the  Resurrection  of  our 
Lord.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  a  series  of  Psalms  so  suitable  to  the 
ordinary  wants  of  the  Church  on  her  weekly  festivals,  should  be  found 
in  succession. 

On  days  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Psalm  cxxi.  is  substituted  for  ex., 
Psalm  cxxvi.  for  cxi.,  and  Psalm  cxlvii.  for  cxiii.  In  all  these  substi- 
tutions you  will  see  that  the  analogy  between  the  Blessed  Virgin  and 
the  Church  is  intended  to  be  kept  in  mind,  as  is  shown  especially  in 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  the  word  "domus";  the  Blessed  Virgin 
first,  and  the  Church  afterward,  being  our  Lord's  chosen  "  habitation  " 
or  "tabernacle," 

The  Psalms  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  are  used  on  all  days  of  holy 
women,  whether  virgins,  married,  or  widows,  because  of  all  such  our 
Blessed  Lady  is  the  especial  model  and  Patroness. 

On  Saints'  days.  Psalm  cxiii.  (In  exitu),  being  especially  appropri- 
ate to  Sunday,  is  changed  into  Psalm  cxlvii.,  a  general  Psalm  of  praise. 
Psalm  cxxxi.  (Memento)  will  be  seen  on  examination  to  contain  several 
allusions  to  the  priesthood.  Psalm  cxv.  (Credidi)  speaks  of  the  '-''death 
of  God's  Saints,"  whence  it  is  proper  to  Martyrs'  days  and  to  the 
Apostles,  all  of  whom  were  also  Martyrs.  The  addition  of  Psalms 
cxxv.  and  cxxxviii.  to  their  Second  Vespers,  is  explained  by  the  anti- 
phon  prefixed  and  added  to  each.  Psalm  cxlvii.  (Lauda  Jerusalem)  is 
proper  to  the  dedication  of  a  church  as  well  as  to  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

C.  What  are  the  Psalms  for  Vespers  on  week-days  ? 

P.  They  are,  with  some  omissions,  those  which  follow  in  order  after 
the  Psalms  of  the  Sunday.* 

C.  Why  are  the  Church  offices  always  sung  in  Latin  ? 

P.  The  Church  is  particular  about  the  use  of  Latin  in  all  her  pub- 
lic offices  of  devotion,  on  account  especially  of  the  danger  to  which 
national  languages  are  exposed  of  deterioration  and  change,  through 
which,  in  course  of  time,  even  the  purity  of  doctrine  might  be  cor- 
rupted. Moreover,  as  the  Church  is  not  for  one  country,  but  for  all, 
it  is  to  be  desired  that  she  should  possess  a  universal  language,  as  well 
as  a  uniform  rite.  It  is  when  Catholics  travel  from  country  to  country 
that  they  feel  especially  the  benefit  of  this  provision  of  the  Church, 
superseding  all  national  distinctions.  I  will  add  another  reason  for 
the  use  of  Latin,  which  is,  that  it  is  most  important  to  have  a  language 
for  sacred  purposes  not  vulgarized  by  familiar  use. 


♦  They  will  be  found  in  the  Vespers  for  the  Laity,  Burns  and  Lambert. 


SOLEMN    VESPERS.  ,  95 

G.  But  may  it  not  be  considered  an  evil  that  the  laity  should  be 
debarred  from  following  the  public  offices  of  the  Church  ? 

P.  They  cannot  be  said  to  be  so ;  for,  first,  there  are  many  of  them 
who  actually  understand  at  least  Latin  enough  to  enter  into  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  ;  and  of  those  who  do  not,  many  have  leisure  to  study 
it ;  a  work  the  labor  of  which  would  be  greatly  lightened  by  being 
undertaken  in  a  pure  spirit  of  devotion,  and  for  so  noble  an  end, — not 
to  speak  of  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  would  certainly  be  vouch- 
safed to  any  one  who  should  be  animated  by  a  love  of  the  Church  to 
undertake  any  enterj)rise,  whether  physical  or  intellectual,  in  her 
cause.*  You  will  remember,  too,  that  the  Vesper-books  give  transla- 
tions side  by  side  with  the  Latin,  and  thus  no  one  who  is  able  to  read 
is  left  in  ignorance  of  the  meaning  of  what  is  said  or  sung  ;  while  I 
believe  that  many  by  the  use  of  these  translations  have  acquired  knowl- 
edge enough  of  the  Latin  language  to  be  of  considerable  service  to  them 
in  the  public  offices  of  the  Church.  And,  moreover,  where  the  idea 
of  worship  has  strong  possession  of  the  mind,  the  form  of  words  is  of 
less  consequence.  It  is  j)roved  by  undoubted  facts  that  the  English 
Psalms  are  hardly  better  understood  by  the  majority  of  worshippers 
than  the  Latin.  Let  Catholics,  therefore,  who  do  not  know  Latin  use 
their  Vesper-books  in  the  Psalms,  and  in  such  other  parts  of  the  office 
as  are  intended  to  be  sung  by  them,  and  they  will  soon  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  the  act  in  which  they  are  engaged,  which  is,  after  all,  the  great 
matter  ;  and  for  the  rest,  the  more  illiterate  must  put  themselves  into 
the  hands  of  the  Church,  and  use  such  devotions  as  they  are  able. 

C.  What  are  the  ceremonies  of  Solemn  Vespers  ? 

P.  The  priest,  habited  in  a  cope,  and  accompanied  by  his  assistants, 
proceeds  from  the  sacristy  to  the  altar  with  the  clergy  and  acolytes. 
The  clergy  having  filed  off  to  their  places  in  the  choii*,  the  celebrant 
goes  forward  to  the  steps  of  the  altar,  where  he  kneels  with  his  attend- 
ants to  say  the  preparatory  prayer  ;  then  moving,  preceded  by  his  at- 
tendants, to  the  seats  at  the  epistle  side,  and  standing,  he  says  secretly 
the  "  Pater  "  and  "  Ave."  He  then  sings  aloud,  "  Deus,  in  adjutorium 
meum  intende," — "0  God,  incline  unto  my  aid";  and  is  answered  by  the 
choir,  "  Domine,  ad  adjuvandum  me  festina," — "  O  Lord,  make  haste  to 
help  me."  Then  the  choir  chants  the  "  Gloria  Patri "  with  "  Alleluia," 
or,  from  Septuagesima  to  Easter,  "  Laus  Tibi,  Domine,  Rex  t'eternaj 
gloriae," — "  Praise  to  Thee,  O  Lord,  King  of  eternal  glory."  Then  the 
antiphon  is  sung,  entire  if  on  a  double,  the  first  words  only  if  on  a 

*  I  am  acquainted  with  a  young  man,  at  my  own  church,  who  has  found  time  in  the 
Tuidst  of  a  laborious  worldly  calling  to  learn  Latin  so  well  as  to  translate  the  Church  offloes 
with  facility. 


96 


APPEXDIX. 


semi-double  or  simple  festival,  or  on  a  Sunday  (which  ranks  as  the 
highest  of  semi-doubles).  Then  the  chanters  give  out  the  first  words 
of  the  Psalm,  which  the  semi-choir  on  the  principal  side  continues 
through  the  first  verse,  and  is  then  answered  in  the  second  verse  by 
the  semi-choir  on  the  opposite  side,  and  thus  the  Psalms  are  continued 
to  the  end ;  each  antiphon  being  sung  at  the  end  of  each  Psalm  as 
well  as  at  the  beginning,  and  at  the  end  always  entire.  The  Psalms 
are  begun  alternately  by  the  two  sides.  It  is  most  proper  that  the 
first  words  of  the  antiphons  should  be  intoned  by  the  officiating  priest 
and  others  of  the  clergy  in  succession. 

C.  Why  are  the  Psalms  sung  sitting  ? 

P.  The  length  of  the  Church  offices  makes  it  difficult  for  some 
persons  to  recite  them  standing ;  and  in  order  to  provide  relief  with- 
out violating  uniformity,  the  Church  allows  the  easier  posture  in 
those  portions  of  Divine  worship  which  do  not  consist  in  addresses  to 
Almighty  God,  or  in  hymns  sung  directly  in  His  honor.  The  Psalms 
are  more  like  a  prolonged  commemoration  of  His  mercies ;  and  are 
so  far  different  from  the  hymns,  which  are  short,  always  expressed 
in  the  language  of  worship  or  praise,  and  which  again  difi'er  from  the 
Psalms  in  relating  immediately  to  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  dis- 
pensation. 

C.  After  the  Psalms,  I  observe  the  officiating  priest  and  the  clergy 
rise. 

P.  Yes  ;  the  celebrant  rises  to  sing  the  "  Little  Chapter,"  which  is 
a  short  sentence  from  Holy  Scripture  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  the 
day.  After  the  Little  Chapter  is  sung  the  Hymn.  The  hymn  over, 
the  versicle  proper  to  the  day  is  intoned  by  the  chanters,  and  the  re- 
sponse by  the  choir.  Then  the  antiphon  at  the  "  Magnificat "  is  sung 
in  the  same  way,  and  according  to  the  same  rule,  as  the  antiphons  of 
the  Psalms.    Then  the  first  words  of  the  "  Magnificat "  are  intoned. 

C.  Here,  I  observe,  the  priest  crosses  himself,  rises,  and  goes  to 
the  altar. 

P.  Yes ;  this  song  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  and  the  corresponding 
hymn  "  Benedictus  "  at  Lauds,  are  always  accompanied  by  marks  of 
extraordinary  honor,  as  the  two  canticles  relating  especially  to  the 
Incarnation  of  our  Blessed  Saviour.  Accordingly,  at  the  opening  of 
the  "  Magnificat,"  the  priest,  attended  by  his  ministers,  proceeds  to 
the  altar,  and  goes  up  to  it  after  making  the  proper  reverence  ;  then, 
receiving  the  thurible  from  the  principal  minister,  as  at  Solemn  Mass, 
and  with  the  same  ceremonies,  he  incenses  the  crucifix  and  altar  in 
the  usual  way,  saying  at  the  same  time  the  words  of  the  "  Magnificat" 
with  the  ministers,  while  the  choir  is  singing  that  Canticle.     The  in- 


COMPLINE.  97 

censing  over,  lie  restores  the  thurible  into  the  proper  hands  as  usual ; 
and  after  genuflecting  or  bowing,  as  the  case  may  require,  returns 
with  his  ministers  to  the  seats,  and  is  himself  incensed  thrice  by  his 
chief  assistant,  who  afterward  incenses  also  the  clergy,  choir,  and 
second  assistant.  The  officiant  continues  standing  till  the  end  of  the 
"Magnificat";  and  when  the  antiphon  has  been  repeated,  sings  the 
Collect  of  the  day,  after  which  the  Commemorations  (if  any)  are  made 
by  the  proper  antii)hon,  versicle  and  response,  and  collect. 

C.  I  have  occasionally  seen  the  officiating  priest  leave  the  high 
altar  at  the  beginning  of  the  "  Magnificat,"  and  visit  other  altars  in 
the  church  to  incense  them. 

P.  This  is  when  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  at  a  side  altar.  In  that 
case,  the  officiant  incenses  such  altar  first  in  order,  and  other  altars  in 
succession,  ending  with  the  principal  altar  ;  but  if  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment be  at  the  principal  altar,  then  he  incenses  this  alone. 

Q.  Sometimes  the  priest  and  choir  kneel  during  particular  stanzas 
of  the  Hymn. 

P.  Yes,  in  the  following  cases :  during  the  first  stanza  of  "  Yeni 
Creator  "  or  "  Ave  maris  stella,"  and  during  the  address  to  the  Cross 
in  "  Vexilla  regis." 

O.  What  is  the  Hymn,  with  versicle  and  prayer,  sung  at  the  end 
of  Vespers,  forming  a  little  office  by  itself? 

P.  It  is  the  Antiphon  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  proper  to  the  end  of 
Lauds  and  Compline,  but  which  it  is  usual  to  introduce  at  the  end  of 
Vespers,  except  when  a  bishop  officiates.  During  Easter-time  this 
antiphon  is  always  sung  standing  ;  at  other  times  it  is  sung  standing 
from  the  First  to  the  Second  Vespers  of  Sunday,  kneeling  on  other 
days.* 


iy._COMPLINE. 

C.  Will  you  please,  sir,  to  explain  the  office  and  ceremonies  of 
Compline  ? 

P.  Compline  ("  Completorium,"  the  final  and  "  complemental " 
office  of  the  day)  is  properly  an  appendage  to  Vespers,  but  is  often 
sung  as  a  separate  office.     It  is  sung  as  follows  : 

The  priest,  after  kneeling  for  the  preparatory  prayers,  stands  wliile 
the  blessing  is  invited  by  one  of  the  choir  in  the  words,  "  Jube,  domne, 
benedicere," — "  Be  pleased,  sir,  to  give  a  blessing."  The  priest  sings 
in  answer,  "  ISToctem  quietam,"  etc. — "  The  Lord  Almighty  gi-ant  us  a 

*  These  antiphons  are  described  under  the  head  of  Compline. 


98  APPENDIX. 

quiet  night  and  a  perfect  end."  The  choir  responds,  "Amen."  The 
priest  then  sings  the  "  Short  Lesson,"  from  1  St.  Pet.  v.  8,  "  Fratres," 
etc., — "  Brethren,  be  sober,  and  watch  ;  because  your  adversary,  the 
devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  goeth  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ; 
whom  resist  strong  in  the  faith."  He  concludes  with  the  usual  ter- 
mination of  a  lesson,  "  But  Thou,  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  us,"  and  is 
answered  in  song,  "  Thanks  be  to  God."  He  proceeds  to  sing,  V. 
"  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ";  R.  "  Who  made  heaven  and 
earth."  He  then  says  in  secret  our  Lord's  Prayer.  At  its  close  he 
makes,  with  the  choir  and  congregation,  the  general  Confession,  as 
at  the  beginning  of  Mass ;  but  instead  of  being  merely  said,  as  at 
Mass,  it  is  recited  in  monotone.  The  "  Confiteor "  over,  the  priest 
proceeds  to  sing,  V.  "  Convert  us,  0  God  of  our  salvation  ";  R.  "And 
turn  away  Thine  anger  from  us."  Then,  in  a  louder  tone,  as  at  "Vespers, 
V.  "  0  God,  incline  to  my  aid  ";  R.  "  0  Lord,  make  haste  to  help  me." 
Then  is  sung,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father,"  etc.,  with  "  Alleluia"  or  "  Laus 
Tibi,  Domine,"  etc.,  according  to  the  season.  Then  the  first  word 
of  the  antiphon  is  intoned,  "  Miserere,"  for  which,  during  Easter-time, 
is  substituted  "  Alleluia."  Then  the  Psalms  are  chanted  in  succession, 
and,  since  under  a  single  antiphon,  most  properly  to  the  same  tone. 

C.  What  are  the  Psalms,  and  with  what  intention  are  they  used  ? 

P.  The  Psalms  are :  the  4th  (Cum  invocarem),  the  30th  (In  Te, 
Domine,  speravi),  the  90th  (Qui  habitat),  and  the  lB3d  (Ecce,  nunc 
benedicite).  Their  propriety  will  be  apparent  upon  examination.  Their 
general  sentiment  is  prayer  for  the  Divine  aid  against  the  dangers,  both 
spiritual  and  bodily,  of  the  night-season,  at  which,  according  to  the 
general  belief  of  the  Church,  "  our  adversary  the  devil "  (named  at  the 
commencement  of  the  office)  is  especially  on  the  alert.  At  the  end  of 
the  Psalms,  the  antiphon  is  repeated  in  full :  "  Have  mercy  on  me, 

0  Lord,  and  hear  my  prayer."  Instead  of  which,  from  Holy  Satur- 
day to  the  First  Vespers  of  Trinity  Sunday  (exclusive  of  the  latter), 
is  said,  "  Alleluia,  alleluia,  alleluia." 

Then  follows  the  hymn,  "  Te  lucis,"  etc. ;  after  which  the  officiant, 
having  risen,  sings  the  "  Little  Chapter "  from  Jer.  xiv.  9,  "  Thou,  0 
Lord,  art  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  Thy  holy  Name  is  invoked  upon  us. 
Leave  us  not,  O  Lord  our  God."  R.  "  Thanks  be  to  God."  Then  are 
sung  the  short  responsories.  "  Into  Thy  hands,  O  Lord,  I  commend 
my  spirit.    Into  Thy  hands.    Tliou  hast  redeemed  us,  O  God  of  truth. 

1  commend.  Glory  be,  etc.  Into  Thy  hands."  V.  "  Guard  us,  0  Lord, 
as  the  apple  of  the  eye."  R.  "Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  protect 
us."  At  Paschal- tide  (^.  e.,  from  Holy  Saturday  to  Trinity  Eve) 
Alleluias  are  added. 


BENEDICTION   OF   THE   MOST   HOLY    SACRAMENT.  99 

Then  is  sung  the  beginning  of  the  antiphon  at  the  "  Nunc  dimit- 
tis,"  "Save  us."  Then  the  "Nunc  dimittis";  after  which  the  anti- 
phon is  repeated  in  full,  "  Save  us  whilst  we  are  awake,  guard  us 
whilst  we  are  asleep,  that  we  may  wake  with  Christ,  and  rest  in  peace." 
In  Paschal-time  "  Alleluia  "  is  added.  On  semi-doubles,  several  short 
prayers  and  responses  are  then  said,  beginning  with  "Kyrie  eleison." 
On  doubles,*  the  oflSce  goes  on  at  once  to  the  "  Dominus  vobiscum  " 
and  the  Collect,  which  is  as  follows  :  "  Visit,  O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee, 
this  habitation,  and  drive  far  from  it  all  the  snares  of  the  enemy.  Let 
Thy  holy  angels  dwell  in  it,  to  keep  us  in  peace  ;  and  may  Thy  bless- 
ing be  always  upon  us.  Through."  Then,  V.  "  Our  Lord  be  with  you." 
R.  "  And  with  thy  spirit."  V.  "  Let  us  bless  our  Lord."  R.  "  Thanks 
be  to  God."  Then  the  blessing.  "  The  Almighty  and  merciful  Lord 
Mess  and  keep  us.  Father,  and  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost."    R.  "Amen." 

Then  is  sung  the  antiphon  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  according  to  the 
season. 

O.  How  many  of  these  antiphons  are  in  use  ? 

P.  1.  The  "Alma  Redemptoris,"  which  is  sung  or  said  from  the 
eve  of  the  First  Sunday  in  Advent  to  the  Feast  of  the  Purification  at 
Compline  ;  2.  The  "Ave  Regina,"  from  the  Feast  of  the  Purification 
10  the  Thursday  in  Holy  Week  (exclusive) ;  3.  The  "  Regina  coeli," 
from  Holy  Saturday  to  the  First  Vespers  of  Trinity  Sunday  (exclusive); 
4.  The  "  Salve  Regina,"  from  Trinity  eve  to  the  eve  of  the  First  Sun- 
day in  Advent. 


v.— THE  BENEDICTION  OF  THE  MOST  HOLY  SACRAMENT. 

"  Gustate  et  videU  quoniam  sua  vis  est  Dominus." 

(7.  What  is  the  "  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament "  ? 

P.  It  is  a  rite  which  has  sprung  from  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar. 

O.  What  is  the  meaning  of >  this  rite  ? 

P.  It  results  from  the  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence  of  our  Blessed 
Lord  in  the  Holy  Eucharist.  His  Real  Presence  must  be  a  means  of 
benediction  to  all  who  are  brought  within  its  influence,  provided  they 
be  also  animated  by  right  dispositions. 

G.  At  Benediction,  is  it  our  Lord  who  blesses  in  His  own  Person, 
or  the  priest  who  employs  the  Holy  Sacrament  as  a  means  of  blessing  ? 

P.  It  is  the  former  rather  than  the  latter.  Our  Divine  Redeemer 
makes  His  servant  the  medium  of  conveying  His  benediction. 

*  i.  €.,  if  the  Vespers  have  been  said  according  to  the  double  rite. 


100  APPENDIX. 

C.  What  are  the  ceremonies  of  this  great  and  most  consolatory 
rite? 

P.  The  priest,  vested  in  a  white  cope,  ascends  to  the  altar,  attended 
by  an  assistant  priest  or  deacon.  The  crucifix  having  been  taken  down, 
the  assistant  (or,  if  none  be  present,  the  priest  officiating)  opens  the 
tabernacle,  and,  after  a  genuflection,  withdraws  from  it  the  monstrance 
containing  the  Blessed  Sacrament  within  it. 

C.  What  is  a  monstrance  f 

P.  It  is  a  frame,  of  the  most  costly  material  which  can  be  had,  for 
exhibiting  {ad  monstrandum)  the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  the  people. 

The  monstrance,  after  the  Blessed  Sacrament  has  been  placed  with- 
in it,  is  set  on  the  altar  (on  which  a  corporal  has  previously  been 
strewn),  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  adored.  It  is  then  elevated  on 
a  throne  above,  similarly  prepared.  The  priest  meanwhile  descends  to 
the  foot  of  the  altar,  and,  after  putting  incense  in  the  thurible  as  usual 
(though  without  blessing  it),  receives  the  thurible  on  his  knees,  and 
incenses  the  Adorable  Sacrament  thrice.  Meanwhile  it  is  customary 
in  this  and  some  other  countries  to  sing  "  O  salutaris  Hostia,"  with  its 
accompanying  doxology,  from  the  hymn  "  Yerbum  supernum  prodi- 
ens."  Afterward  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Vii'gin,  or  some  Motett 
proi)er  to  the  day,  is  sung  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The 
priest  then  intones  (or  the  cantors)  the  "  Tantum  ergo  sacramentum," 
with  the  accompanying  doxology  (from  the  hymn  "Pange  lingua 
gloriosi  Corporis,"  etc.),  and  the  choir  takes  it  up.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  doxology,  the  priest  rises,  puts  incense  in  the  thurible  as  be- 
fore, and  again  incenses  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  The  doxology  ended, 
the  versicle  "  Panem  de  coelo "  and  its  response  (from  the  oflBice  of 
Corpus  Christi)  are  sung.  Alleluias  being  added  at  Easter-time  and 
within  the  octave  of  "  Corpus  Christi."  The  priest  then  sings  the  Col- 
lect of  Corpus  Christi.  He  then  receives  on  his  shoulders  a  rich  veil 
or  scarf,  while  the  priest  assisting  (or,  in  default  of  one,  himself)  takes 
down  the  Blessed  Sacrament  from  the  throne.  Then  both  go  up  to  the 
altar,  and  the  principal  priest  receives  the  Blessed  Sacrament  into  his 
hands  within  the  veil  or  scarf,  and  makes  with  it  the  sign  of  the  Cross 
toward  the  people.  A  bishop  makes  this  sign  thrice.  Meanwhile  the 
bells  of  the  church  are  rung,  to  give  notice  to  the  people  inside  the 
church,  and  in  the  neighborhood,  that  the  Benediction  is  being  given. 
The  Blessed  Sacrament  is  then  restored  to  the  tabernacle  where  it  is 
usually  reserved,  and  all  depart  in  order. 

A  living  writer  thus  beautifully  describes  the  character  and  mean- 
ing of  this  rite : 

"  Benediction  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  one  of  the  simplest  rites 


HYMN   OF   ST.    THOMAS   AQUINAS.  101 

of  the  Church.  The  priests  enter  and  kneel  down  ;  one  of  them  un- 
locks the  Tabernacle,  takes  out  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  inserts  it  up- 
right in  a  monstrance  of  precious  metal,  and  sets  it  in  a  conspicuous 
place  above  the  altar,  in  the  midst  of  lights,  for  all  to  see.  The  people 
then  begin  to  sing ;  meanwhile  the  priest  twice  offers  incense  to  the 
King  of  heaven,  before  whom  he  is  kneeling.  Then  he  takes  the  mon- 
strance in  his  hands,  and,  turning  to  the  people,  blesses  them  with  the 
Most  Holy,  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  while  the  bell  is  sounded  by  one  of 
the  attendants  to  call  attention  to  the  ceremony.  It  is  our  Lord's 
solemn  benediction  of  His  people,  as  when  He  lifted  up  His  hands  over 
the  children,  or  when  He  blessed  His  chosen  ones  when  He  ascended 
up  from  Mount  Olivet.  As  sons  might  come  before  a  parent  before 
going  to  bed  at  night,  so  once  or  twice  a  week  the  great  Catholic 
family  come  bofore  the  Eternal  Father,  after  the  bustle  or  the  toil  of 
the  day  ;  and  He  smiles  upon  them,  and  sheds  upon  them  the  light  of 
His  countenance.  It  is  a  full  accomplishment  of  what  the  priest  in- 
voked upon  the  Israelites  :  'The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  thee  ;  the 
Lord  show  His  face  to  thee,  and  have  mercy  on  thee  ;  the  Lord  turn 
His  countenance  to  thee,  and  give  thee  peace.'  Can  there  be  a  more 
touching  rite,  even  in  the  judgment  of  those  who  do  not  believe  in  it  ? 
How  many  a  man  not  a  Catholic  is  moved,  on  seeing  it,  .to  say,  '  O  that 
I  did  but  believe  it ! '  when  he  sees  the  priest  take  up  the  Fount  of 
Mercy  and  the  people  bent  low  in  adoration  !  It  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful,  natural,  and  soothing  actions  of  the  Church."  * 


HYMN"  OF    ST.   THOMAS   AQUINAS    FOR    THE   FEAST   OP 

CORPUS  CHRISTL 

"Lauda  Sion  Salvatorem." 

Praise  high  thy  Saviour,  Sion,  praise, 
With  hymns  of  joy  and  holy  lays, 

Thy  Guide  and  Shepherd  true  ; 
Darewll  thou  canst,  yea  take  thy  fill 
Of  praise  and  adoration,  still 

Thou  fail'st  to  reach  His  due. 

A  special  theme  for  thankful  hearts, 
The  Bread  that  lives,  and  life  imparts, 
To-day  is  duly  set ; 


*  Dr.  Newman's  Lectures  on  Protestantism. 


^(\St  APPENDIX. 

Which  at  the  solemn  festal  board, 
Was  dealt  around,  where,  with  their  Lord, 
His  chosen  Twelve  were  met. 

Full  be  the  praise  and  sweetly  sounding, 
With  joy  and  reverence  meet  abounding, 

The  soul's  glad  festival ; 
This  is  the  day  of  glorious  state 
When  of  that  Feast  we  celebrate 

The  high  original. 

'Tis  here  our  King  makes  all  things  new, 
And  living  rules  and  offerings  true 

Absorb  each  legal  rite  ; 
Before  the  new  retreats  the  old, 
And  life  succeeds  to  shadows  cold, 

And  day  displaces  night. 

His  faithful  followers  Christ  hath  bid 
To  do  what  at  the  feast  He  did, 

For  sweet  remembrance'  sake ; 
And,  gifted  through  His  high  commands, 
Of  bread  and  wine  our  priestly  hands 

A  saving  Victim  make. 

O  Truth,  to  Christian  faith  displayed. 
The  bread  His  very  Body  made. 

His  very  Blood  the  wine  ; 
Nor  eye  beholds,  nor  thought  conceives. 
But  dauntless  Faith  the  change  believes, 

Wrought  by  a  power  Divine. 

Beneath  two  differing  species 
(Signs  only,  not  their  substances) 

Lie  mysteries  deep  and  rare  ;  • 

His  Flesh  the  meat,  the  drink  His  Blood, 
Yet  Christ  entire,  our  heavenly  Food, 

Beneath  each  kind  is  there. 

] 

And  they  who  of  their  Lord  partake 

Nor  sever  Him,  nor  rend,  nor  break, 

Nought  lacks,  and  nought  is  lost ; 


HYMN   OF   ST.    THOMAS   AQUINAS.  103 

The  boon  now  one,  now  thousands  claim, 
Yet  one  and  all  receive  the  same, 
Receive,  but  ne'er  exhaust. 

The  Gift  is  shared  by  all,  yet  tends. 
In  bad  and  good,  to  differing  ends 

Of  blessing  and  of  woe  ; 
What  death  to  some,  salvation  brings 
To  others :  lo  !  from  common  springs 

What  various  issues  flow  ! 

Nor  be  thy  faith  confounded,  though 
The  Sacrament  be  broke ;  for  know 
The  Life,  which  in  the  whole  doth  glow, 

In  every  part  remains  ; 
The  Spirit  which  those  portions  hide 
No  force  can  cleave  ;  we  but  divide 
The  sign,  the  while  the  Signified 

Nor  change  nor  loss  sustains. 

The  Bread  of  Angels,  lo  !  is  sent 
For  weary  pilgrims'  nourishment ; 
The  children's  Bread,  not  to  be  spent 

On  worthless  dogs  profane  ; 
In  types  significant  portrayed, 
Young  Isaac  on  the  altar  laid, 
And  Paschal  offerings  duly  made. 

And  manna's  fruitful  rain. 

O  Thou  Good  Shepherd,  Very  Bread, 
Jesus,  on  us  Tliy  mercy  shed ! 

Sweetly  feed  us ! 

Gently  lead  us ! 
Till  of  Thy  fulness  us  Thou  give. 
Safe  in  the  land  of  them  that  live. 

Thou  who  canst  all,  and  all  dost  know, 
Thou  who  dost  feed  us  here  below  ; 

Grant  us  to  share 

Thy  banquet  there. 
Co-heirs  and  partners  of  Thy  love, 
With  the  blest  citizens  above. 
Amen.     Alleluia. 


wt:-.  r  ^^^^" 


^^^•^T  >«i^Bs;^_r^^- 


/" 


%\u 


\ 


/ 


Ltil 


The  Agony  of  Jesus. 


Suffer  as  did  Jesus,  and  for  Him. 


THE   PICTORIAL  LES50NS 


J^' 


KOR   THE 


OLLOWING    OF    (^HRIST 


This  admirable  series  of  engravings  embrace  celebrated  pic- 
tures from  the  gallery,  by  Prof.  Plockhorst,  of  Stuttgart,  Ger- 
many, and  represent  a  number  of  the  principal  events  in  the  life 
of  our  Saviour.  They  form  a  pictorial  history  of  the  Life  of 
Jesus.  The  subjects  are  of  a  nature  to  stimulate  piety  and 
strengthen  virtue.  They  are  a  book  of  sermons  in  pictures,  and 
the  scenes  and  events  depicted  are  equally  edifying  to  young  and 
old,  the  learned  or  the  unlearned. 

The  Nativity.  Jesus  chose  to  be  born  in  poverty,  humilia- 
tion, and  suffering:  1.  To  expiate  sin;  2.  To  cure  us  of  its  con- 
sequences; 3.  To  set  us  an  example.  And  it  was  fitting  that 
His  birth  should  be  in  harmony  with  His  life  and  death. 

The  Twelve-years-old  Christ  in  the  Temple.  St.  Joseph  and 
the  Blessed  Virgin  having  become  separated  from  Jesus,  then 
twelve  years  old,  at  the  Feast  of  the  Passover  in  Jerusalem, 
searched  for  three  days  and  found  Him  in  the  temple,  where 
He  astonished  the  doctors  by  the  wisdom  of  His  answers  and 
questions.  To  His  mother's  question  why  He  had  done  so.  He 
replied:  *'Did  you  not  know  that  I  must  be  about  the  things 
that  are  my  Father's  ? "  By  this  Jesus  teaches  that  we  too  must 
do  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father  in  preference  to  all  other 
considerations. 

.  Baptism  of  Jesus.  Jesus,  though  perfect,  received  baptism 
from  John  the  Baptist,  in  order  to  show  beforehand  to  His 
Church  the  penance  she  was  to  prescribe  for  her  children  in  all 


ii  THE  PICTORIAL  LESSONS  FOR  THE  FOLLOWING  OF  CHRIST. 

future  ages.  Haviug  taken  upon  Himself  the  entire  debt  of  sin- 
ners, He  wished  to  begin  His  mission  by  exercising  the  rigors  of 
penance  on  Himself.  This  was  His  meaning  when  He  said  to 
St.  John  :  "  Sulfer  it  to  be  so  now,  for  so  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil 
all  Justice." 

Jesus'  Discourse  with  Nicodemus.  In  his  discourse  with  Nic- 
odemus  our  Saviour  outlines  the  entire  plan  of  Christianity. 
Nicodemus  was  a  believer,  anxious  for  instruction,  but  timid 
and  fearful  of  persecution.  He  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  in  order 
not  to  be  seen.  But  having  received  the  truth  he  professed 
it  till  death,  accompanied  by  every  Christian  virtue;  and  the 
Church  has  placed  him  among  the  Saints.  The  lesson  of  his  life 
is,  that  we  must  persevere  in  virtue. 

Christ  Appears  on  the  Sea.  When  Christ  appeared  to  Peter 
and  his  companions  walking  on  the  water,  Peter,  in  his  haste 
to  meet  our  Saviour,  walked  out  on  the  water  to  meet  Him. 
Feeling  himself  sinking,  he  cried  out :  "  Lord,  save  me  !  "  Jesus, 
reaching  forth  His  hand,  said :  "  Oh,  thou  of  little  faith,  why 
didst  thou  doubt  ? "  By  this  our  Saviour  teaches  that  we  must 
have  faith  in  all  our  trials  and  dangers. 

The  Transfiguration.  Jesus  having  taken  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  his  brother,  up  into  a  high  mountain  to  pray,  was  trans- 
figured before  them.  His  face  shone  as  the  sun,  and  His  gar- 
ments became  white  as  the  snow.  The  torrents  of  light  from 
His  divinity  flamed  on  His  humanity.  In  thus  appearing  to 
His  disciples  in  His  divine  lustre,  our  Lord  wished  to  typify  the 
splendor  of  His  glory  in  Heaven,  and  the  superb  power  and  glory 
in  which  He  will  appear  on  the  last  day  to  administer  eternal 
justice  to  all  men. 

Christ  Raising  Lazarus.  When  Martha  said  to  Jesus,  "  Lord, 
if  Thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died,"  Jesus 
answered:  "Thy  brother  shall  rise  again.  I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life ;  he  that  belie veth  in  me,  although  he  be  dead,  shall 
live."  And  in  restoring  Lazarus  to  life,  He  taught  us  that  those 
who  die  shall  recover  life  by  the  resurrection  on  the  last  day. 


THE  PICTORIAL  LESSONS  FOR  THE  FOLLOWING  OF  CHRIST.  ill 

Christ  Blessing  Little  Children.  A  Dumber  of  fathers  and 
mothers  having  brought  their  children  to  Jesus,  He  blessed  them, 
and  declared  that  rather  than  scandalize  a  little  child,  it  were 
better  to  have  a  millstone  tied  to  one's  neck  and  to  be  cast  into 
the  sea.  In  this  we  receive  a  fearful  illustration  of  the  sin  of 
giving  evil  example  to  the  innocent. 

Christ  Entering  Jerusalem.  Jesus,  five  days  before  His  death, 
entered  Jerusalem,  seated  on  an  ass.  The  multitude  came 
out  to  meet  Him,  and  hailed  Him  with  rejoicing.  But  the 
Saviour,  in  the  midst  of  His  triumph,  wept  over  Jerusalem,  and 
predicted  the  calamities  that  were  soon  to  befall  it.  In  this  we 
see  a  type  of  the  ingratitude  of  mankind. 

The  Feet  of  Christ  Washed  by  Mary  Magdalen.  When  Mary 
Magdalen  washed  the  feet  of  Jesus  with  her  tears,  and  wiped 
them  with  her  hait,  and  He  said. that  many  sins  were  forgiven 
her  because  she  loved  much.  He  wished  to  teach  us  thereby, 
as  the  Council  of  Trent  points  out,  that  "they  (the  sinners) 
must  begin  to  love  God  as  the  source  of  all  justice."  Love  of 
God  and  sincere  repentance  are  necessary  for  forgiveness. 

The  Widow's  Mite.  While  Jesus  was  in  the  temple  a  poor 
widow  put  a  farthing  into  the  treasury,  whereupon  He  com- 
mended her,  saying  that  she  put  in  more  than  the  rich.  By  this 
our  Saviour  illustrated  the  truth  that  our  merit  depends  not  upon 
the  greatness  of  our  actions  as  much  as  on  the  purity  of  our 
intentions. 

The  Last  Supper.  At  the  Last  Supper  Jesus  showed  His 
supreme  love  of  humanity  by  giving  Himself  to  us  in  the  Holy 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist.  In  this  He  replaced  the  ancient 
sacrifices  by  that  which  in  its  unity  should  supply  the  place  of 
them  all,  and  by  its  excellence  infinitely  surpass  them  in  merit 
and  in  value. 

Christ  in  the  Garden.  Jesus,  taking  with  Him  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  retired  to  the  Garden  of  Getlisemane  to  pray.  In 
the  intensity  of  His  agony  He  prayed :  "  My  Father,  if  Tliou 
wilt,  take  away  this  chalice  from  me;  yet,  not  my  will,  but  Thine 
be  done."     An  angel  was  sent  from  heaven  to  strengthen  Him. 


iv  THE  PICTOKIAL  LESSOISTS  FOR  THE  FOLLOWIlSra   OF   CHRIST. 

In  this  our  Saviour  showed  that  we  must  have  recourse  to  prayer 
in  our  trials  and  sufferings,  and  submit  in  all  things  to  the 
Divine  will. 

The  Agony  of  Jesus.  This  engraving  also  represents,  by 
another  artist,  the  agony  of  our  Saviour  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane  immediately  before  His  Passion  and  death.  Having 
prayed,  "  Father,  if  Thou  wilt,  take  away  this  chalice  from  me ; 
yet,  not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done,"  an  angel  descended  from 
heaven  to  strengthen  Him. 

Suffer  as  did  Jesus,  and  for  Him.  This  is  a  symbolical  picture 
of  how  a  follower  of  Christ,  bearing  his  cross,  will  receive 
heavenly  aid.  During  Christ's  agony  in  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane,  an  angel  descended  from  heaven  to  aid  and  strengthen 
Him.  So,  too,  we  may  expect  heavenly  assistance  in  bearing 
with  patience  and  resignation  our  trials  in  this  world. 

The  Crucifixion.  Jesus,  on  being  raised  up  on  the  cross 
between  two  thieves,  prayed  for  His  murderers :  "  My  Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."  He  thus  im- 
posed on  all  men  the  duty  of  forgiveness  for  injuries  received. 
Then  perceiving  His  Blessed  Mother  and  St.  John  at  the  foot  of 
the  cross.  He  said  :  "Woman,  behold  thy  son  ";  and  to  St.  John, 
"Behold  thy  mother."  He  thus,  in  the  person  of  St.  John,  made 
Mary  the  mother  of  all  Christians. 

Christ  Appears  to  Mary  Magdalen.  In  appearing  first  to  Mary 
Magdalen,  Jesus  wished,  by  this  distinction,  to  reward  the  fervor 
and  constancy  of  her  love.  Thus  we  are  taught  the  zeal  which 
we  exercise  in  obeying  the  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  will 
receive  its  recompense. 

The  Angel  Appearing  to  St.  John.  According  to  commen- 
tators on  the  Scriptures,  those  terrible  things  described  in 
the  Apocalypse  as  the  persecutions  of  antichrist,  will  not  all 
be  fulfilled  until  a  short  time  before  the  end  of  the  world.  "  But 
that,  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall 
begin  to  sound  the  trumpet,  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished, 
as  He  hath  declared  by  His  servants,  the  prophets."  The  sealed 
book  given  to  St.  John  by  the  angel,  signifies  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  through  whom  all  men  can  be  saved. 


^iGTORiAL  *  Wessons 


BF'OBa  X3E3E3S 


TfolloWii^: 


of  + 


THE  TWELVE-YEARS-OLD  CHRIST  IN  THE  TEMPLE. 


CHRIST. 


CHRIST   AND   NTCODEMUS. 


-.l-^ 


m. 


'-i:^4; 


j^^^ 


k.'kl 


X 


CHBTST    APPEARS    ON    THE    SEA. 


THE   TRANSFIGURATION. 


CHRIST   RAISING   LAZARUS. 


CHRIST   BLESSING   LITTLE   CHILDREN. 


CHRIST   ENTERING   JERUSALEM. 


THE   FEET   OF   CHRIST   WASHED   BY  MARY  MAGDALENE. 


THE    WIDOW'S   MIT3. 


THE   LAST  S'JPPER. 


CHRIST   IN   THE   GARDEN   OF   GETHSEMANE. 


THE   CKUCIiiX-O: 


CHRIST   APPEARS   TO   MARY    MAGDALENr^ 


And  he  set  Ids  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  upon  the  ear«7i."— Apocalypse  %.  2. 
THE   ANGEL   APPEARING   TO   ST     JOHN. 


THE   PICTORIAL  GALLERY 


OK 


4TpLY  *  W^MBN. 


Guardian  Angel.  In  this  picture  of  the  child  and  its  guard- 
ian angel,  we  see  illustrated  the  beautiful  teaching  of  the 
Catholic  Church  that  God,  at  the  first  moment  of  our  existence, 
appoints  an  angel  specially  to  watch  over  us,  to  defend  us,  and  to 
conduct  us  to  heaven.  The  Church,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
established  a  special  feast  in  honor  of  the  guardian  angels. 

St.  Agnes.  This  Saint  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  charac- 
ters in  the  calendar  of  saintly  women.  St.  Jerome  says  that  the 
tongues  and  pens  of  all  nations  are  employed  in  praises  of  her. 
St.  Agnes  is  represented  in  her  picture  as  holding  in  her  arms  a 
lamb,  as  a  fitting  type  of  her  innocence.  Her  name  in  Greek 
means  chaste^  and  in  Latin,  a  lamh.  She  is  regarded  in  the 
Church  as  a  special  patroness  of  purity.  During  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Christians,  under  Diocletian,  after  having  resisted 
all  the  threats  and  artifices  of  the  enemies  of  Christ,  who 
sought  to  make  her  renounce  the  faith,  she  was  beheaded,  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  her  age.  St.  Aml^rose  says  she  went  to  tlie 
place  of  execution  more  cheerfully  than  other  women  go  to  their 
wedding. 

St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary.  St.  Elizabeth  was  the  daugliter 
of  King  Alexander  II.  of  Hungary,  and  his  Queen,  Gertrude, 
and  she  became  the  wife  of  the  Landgrave  of  Ilesse  and 
Thuringia.  She  devoted  her  whole  life  to  the  performance  of 
good  works.     She  built  hospitals  and    almshouses,  tended    the 


11  THE  PICTORIAL  GALLERY  OF  HOLY  WOMEN^. 

wounded  and  sick,  and  fed  nearly  a  thousand  poor  daily  at  the 
gates  of  her  palace.  She  devoted  all  her  revenues  to  the  use  of 
the  poor.  She  earned  her  own  maintenance  by  spinning  and  other 
work,  and  cooked  her  own  victuals,  which  were  of  the  coarsest 
kind.  On  the  death  of  her  husband  she  turned  over  her  domin- 
ions to  her  son,  so  as  to  continue  in  her  good  work,  and  before 
her  death  she  willed  all  her  revenues  to  Christ,  to  be  used  for 
His  poor.  Innumerable  miracles  have  been  recorded  as  wrought 
by  her  prayers  and  relics. 

Saint  Cecilia.  Saint  Cecilia  is  regarded  as  the  patroness  of 
church  music,  and  her  name  has  been  held  in  great  veneration 
from  the  early  ages  of  the  Church.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  Canon 
of  the  Mass,  and  in  the  sacramentaries  and  calendars  of  the 
Church.  She  was  chosen  patroness  of  church  music  on  account 
of  her  assiduity  in  singing  the  divine  praises,  in  which  she  often 
joined  instrumental  music  with  vocal.  She  was  put  to  death  for 
the  faith,  in  the  year  230. 

St.  Rose  of  Lima.  St.  Rose  is  the  only  American  Saint  in 
the  calendar  of  the  Catholic  Church.  And  the  record  of  her  life 
and  virtues  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  beautiful  in  the 
entire  bead-roll  of  saintly  women.  She  was  born  in  Lima,  Peru, 
in  1586,  and  was  of  Spanish  extraction.  While  quite  young  she 
chose  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna  as  her  model'.  She  was  baptized 
Isabel,  but  the  name  Rose  was  given  to  her  on  account  of  the 
resemblance  of  her  face,  when  a  baby,  in  figure  and  color  to  a 
rose.  She  refused  the  most  attractive  offers  of  marriage,  and 
joined  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Her  life  was  a  perpetual 
round  of  heroic  virtue  and  patient  suffering.  She  died  in  her 
thirty-first  year,  August  24,  1617;  and  the  Chapter,  Senate,  and 
all  the  most  honorable  companies  of  the  city,  by  turns,  carried  her 
body  to  the  grave,  the  Archbishop  performing  the  funeral  services. 
Many  miracles  have  been  wrought  through  her  intercession ;  and 
churches  dedicated  to  her  honor  are  found  all  over  North  and 
South  America.     The  great  Pope  Leo  X.  canonized  her. 

St.  Margaret  was  Queen  of  Scotland,  niece  of  St.  Edward 
the  Confessor  of  England,  and  granddaughter  of  Edmund  Iron- 


THE  PICTOEIAL  GALLERY  OF  HOLY  WOMEIT. 


lU 


side.  She  turned  her  court  into  a  real  almshouse,  and  spent  all 
the  time  that  she  could  spare  from  the  duties  of  her  station  in 
prayer,  and  in  attending  and  relieving  the  poor.  Her  life  reads 
like  a  holy  romance.  She  died  in  1093,  and  Pope  Innocent  IV. 
canonized  her. 

St.  Catherine  of  Sienna.  This  engraving  shows  us  St.  Cath- 
erine of  Sienna,  one  of  the  most  holy  women  in  the  calendar 
of  the  Church.  God  not  only  favored  St.  Catherine  with  extra- 
ordinary graces,.but  He  also  imparted  to  her  the  gift  of  com- 
municating her  piety  to  others  ;  so  that  Pope  Pius  II.  said  of  her 
that  no  one  ever  approached  her  without  going  away  better.  Her 
whole  life,  it  is  said,  seemed  to  be  one  continued  miracle. 

Saint  Teresa.  This  illustration  shows  St.  Teresa  in  the  ecstasy 
of  devotion  before  the  crucifix.  She  was  the  foundress  of 
the  Reformed  Barefooted  Carmelites,  and  she  lived  to  see  six- 
teen nunneries  of  her  order  founded  and  fourteen  convents  of 
Carmelite  friars.  She  was  favored  with  ecstasies,  raptures,  and 
visions,  and  many  revelations  were  imparted  to  her.  She  wrote 
many  books,  which  are  the  delight  of  devout  persons ;  and  her 
own  life,  written  by  herself,  in  obedience  to  her  confessor,  is 
placed  on  the  same  plane  as  the  Confessions  of  St.  Augustine. 


The  Guardian  Angel. 


Saint  Agnes. 


Saint  Emzaukth  of  Hungary. 


SAINT  CECELIA. 


Saint  Rosk  of  Lima. 


Saint  Margaret, 


Saint  Catharine,  of  Sienna. 


Saint  Teresa. 


THE 

FRUITS  OF  THE  FAITH 


AS   SEEN 


IN  THE  LIVES  OF  HOLY  WOMEN 


SAINT    MARY    MAGDALEN. 

The  illustrious  penitent  woman  mentioned  by  St.  Luke,  was, 
by  her  perfect  conversion,  an  encouraging  example  and  model 
of  penitence  to  all  succeeding  ages. 

Jesus,  not  long  after  he  had  raised  to  life  the  son  of  a  widow 
at  Nain,  a  town  in  Galilee,  was  invited  to  dinner  by  a  certain 
Pharisee  called  Simon,  who  seems  to  have  lived  in  the  same 
town,  or  some  neighboring  city,  as  Calmet  shows.  Our  Lord 
was  pleased  to  accept  his  invitation,  chiefly  that  he  might  con- 
found the  pride  of  the  Pharisees  by  manifesting  the  power  of 
his  orrace  in  the  wonderful  conversion  of  this  abandoned  sinner- 

She  was  informed  that  our  Divine  Redeemer  was  at  table 
in  the  house  of  the  Pharisee.  She  did  not  so  much  as  think  of 
the  disgrace  to  which  she  exposed  herself  by  appearing  before 
a  numerous  and  honorable  assembly,  of  the  reproaches  and  dis- 
dain she  was  to  expect  from  the  Pharisee,  or  the  fear  of  mov- 
ing Christ  himself  to  indignation  by  an  unseasonable  importu- 
nate address.  One  moment's  delay  in  seeking  her  physician 
seemed  too  much,  because  her  heart  was  now  wounded  with  di- 
vine love.  Sinners,  who,  in  returning  to  God,  think  too  nicely 
that  they  have  temporal  interests  to  provide  for,  friends  to 
please,  and  opportunities  to  wait  for,  are   far  from  tlie  disposi- 


Q2  THE   FRUITS    OF   THE   FAITH, 

tions  of   this   happy  penitent.     She  found  mercy,  because  she 
sought  it  before  all  things. 

In  this  disposition  she  bolted  into  the  chamber  where  Jesus 
was  at  dinner  with  the  Pharisee,  and,  regardless  of  what  others 
thought  or  said  of  her  past  life,  or  of  her  present  boldness,  she 
made  up  to  her  Redeemer  and  Physician.  She  durst  not  ap- 
pear before  his  face,  and  therefore  went  behind  him  ;  and  the 
nearer  she  approached  his  sacred  person  streams  gushed  more 
abundantly  from  her  eyes.  Attentive  only  on  Christ,  from 
whom  she  sought  her  health  and  salvation,  standing  at  his  feet, 
she  watered  them  with  her  tears,  wiped  them  with  her  hair,  most 
respectfully  kissed  them,  and  anointed  them  with  rich  perfumes 
and  sweet-scented  essences  which  she  had  brought  in  an  alabas- 
ter box.  She  now  defaces  or  consecrates  to  penance  whatever 
had  formerly  been  an  instrument  of  sin  ;  her  eyes,  which  had 
been  full  of  dangerous  charms,  are  now  converted  into  fountains 
of  tears  to  cleanse  the  stains  of  her  soul ;  and  her  hair,  once 
dressed  in  tresses  and  curls  to  ensnare  souls,  now  hangs  loose 
and  dishevelled,  and  serves  for  a  towel  to  wipe  our  Lord's  feet, 
which  she  kisses  with  her  lips,  and  scents  with  her  perfumes, 
formerly  the  incentives  of  vice.  Our  holy  penitent  prepared,  as 
it  were,  an  altar  at  the  feet  of  our  Lord,  on  which  she  offered  to 
him  the  true  sacrifice  of  a  contrite  and  humble  heart.  There, 
losing  the  use  of  her  speech  whilst  grief  intercepted  her  words, 
she  spoke  only  by  her  tears  ;  but  before  Him  to  whom  the  se- 
crets of  her  heart  were  open,  these  sighs,  and  this  silence  itself, 
was  a  louder  cry  than  that  of  any  words  could  have  been.  Thus 
she  earnestly  begged  of  God's  pure  mercy  that  pardon  which 
she  confessed  herself  most  unworthy  to  obtain. 

The  Pharisee  who  had  invited  Jesus  to  his  table  was  shocked 
to  see  an  infamous  sinner,  well  known  in  that  city,  admitted  by 
our  Lord  to  stand  at  his  feet,  and  secretly  said  within  himself 
that  He  could  not  be  a  prophet,  or  know  that  she  was  a  scan, 
dalous  person. 

Cbrist  sought  indirectly  by  a  parable   to  cure  the   pride  and{ 
rash  judgment  of  this  Pharisee,  and  convince  him  that  she  to 
whom  much  had  been  forgiven,  then  loved  God  the  more  ;  con- 
sequently was  more  acceptable  to  him.      How    fervent  was  this 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE    LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  93 

love  in  our  devout  penitent !  By  it  she  is  become  at  once  insen- 
sible of  the  reproaches  and  judgment  of  men  ;  she  defers  not 
her  sacrifice  a  single  moment  ,  and  allows  not  herself  the  least 
mitigation  in  it ;  she  cuts  off  all  her  engagements,  extirpating 
them  to  the  very  root,  both  in  her  heart  and  actions ;  she 
renounces  forever  all  dangerous  occasions  of  her  disorders. 
With  what  courage  and  resolution  does  she  embrace  all  the 
most  heroic  practices  of  penance !  confessing  publicly  her 
crimes  ;  looking  upon  the  utmost  humiliation  as  her  due  and 
her  gain,  and  as  falling  far  short  of  what  she  deserves  ;  chastis- 
ing sin  in  herself  without  mercy,  in  order  to  excite  the  divine 
compassion  ;  making  the  number  and  enormity  of  her  sins  the 
measure  of  her  penance,  or  rather  desiring  to  set  no  bounds  to 
it,  as  the  malice  of  her  offences  went  beyond  all  bounds  ;  and 
devoting  the  remainder  of  her  life  to  tears,  prayer,  and  every 
exercise  of  virtue  and  divine  love.  She  is  the  first  to  confess 
Jesus  Christ  publicly  before  men,  and  in  the  presence  of  his 
enemies.  By  these  dispositions  she  deserved  that  her  Lord 
should  take  upon  him  her  defence,  and  declare  himself  her  pro- 
tector. 

Gratitude  and  devotion  having  attached  her  to  our  Divine 
Redeemer  after  so  great  a  benefit,  she  followed  him  almost 
wherever  he  went,  that  she  might  have  an  opportunity  of  listen- 
ing to  all  his  sacred  instructions,  and  of  exercising  her  charity 
in  ministerinor  to  him  of  her  substance.  She  attended  him  in 
his  sacred  passion,  and  stood  under  the  cross  on  Mount  Cal- 
vary. For  her  to  arrive  at  the  summit  of  divine  love,  it  was 
necessary  she  should  pass  through  the  sharpest  trials.  A  great 
mystery  is  contained  in  those  words  of  the  evangelist :  **  There 
stood  near  the  cross  of  Jesus,  Mary  his  mother,  and  his  motlier's 
sister,  Mary  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary  Magdalen."  Happy  associ- 
ation !  happy  state  and  situation  near  Jesus  on  his  cross  !  cries 
out  the  devout  Cardinal  Berulle.  This  is  a  new  order  of  souls 
which  consists  in  the  spirit,  in  the  interior,  and  is  invisible  to 
men,  but  visible  and  glorious  to  the  eyes  of  God  and  the  angels. 
An  order  of  souls  crucified  with  Jesus,  and  through  Jesus,  which 
takes  its  birth  from  his  cross.  The  order,  at  the  same  time, 
both  of  the  cross  and  of  heaven  ;  the  order  and  school  of  love 


94  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

by  the  martydom  of  the  heart  ;  which  by  learning  to  die  to 
the  world  and  inordinate  self-love,  lives  to  God  and  his  pure 
love.  This  happiness  we  attain  to  by  being  united  in  spirit  to 
Jesus  crucified,  as  Magdalen  was  at  the  foot  of  his  cross.  She 
suffered  by  love  what  he  suffered  in  his  body  by  the  hands  of 
the  Jews.  The  same  cross  crucified  Jesus  and  Magdalen  in 
him  and  with  him.  The  thorns  pierced  her  heart  with  his  head, 
and  her  soul  was  bathed  in  all  his  sorrows  ;  but  the  crucifixion 
was  in  both  a  martrydom  of  love  ;  and  that  love  which  triumphed 
over  Jesus  by  making  him  die  on  the  cross,  crucified  her  heart 
to  all  inordinate  love  of  creatures,  thenceforward  to  reign  and 
.triumph  alone  in  all  her  affections,  so  that  she  could  say  in  a 
two-fold  sense,  "  My  love  is  crucified."  Mary  Magdalen  forsook 
not  her  Redeemer  after  his  death,  but  remained  by  his  sacred 
body,  was  present  at  its  interment,  left  it  only  to  obey  the  law  of 
observing  the  festival,  and  having  rested  on  the  Sabbath,  from 
sunset  on  Friday  to  sunset  on  Saturday,  as  soon  as  the  festival 
was  over,  went  to  buy  spices  in  order  to  embalm  our  Lord's 
body.  Having  made  all  things  ready,  in  company  with  other 
devout  women  she  set  out  very  early  the  next  morning  with  the 
spices,  before  it  was  light,  and  arrived  at  the  sepulchre  just  when 
the  sun  was  risen.  As  they  went  they  were  anxious  how  they 
should  get  the  heavy  stone  which  shut  up  the  door  of  the  mon- 
ument, taken  away;  but  upon  their  arrival  found  it  removed  to 
their  hands.  God  never  fails  to  be  with  his  servants  in  what 
they  undertake  for  his  honor  ;  and  the  difficulties,  whether  real 
or  imaginary,  with  the  apprehension  of  which  the  devil  attempts 
to  discourage  them,  are  banished  by  confidence  and  resolution, 
and  vanish  as  shadows  in  the  execution.  The  pious  women 
looked  into  the  sepulchre,  and  finding  the  body  not  there,  Mary 
Magdalen  ran  to  inform  Peter  and  the  other  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,  and  said  to  them,  "  They  have  taken  away  the  Lord  out 
of  the  sepulchre,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him." 
SS.  Peter  and  John,  the  two  most  fervent  in  love  among  the 
apostles,  ran  immediately  to  the  sepulchre,  and  were  there  as- 
sured by  the  holy  women  who  were  at  the  door  of  the  monu- 
ment, that  going  in  they  had  seen  two  angels  clad  in  white 
shining  apparel,  and  that  one  of  them  who  sat  at  the  right  hand 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  95 

of  the  place  where  the  body  was  laid,  bid  them  not  to  fear,  but 
to  acquaint  the  apostles  that  Jesus  was  risen,  showing  them  at 
the  same  time  where  his  body  had  been  laid.  Peter  and  John 
having  narrowly  viewed  the  sepulchre,  doubted  no  longer  of 
what  was  told  them,  and  in  great  astonishment  returned  to 
Jerusalem  to  the  other  disciples.  Mary  Magdalen,  who  had 
brought  them  to  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord,  made  the  throne 
of  divine  love,  would  not  return  with  them,  or  be  drawn  from 
the  sacred  place  where  the  true  ark  of  the  testament,  the  body 
of  her  Redeemer,  had  rested  three  days,  and  continued  at  the 
monument  bemoaning  herself  for  not  being  able  to  see  her 
Redeemer,  dead  or  alive.  Not  being  able  to  assuage  the  vio- 
lence of  her  grief  and  of  her  desire  to  see  her  Lord,  she  stood 
weeping  without  the  door  of  the  sepulchre.  The  entrance  being 
low  and  narrow  she  stooped  down  to  look  into  it  again  and 
again,  and  beheld  the  two  angels  in  white,  one  of  them  sitting 
at  the  place  where  Jesus's  head  lay,  and  the  other  at  the  feet, 
who  thus  accosted  her :  "Woman,  why  weepest  thou?"  She 
replied,  "  Because  they  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know 
not  where  they  have  laid  him."  Neither  the  surprise  of  this 
apparition  nor  the  brightness  and  glory  of  these  heavenly  mes- 
sencrers  could  touch  her  heart,  or  divert  her  thoughts  from  him 
whom  she  loved,  and  whom  alone  she  sought,  and  we  suffer  so 
many  foolish  objects  to  distract  us,  and  carry  away  our  affec- 
tions. But  why  did  not  these  angels  inform  her  that  he  whom 
she  so  earnestly  sought  was  risen  in  glory  ?  Doubtless,  because 
the  Lord  of  angels  would  reserve  it  to  himself  to  give  her  that 
comfort.  Blessed  be  thy  name  for  ever,  O  adorable  Jesus,  who 
so  tenderly  wipest  away  the  tears  of  thy  servants  with  thy  own 
hand,  and  sweet  voice,  and  convertest  their  sorrow  into  trans- 
ports of  inexpressible  joy.  Jesus  first  manifested  himself  to  the 
Magdalen  in  disguise  to  make  a  trial  himself  of  her  love  ;  but 
his  tenderness  could  not  suffer  a  delay,  and  he  soon  discovered 
himself  openly  to  her;  for,  as  soon  as  she  had  returned  the 
answer  above  mentioned  to  the  angels,  she  turned  about,  and 
saw  Jesus  himself  standing  by  her,  but  took  him  for  the  gardener. 
He  asked  her  why  she  wept,  and  whom  she  sought.  She  said 
to  him,  "Sir,  if  thou  hast  taken  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou 


q6  the  fruits  of  the  faith, 

hast  laid  him,  and  I  will  take  him  away."  According  to  the  re- 
mark of  St.  Bernard,  and  of  St.  Thomas  of  Villa  Nova,  love 
made  her  not  to  name  him,  because  being  full  of  Him  alone,  she 
imao-ined  everybody  else  must  be  so  too,  and  that  this  stranger 
must  understand  of  whom  she  spoke.  Love  also  made  her  for- 
get her  own  weakness,  and  think  herself  able  to  carry  a  heavy 
corpse,  provided  she  could  be  so  happy  any  way  as  to  serve  her 
beloved  ;  for  to  ardent  love  nothing  seems  impossible  or  diffi- 
cult. Jesus,  infinitely  pleased  with  her  earnestness  and  love, 
manifested  himself  to  her,  saying  with  his  sweet  and  amiable 
voice,  "  Mary  !  "  He  at  first  mentioned  her  tears,  and  the  object 
which  she  so  earnestly  sought,  to  excite  her  love.  All  this  while 
she  knew  him  not,  though  he  was  present,  and  conversing  with 
her,  because  these  words  carried  not  with  them  the  ray  of  light 
to  discover  him;  but  her  name  was  no  sooner  pronounced  by 
him,  but  his  voice  excited  in  her  a  rapture  of  light  and  love,  and 
gave  her  the  most  sublime  and  full  knowledge,  and  the  sweetest 
enjoyment  of  the  most  desirable  of  objects,  of  him  risen  in  glory 
who  was  the  life  of  the  world,  and  her  life.  Hearing  him 
sweetly  call  her  by  her  name,  and  thus  knowing  him,  she  turn- 
ing said,  "  Rabboni,"  that  is.  Master.  And  casting  herself  at 
his  feet  in  transports  of  devotion  she  would  have  embraced 
them.  But  Jesus  said  to  her,  "  Do  not  touch  me  ;  for  I  have 
not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father ;  but  go  to  my  brethren,  and  tell 
them  that  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your  Father,  to  my  God 
and  your  God."  That  is,  my  father  by  nature,  yours  by  grace, 
says  St.  Austin.  He  bade  her  make  haste  to  carry  his  message 
to  his  beloved  disciples  for  their  speedy  comfort,  and  not  lose 
time  in  o-ivinor  demonstrations  of  her  reverence  and  love.  St. 
Leo  explains  these  words  of  our  Lord  as  follows,  "  It  is  not  a 
time  to  demonstrate  your  affection  for  me  in  such  a  manner  as 
if  I  were  in  a  mortal  state  ;  I  am  with  you  but  for  a  short  time, 
to  strengthen  your  faith.  When  I  shall  have  ascended  to  my 
Father,  then  you  shall  again  possess  me  for  eternity."  Thus 
Mary  Magdalen,  out  of  whom  Jesus  had  cast  seven  evil  spirts, 
was  the  first  that  saw  Him  after  his  rising  from  the  dead.  This 
preeminence  of  grace,  this  distinguishing  favor  and  love  of  Jesus, 
was  the  recompense  of  her  ardent  love,  by  which  she  attended 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  97 

last  his  body  in  the  sepulchre,  from  which  she  was  only  drawn 
by  the  duty  of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  she  was  the  first  who  returned 
thither  ;  she  sought  him  dead,  and  found  him  living.  In  obe- 
dience to  his  commands  she  immediately  departed  to  acquaint 
the  apostles  with  the  joyful  message. 

It  is  an  ancient  popular  tradition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Prov- 
ence, in  France,  that  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  or  perhaps  Mary  the 
sister  of  Lazarus,  St.  Martha,  and  St.  Lazarus,  with  some  other 
disciples  of  our  Lord,  after  his  ascension,  being  expelled  by  the 
Jews,  put  to  sea,  and  landed  safe  at  Marseilles,  of  which  church 
they  were  the  founders.  St.  Lazarus  being  made  the  first  bishop 
of  that  city.  The  relics  of  these  saints  were  discovered  in  Prov- 
ence in  the  thirteenth  century,  those  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  at  a 
place  now  called  St.  Maximin's,  those  of  St.  Martha  at  Tarascon 
upon  the  Rhone,  and  others  in  St.  Victor's  at  Marseilles.  They 
were  authentically  proved  genuine  by  many  monuments  found 
with  them  in  these  several  places.  This  translation  was  made  in 
821.  Pope  Paschal  founded  a  monastery  in  honor  of  these 
saints,  near  the  Church  of  St.  Cecily,  that  the  monks  might  per- 
form the  office -day  and  night.  He  adorned  that  church  with 
great  magnificence,  and  gave  to  it  silver  plate  to  the  amount  of 
about  nine  hundred  pounds — among  other  things  a  ciborium,  or 
tabernacle,  of  five  hundred  pounds  weight  ;  and  a  great  many 
pieces  of  rich  stuffs  for  veils,  and  such  kinds  of  ornaments  ;  in 
one  of  which  was  represented  the  angel  crowning  St.  Cecily, 
Valerian,  and  Tiburtius.  This  church,  which  o-'ives  title  to  a 
cardinal  priest,  was  sumptuously  rebuilt  in  1599  by  Cardinal  Paul 
Emilius  Sfondrati,  nephew  to  Pope  Gregory  XIV.,  when  Cle- 
ment VIII.  caused  the  bodies  of  these  saints  to  be  removed 
under  the  high  altar,  and  deposited  in  a  most  sumptuous  vault 
lA  the  same  church,  called  the  Confession  of  St.  Cecily  ;  it 
was  enriched  in  such  a  manner  by  Cardinal  Paul  Emilius 
Sfondrati  as  to  dazzle  the  eye  and  astonish  the  spectator.  This 
church  of  St,  Cecily  is  called  In  Trastevere,  or,  Be)ond  the 
Tiber,  to  distinguish  it  from  two  other  churches  in  Rome  which 
bear  the  name  of  this  saint. 

St.  Cecily,  from  her  assiduity  in  singing  the  divine  praises  (in 
which,    according  to  her    Acts,  she    often    joined  instrumental 


98  THE   FRUITS   OF  THE   FAITH, 

music  with  vocal),  is  regarded  as  patroness  of  church  music. 
The  psalms,  and  many  sacred  canticles  in  many  other  parts  of 
the  holy  scripture,  and  the  universal  practice  both^of  the  ancient 
Jewish  and  of  the  Christian  church,  recommend  the  religious 
custom  of  sometimes  employing  a  decent  and  grave  music  in 
sounding  forth  the  divine  praises.  By  this  homage  of  prsise  we 
join  the  heavenly  spirits  in  their  uninterrupted  songs  of  adora- 
tion, love,  and  praise.  And  by  such  music  we  express  the  spirit- 
ual joy  of  our  hearts  in  this  heavenly  function,  and  excite  our- 
selves therein  to  holy  jubilation  and  devotion.  Divine  love  and 
praise  are  the  work  of  the  heart,  without  which  all  words  or  ex- 
terior signs  are  hypocrisy  and  mockery 

SAINT    CECILY. 
Virgin  Martyr. 

The  name  of  St.  Cecily  has  always  been  most  illustrious  in 
the  church,  and  ever  since  the  primitive  ages  is  mentioned  with 
distinction  in  the  canon  of  the  mass,  and  in  the  sacramentaries 
and  calendars  of  the  church.  Her  spouse  Valerian,  Tiburtius, 
and  Maximus,  an  officer,  who  were  her  companions  in  martyr- 
dom, are  also  mentioned  in  the  same  authentic  and  venerable 
writings.  St.  Cecily  was  a  native  of  Rome,  of  a  good  family, 
and  educated  in  the  principles  and  perfect  practice  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  In  her  youth  she  by  vow  consecrated  her  virgin- 
ity to  God,  yet  was  compelled  by  her  parents  to  marry  a  noble- 
man named  Valerian.  Him  she  converted  to  the  faith,  and 
soon  after  gained  to  the  same  his  brother  Tiburtius.  The  men 
first  suffered  martyrdom,  being  beheaded  for  the  faith.  St. 
Cecily  finished  her  glorious  triumph  some  days  after  them. 
Their  acts,  which  are  of  very  small  authority,  make  them  con 
temporary  with  Pope  Urban  I.,  and  consequently  place  their 
martyrdom  about  the  year  230,  under  Alexander  Severus ; 
others,  however,  place  the  triumph  of  these  martyrs  under  Mar- 
cus Aurelius,  between  the  years  176  and  180.  Their  sacred 
bodies  were  deposited  in  part  of  the  cemetery  of  Calixtus,  which 
part,  from  our  saint,  was  called  St.  Cecily's  cemetery.  Mention 
is  made  of  an  ancient  Church  of  St.  Cecily  in   Rome  in  the  fifth 


AS  SEEN   IN  THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY  WOMEN.  99 

century,  in  which  Pope  Symmachus  held  a  council  in  the  year 
500.  St.  Chrysostom  elegantly  extols  the  good  effects  of  sacred 
music,  and  shows  how  strongly  the  fire  of  divine  love  is  kindled 
in  the  soul  by  devout  psalmody.  St.  Austin  teaches  that  "  it  is 
useful  in  moving  piously  the  mind,  and  kindling  the  affections 
of  divine  love."  St.  Charles  Borromeo  in  his  youth  allowed 
himself  no  other  amusement  but  that  of  grave  music,  with  a 
view  to  that  of  the  church. 

SAINT     MARGARET. 
Qtieen  of  Scotland. 

St.  Margaret  was  little  niece  to  St.  Edward  the  Confessor, 
and  granddaughter  to  Edmund  Ironside.  She  had  learned  from 
her  cradle  to  contemn  the  vanities  of  the  world,  and  to  regard 
its  pleasures  as  poison  to  the  heart,  and  the  bane  of  virtue.  Her 
amazing  beauty,  her  rare  prudence,  her  wit,  and  her  extraordi- 
nary virtue  could  not  fail  to  excite  the  admiration  of  the  whole 
court.  But  it  was  her  only  desire  and  ambition  to  render  her- 
self agreeable  to  the  King  of  kings.  She  seemed  to  relish  no 
earthly  pleasure,  finding  all  delight  in  the  incomparable  charms 
of  divine  love,  which  flowed  into  her  pure  soul  chiefly  by  the 
means  of  assiduous  prayer  and  meditation,  in  which  holy  exer- 
cises she  often  spent  whole  days.  She  took  great  pleasure  in 
relieving  and  serving  the  poor,  and  in  comforting  all  that  were 
in  distress,  considering  Christ  in  his  necessitous  members.  Her 
consent  being  obtained,  she  was  married,  and  crowned  Queen  of 
Scotland  in  1070,  being  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Malcolm  was 
rough  and  unpolished,  but  neither  haughty  nor  capricious  ;  and 
had  no  evil  inclinations.  Margaret,  by  the  most  tender  com- 
plaisance, and  the  most  condescending  and  engaging  carriage, 
always  full  of  respect,  gained  so  great  an  ascendant  over  him,  as 
to  seem  entirely  mistress  of  his  heart ;  which  influence  she  only 
exerted  to  make  religion  and  justice  reign,  to  render  her  subject 
happy,  and  her  husband  one  of  the  most  virtuous  kings  that 
-have  adorned  the  Scottish  throne.  She  softened  his  temper,  culti- 
vated his  mind,  polished  his  manners,  and  inspired  him  with  the 
most  perfect  maxims  and  sentiments  of  all  Christian  virtues.  And 


ICXD  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

SO  much  was  the  king  charmed  with  her  wisdom  and  piety,  that 
he  not  only  left  her  the  whole  management  of  his  domestic  af- 
fairs but  followed  her  prudent  advice  in  the  government  of  the 
state.  In  the  midst  of  the  most  weighty  concerns  and  cares  of  a 
kingdom,  Margaret  always  kept  her  heart  disengaged  from  the 
love  of  the  world, and  recollected  in  God.  The  continual  attention 
of  her  soul  to  him  in  all  her  actions,  assiduous  prayer,  and  the 
constant  practice  of  self-denial  were  the  means  by  which  chiefly 
she  attained  to  this  perfection.  At  the  same  time  her  prudence 
and  care  in  all  things,  her  application  to  public  and  private  af- 
fairs, her  watchfulness  in  providing  for  the  good  of  her  subjects, 
and  the  wonderful  ease  and  wisdom  with  which  she  discharged 
every  duty  of  the  regal  authority,  showed  her  most  extensive 
genius  to  the  astonishment  of  foreign  nations. 

God  blessed  this  pious  royal  couple  with  a  numerous  and  vir- 
tuous offspring,  which  did  not  degenerate  from  the  piety  of  their 
holy  parents.  The  queen  was  mother  of  six  boys  :  Edward,  Ed- 
mund, Edgar,  Ethelred,  Alexander,  and  David  ;  and  of  two 
daughters,  namely  :  Maud  or  Mathildes,  married  to  Henry  I., 
King  of  England  ;  and  Mary,  who  married  Eustache,  Count  of 
Bologne.  Of  the  sons,  Edgar,  Alexander,  and  David  I.,  suc- 
cessively came  to  the  crown  of  Scotland,  and  all  governed  with 
the  highest  reputation  of  wisdom,  valor,  and  piety — especially 
King  David,  who  may  be  justly  styled  the  brightest  ornament 
of  that  throne.  The  happiness  of  these  princes,  and  that  of  the 
whole  kingdom  in  them,  was  owing,  under  God,  to  the  pious 
care  of  Queen  Margaret  in  their  education.  No  sooner  were 
the  young  princesses  of  an  age  capable  of  profiting  by  her  ex- 
ample, than  she  made  them  her  companions  in  her  spiritual  ex- 
ercises and  good  works.  She  daily,  by  most  fervent  prayers  and 
tears,  conjured  Almighty  God  to  preserve  their  innocence,  and 
fill  their  souls  with  the  sentiments  of  those  virtues  which  she 
endeavored  to  instil  into  them.  She  extended  her  care  and  at- 
tention to  her  servants  and  domestics,  and  her  sweetness  and 
tender  charity  with  which  she  seasoned  her  lessons,  rendered  her 
endeavors  the  more  effectual.  By  her  prudent  zeal  and  example, 
concord,  charity,  modesty,  religion,  piety,  and  devotion  reigned 
in  the  whole  court,  in  which  virtue  was  the  only  recommenda- 


AS   SEEN    IX    THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY    WOxMEN.  101 

tion  to  the  royal  favor,  and  to  want  devotion  was  the  most  cer- 
tain disgrace. 

Charity  to  the  poor  was  her  dading  virtue.  Her  own  coffers 
could  not  suffice  her  liberality  to  them  ;  and  often  she  employed 
upon  them  part  of  what  the  king  had  reserved  for  his  own  use 
and  necessities,  which  liberty  he  freely  allowed  her.  Whenever 
she  stirred  out  of  her  palace,  she  was  surrounded  by  troops  of 
widows,  orphans,  and  other  distressed  persons,  who  flocked  to 
her  as  to  their  common  mother  ;  nor  did  she  ever  send  any  one 
away  without  relief.  Within  doors,  when  she  went  into  the  hall 
of  the  palace,  she  found  it  filled  with  poor  people  :  she  washed 
their  feet,  and  served  them  herself.  She  never  sat  down  to 
table  without  having  first  fed  and  waited  on  nine  little  orphans 
and  twenty-four  grown-up  poor.  Often,  especially  in  Lent  and 
Advent,  the  royal  couple  called  in  three  hundred  poor,  served 
them  at  table  on  their  knees,  she, the  women  on  the  one  side,  the 
king,  the  men  on  the  other,  giving  them  the  same  dishes  that 
were  served  up  at  their  own  royal  table.  She  frequently  visited 
the  hospitals,  attending  the  sick  with  wonderful  humility. and 
tenderness.  By  her  extensive  alms  insolvent  debtors  were  re- 
leased, and  decayed  families  restored ;  and  foreign  nations, 
especially  the  English,  recovered  their  captives.  She  was  in- 
quisitive, and  solicitous  to  ransom  those  especially  who  fell  into 
the  hands  of  harsh  masters.  She  erected  hospitals  for  poor 
strangers.  The  king  most  readily  concurred  with  her  in  all  man- 
ner of  good  works. 

The  small  time  which  the  queen  allowed  herself  for  sleep,  and 
the  retrenchment  of  all  amusements  and  pastimes,  procured  her 
many  hours  in  the  day  for  her  devotions.  In  Lent  and  Ad\ent, 
she  always  rose  at  midnight,  and  went  to  cliurch  to  matins. 
Returning  home,  she  found  six  poor  persons  ready  for  her :  she 
washed  their  feet,  and  gave  to  each  a  plentiful  alms  to  begin  the 
day.  She  then, slept  again  an  hour  or  two  :  and  after  that  ris- 
ing, returned  to  her  chapel,  where  she  heard  four  or  five  low 
masses,  and  after  these  a  high  mass.  She  had  other  hours  in 
the  day  for  prayer  in  her  closet,  where  she  was  often  found 
bathed  in  tears.  "  As  to  her  own  eating,  it  was  so  sparing  that  it 
barely  sufficed  to  maintain  life,  and  by  no  means  to  gratify  the 


102  THE   FRUITS    OF  THE   FAITH, 

appetite,"  says  Theodorlc.  Every  year  she  kept  two  Lents  of 
forty  days  each ;  the  one  at  the  usual  time,  the  other  before 
Christmas — both  with  incredible  rigor.  She  recited  every  day 
the  short  offices  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  of  the  passion  of  Christ,  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  of  the  dead. 

St.  Margaret,  by  her  wise  counsels,  had  perfectly  convinced 
her  royal  consort  that  the  love  of  peace  is  the  first  duty  of  him 
who  is  the  common  father  of  his  people — war  being  the  greatest 
of  all  temporal  calamities. 

Theodoric  gfives  the  followino-  account  of  her  last  sickness  : 
"  She  had  a  foresight  of  her  death  long  before  it  happened ;  and 
speaking  to  me  in  secret,  she  began  to  repeat  to  me  in  order 
her  whole  life,  pouring  out  floods  of  tears  at  every  word  with 
unspeakable  compunction  ;  so  that  she  obliged  me  also  to  weep  : 
and  sometimes  we  could  neither  of  us  speak  for  sighs  and  sobs. 
At  the  end  she  spoke  thus  to  me,  'Farewell ;  for  I  shall  not  be 
here  long;  you  will  stay  some  little  time  behind  me.  Two 
things  I  have  to  desire  of  you  :  the  one  is,  that  so  long  as  you 
live,  you  remember  my  poor  soul  in  your  masses  and  prayers  :  the 
other  is,  that  you  assist  my  children,  and  teach  them  to  fear 
and  love  God.  These  things  you  must  promise  me  here  in  the 
presence  of  God,  who  alone  is  witness  of  our  discourse.*"  Not 
long  after,  finding  her  last  moments  to  approach,  she  repeated 
from  the  prayers  of  the  church  for  that  occasion,  the  following 
aspiration  :  "  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  w^ho  by  thy  death  hast  given 
life  to  the  world,  deliver  me  from  all  evil."  Praying  thus,  she  was 
loosed  from  the  bonds  of  her  mortal  body  on  the  i6th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1093,  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of  her  age.  She  was  canon- 
ized by  Pope  Innocent  IV.  in  1251. 

SAINT   CATHARINE    OF    SIENNA. 

St.  Catharine  was  born  at  Sienna,  in  1347.  She  was  favored 
by  God  with  extraordinary  graces  as  soon  as  she  was  capable  of 
knowing  him.  In  her  childhood  she  consecrated  her  virginity 
to  God  by  a  private  vow.  Her  love  of  mortification  and  prayer, 
and  her  sentiments  of  virtue,  were  such  as  are  not  usually  found 
in  so  tender  an  age.  But  God  was  pleased  to  put  her  resolution 
to  a  great  trial.     At  twelve  years  of  age,  her  parents  thought  of 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  103 

engaging  her  in  a  married  state.  Catharine  found  them  deaf  to 
her  entreaties  that  she  might  Hve  single ;  and  therefore  re- 
doubled her  prayers,  watching,  and  austerities,  knowing  her  pro- 
tection must  be  from  God  alone.  Her  father,  edified  at  her 
patience  and  virtue,  at  length  approved  and  seconded  her 
devotion,  and  all  her  pious  desires.  She  liberally  assisted  the 
poor,  served  the  sick,  and  comforted  the  afflicted  and  prisoners. 
Her  chief  subsistance  was  on  boiled  herbs,  without  either  sauce 
or  bread,  which  last  she  seldom  tasted.  She  wore  a  very  rough 
hair-cloth,  and  a  large  iron  girdle  armed  with  sharp  points,  lay 
on  the  ground,  and  watched  much.  Humility,  obedience,  and  a 
denial  of  her  own  will,  even  in  her  penitential  austerities,  gave 
them  their  true  value.  She  began  this  course  of  life  when  under 
fifteen  years  of  age.  She  long  desired,  and  in  1365,  the  eigh- 
teenth year  of  her  age  (but  two  years  later,  according  to  some 
writers),  she  received  the  habit  of  the  third  Order  of  St.  Domi- 
nic, in  a  nunnery  contiguous  to  the  Dominicans' convent.  From 
that  time  her  cell  became  her  paradise,  prayer  her  element,  and 
her  mortifications  had  no  longer  any  restraint.  For  three  years 
she  never  spoke  to  anyone  but  to  God  and  her  confessor.  Her 
days  and  nights  were  employed  in  the  delightful  exercises  of 
contemplation  ;  the  fruits  whereof  were  supernatural  lights,  a 
most  ardent  love  of  God,  and  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  sinners. 

The  ardent  charity  of  this  holy  virgin  made  her  indefatigable 
in  laboring  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  offering  for  that  end 
continual  tears,  prayers,  fasts,  and  other  austerities,  and  think- 
ing nothing  difficult  or  above  her  strength.  All  her  discourses, 
actions,  and  her  very  silence,  powerfully  induced  men  to  the 
love  of  virtue,  so  that  no  one,  according  to  Pope  Pius  H.,  ever 
approached  her  who  went  not  away  better. 

A  pestilence  laying  waste  the  country  in  1375,  Catharine  de- 
voted herself  to  serve  the  infected,  and  obtained  of  God  the 
cure  of  several  ;  amongst  others,  of  two  holy  Dominicans,  Ray- 
mund  of  Capua,  and  Bartholomew  of  Sienna.  The  most  har- 
dened sinners  could  not  withstand  the  force  of  her  exhortations 
to  a  change  of  life.  Thousands  flocked  from  places  at  a  dis- 
tance in  the  country  to  hear  or  only  to  see  her,  and  wei'e 
brought  over  by  her  wor'^'^  or  example  to   the  true   dispositions 


THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

of  sincere  repentance.  She  undertook  a  journey  to  Monte  Pul- 
ciano,  to  consecrate  to  God  two  of  her  nieces,  who  there  took 
the  reHgious  veil  of  St.  Dominic ;  and  another  journey  to  Pisa, 
by  order  of  her  superiors,  at  the  earnest  suit  of  the  citizens. 
She  there  restored  health  to  many  in  body,  but  to  a  far  greater  _ 
number  in  soul.  Raymund  of  Capua  and  two  other  Domini- ' 
cans  were  commissioned  by  Pope  Gregory  XL,  then  residing  at 
Avignon,  to  hear  the  confessions,  at  Sienna,  of  those  who  were 
induced  by  the  saint  to  enter  upon  a  change  of  life  :  these  priests 
were  occupied  day  and  night,  in  hearing  the  confessions  of  many 
who  had  never  confessed  before  ;  besides  those  of  others  who 
had  acquitted  themselves  but  superficially  of  that  duty.  Whilst 
she  was  at  Pisa,  in  1375,  the  people  of  Florence  and  Perugia, 
with  a  great  part  of  Tuscany,  and  even  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
State,  entered  into  a  league  against  the  holy  see.  The  news  of 
this  disturbance  was  delivered  to  Catharine  by  Raymund  of 
Capua,  and  her  heart  was  pierced  with  the  most  bitter  sorrow  on 
account  of  those  evils  which  she  had  foretold  three  years  before 
they  came  to  their  height.  The  two  furious  factions  of  the 
Guelphs  and  Gibellines,  which  had  so  disturbed  and  divided  the 
state  of  Florence,  then  a  powerful  commonwealth,  united  at  last 
against  the  pope,  to  strip  the  holy  see  of  the  lands  it  possessed  in 
Italy.  The  disturbance  was  begun  in  June,  1373,  and  a  numerous 
army  was  set  on  foot :  the  word  "  Libertas,"  wrote  on  the  banner  of 
the  league,  was  the  signal.  Perugia,  Bologna,  Viterbo,  An- 
cona,  and  other  strongholds,  soon  declared  for  them.  The  in- 
habitants of  Arezzo,  Lucca,  Sienna,  and  other  places,  were 
kept  within  the  bounds  of  duty  by  the  prayers,  letters,  and 
exhortations  of  St.  Catharine,  and  generously  contemned  the 
threats  of  the  Florentines.  Pope  Gregory  XL,  residing  at  Av- 
ignon, wrote  to  the  city  of  Florence,  but  without  success.  He 
therefore  sent  the  cardinal  Robert,  of  Geneva,  his  legate,  with 
an  army,  and  laid  the  diocese  of  Florence  under  an  interdict. 
Internal  divisions,  murders,  and  all  other  domestic  miseries 
amongst  the  Florentines,  joined  with  the  conspiracy  of  the 
neighboring  states,  concurred  to  open  their  eyes  and  make 
them  sue  for  pardon.  The  magistrates  sent  to  Sienna,  to  beg 
St.  Catharine  would  become  their  mediatrix.     She  could  not  re- 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OP   HOLY   WOMEN.  I05 

sist  their  pressing  entreaties.  Before  she  arrived  at  Florence, 
she  was  met  by  the  priors  or  chiefs  of  the  magistrates  ;  and  the 
city  left  the  management  of  the  whole  affair  to  her  discretion, 
with  a  promise  that  she  should  be  followed  to  Avignon  by  their 
ambassadors,  who  should  sign  and  ratify  the  conditions  of  recon- 
ciliation between  the  parties  at  variance,  and  confirm  everything 
she  had  done.  The  saint  arrived  at  Avignon  on  the  i8th  of 
June,  1376,  and  was  received  by  the  pope  and  cardinals  with 
great  marks  of  distinction.  His  holiness,  after  a  conference 
with  her,  in  admiration  of  her  prudence  and  sanctity,  said  to 
her,  "  I  desire  nothing  but  peace.  I  put  the  affair  entirely  into 
3^our  hands  ;  only  I  recommend  to  you  the  honor  of  the  church." 
But  the  Florentines  sought  not  peace  sincerely,  and  they  con- 
tinued to  carry  on  secret  intrigues  to  draw  all  Italy  from  its  obe- 
dience to  the  holy  see.  Their  ambassadors  arrived  very  late  at 
Avignon,  and  spoke  with  so  great  insolence,  that  they  showed 
peace  was  far  from  bemg  the  subject  of  their  errand.  God  suf- 
fered the  conclusion  of  this  work  to  be  deferred  in  punishment 
of  the  sins  of  the  Florentines,  by  which  means  St.  Catharine 
sanctified  herself  still  more  by  suffering  longer  amidst  a  sedi- 
tious people. 

At  Sienna  she  continued  her  former  way  of  life,  serving  and 
often  curing  the  sick,  converting  the  most  obstinate  sinners,  and 
reconciling  the  most  inveterate  enemies,  more  still  by  her  pray- 
ers than  by  her  words. 

Her  occupation,  and  we  may  say,  her  very  nourishment,  was 
holy  prayer  ;  in  which  intercourse  with  the  Almighty,  he  dis- 
covered to  her  very  wonderful  mysteries,  and  bestowed  on  her 
a  spirit  which  delivered  the  truths  of  salvation  in  a  manner  that 
astonished  her  hearers.  Her  whole  life  seemed  one  continued 
miracle  ;  but  what  the  servants  of  God  admired  most  in  her,  was 
the  perpetual  strict  union  of  her  soul  with  God.  For,  though 
obliged  often  to  converse  with  different  persons  on  so  many  dif- 
ferent affairs,  and  transact  business  of  the  greatest  moment, 
she  was  always  occupied  on  God,  and  absorbed  in  him.  Vor 
many  years  she  had  accustomed  herself  to  so  rigorous  an  ab- 
stinence, that  the  blessed  eucharist  might  be  said  to  be  almost 
the  only  nourishment  which  supported  her.      Once  she    fasted 


I06  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

from  Ash-Wednesday  till  Ascension-day,  receiving  only  the 
blessed  eucharist  during  that  whole  time.  Many  treated  her  as 
a  hypocrite,  and  invented  all  manner  of  calumnies  against  her  ; 
but  she  rejoiced  at  humiliations,  and  gloried  in  the  cross  of 
Christ,  as  much  as  she  dreaded  and  abhorred  praise  and  ap- 
plause. In  a  vision,  our  Saviour  is  said  one  day  to  have  pre- 
sented her  with  two  crowns,  one  of  gold  and  the  other  of  thorns, 
bidding  her  choose  which  of  the  two  she  pleased.  She  answered, 
"  I  desire,  O  Lord,  to  live  here  always  conformed  to  your  pas- 
sion, and  to  find  pain  and  suffering  my  repose  and  delight." 
Then  eagerly  taking  up  the  crown  of  thorns,  she  forcibly  pressed 
it  upon  her  head.  The  earnest  desire  and  love  of  humiliations 
and  crosses  was  nourished  in  her  soul  by  assiduous  meditation 
on  the  sufferings  of  our  divine  Redeemer. 

She  died  at  Rome  on  the  29th  of  April,  in  1380,  being  thirty- 
three  years  old.  She  was  buried  in  the  church  of  the  Minerva, 
where  her  body  is  still  kept  under  an  altar.  Her  skull  is  in  the 
Dominicans'  church  at  Sienna,  in  which  city  are  shown  her 
house,  her  instruments  of  penance,  and  other  relics.  She  was 
canonized  by  Pope  Pius  II.  in  1461. 

SAINT    TERESA. 
Fomtdress  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Barefooted  Carmelites. 

The  humble  relation  which  St.  Teresa  has  left  us  of  her  own 
life,  in  obedience  to  her  confessors,  is  the  delight  of  devout  per- 
sons, not  on  account  of  the  revelations  and  visions  there  re- 
corded, but  because  in  it  are  laid  down  the  most  perfect  maxims 
by  which  a  soul  is  conducted  in  the  paths  of  obedience,  humility, 
and  self-denial,  and  especially  of  prayer  and  an  interior  life.  St. 
Teresa  was  born  at  Avila,  in  Old  Castile,  on  the  28th  of  March, 
15  15.  By  the  means  of  the  pious  instructions  and  example  of 
her  parents,  God  inclined  the  tender  heart  of  Teresa  from  her 
infancy  to  his  service.  Being  only  seven  years  old,  she  took 
great  pleasure  in  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints,  and  other  pious 
books,  in  which  she  spent  much  time  with  a  little  brother,  called 
Rodrigo,  who  was  near  of  the  same  age.  They  were  much 
amazed  at  the  thought  of  eternity,    and   learned    already  to  de- 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  lO/ 

spise  all  the  passes  with  time.  With  feeling  sentiments  they 
used  to  repeat  often  together,  "For  ever,  for  ever,  for  ever!" 
and  admiring  the  victories  of  the  saints,  and  the  everlasting 
glory  which  they  now  possess,  they  said  to  one  another,  "  What! 
forever  they  shall  see  God."  The  martyrs  seemed  to  them  to 
have  bought  heaven  very  cheap  by  their  torments  ;  and  after 
many  conferences  together  on  this  subject,  they  resolved  to  go 
into  the  country  of  the  Moors,  in  hopes  of  dying  for  their  faith. 
They  set  out  privately  with  great  fervor,  praying  as  they  went 
that  God  would  inspire  them  with  his  holy  love,  that  they  might 
lay  down  their  lives  for  Christ.  But,  upon  the  bridge  over  the 
Adaja,  near  the  town,  they  were  met  by  an  uncle,  and  brought 
back  to  their  mother,  who  was  in  the  greatest  frights,  and  had  sent 
to  seek  them.  They  were  chid  by  their  parents  for  their  unad- 
vised project,  and  Rodrigo  laid  all  the  blame  on  his  sister.  She 
gave  to  the  poor  all  the  alms  she  could,  though  this  was  very 
little  ;  and  studied  to  do  all  the  good  works  in  her  power.  The 
saint  and  the  same  little  brother  formed  a  design  to  become 
hermits  at  home,  and  built  themselves  little  hermitages  with 
piles  of  stones  in  the  garden,  but  could  never  finish  them. 
Teresa  sought  to  be  much  alone,  and  said  very  long  prayers 
with  great  devotion,  especially  the  Rosary  ;  for  her  mother  in- 
spired her  tender  soul  with  a  singular  devotion  to  the  Blessed 
Virofin. 

After  a  year  and  a  half  spent  in  a  convent,  the  saint  fell 
dangerously  sick,  and  her  father  took  her  home.  Here  after  a 
violent  fever  at  home  (for  she  had  often  bad  health)  she  was 
determined,  by  reading  St.  Jerom's  epistles,  to  become  a  nun. 
She  made  her  profession  with  extraordinary  fervor  in  November, 
1534,  in  the  twentieth  year  of  her  age.  In  1539,  she  suffered  a 
great  affliction  in  the  loss  of  her  good  father,  whom  she  always 
loved  with  the  most  dutiful  and  tender  affection.  Though  ilJ 
herself,  she  went  out  of  her  monastery  to  assist  him  in  his  last 
sickness,  and  strained  very  hard  to  do  him  all  the  service,  and 
procure  him  all  the  comfort  she  was  able.  His  sickness  began 
with  a  very  grievous  pain  in  the  shoulders.  St.  Teresa  told 
him,  that  since  he  had  been  much  devoted  to  the  mystery  of 
our  Saviour  carrying  his  cross,  he  would  do  well  to  conceive. 


loS 


THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 


that  Christ,  in  his  great  mercy,  had  been  pleased  to  give  him  a 
feehno-  of  some  part  of  that  suffering.  With  this  consideration 
he  was  so  much  comforted,  that  he  mentioned  his  pain  no  more, 
nor  did  he  ever  let  fall  the  least  word  of  complaint.  He  expired 
whilst  he  was  saying  the  creed. 

A  desire  most  perfectly  to  obey  God  in  all  things,  moved  her 
to  make  a  vow  never  with  full  knowledge  to  commit  a  venial  sin, 
and  in  every  action  to  do  what  seemed  to  her  most  perfect ;  a 
vow  which  in  persons  less  perfect  would  be  unlawful,  because  it 
would  be  an  occasion  of  transgressions.  Humility,  the  root  of 
true  obedience,  and  the  fruitful  parent  of  other  virtues,  was  that 
in  which  she  placed  her  strength,  and  her  humility  increased  in 
proportion  as  she  received  from  God  the  more  extraordinary 
favors,  which  she  saw  to  be  his  pure  gifts,  without  her  contribut- 
ing any  to  them  ;  and  because  she  profited  so  little  by  them,  she 
condemned  and  humbled  herself  the  more.  The  virtues  of 
others  seemed  to  her  more  meritorious,  and  she  conceived  that 
there  was  not  in  the  world  one  worse  than  herself.  Hence  she 
was  the  more  enflamed  to  love  and  praise  the  gracious  goodness 
of  God,  to  whom  alone  she  entirely  ascribed  his  gifts,  not  usurp- 
ing an  atom  of  them  to  herself,  and  separating  from  them  her 
infidelities  and  miseries,  which  was  all  that  was  of  her  own 
growth,  and  of  which,  by  an  infused  light,  she  had  the  most 
extensive  and  fullest  knowledge  and  the  most  sincere  feeling* 
Hence,  seated  in  the  centre  of  her  own  baseness  and  unworthi- 
ness,  she  was  always  covered  with  confusion  and  shame  in  the 
divine  presence,  as  a  spouse  blushing  at  the  remembrance  of  her 
treasons  and  infidelities  towards  the  best  and  greatest  of  lords 
.and  husbands.  She  sincerely  looked  upon  herself  as  deserving 
every  sort  of  disgrace  and  contempt,  as  one  who  deserved  hell, 
and  whose  only  support  against  despair  was  the  infinite  mercy 
of  God;  and  she  endeavored  to  convince  others  of  her  wretched- 
ness and  grievous  sinfulness  with  as  great  solicitude  and  affec- 
tion as  an  ambitious  proud  man  desires  to  pass  for  virtuous. 

Nothing  seems  a  clearer  proof  how  perfectly  our  saint  was 
dead  to  herself  by  sincere  humility  than  the  artless  manner  in 
which  she  constantly,  and  not  on  certain  occasions  only,  speaks 
of  herself  with   a  view  to   debase  herself    in   everything.      Her 


AS    SEEN   IX    THE   LIVES   OF    HOLY    WOxMEN.  IO9 

exterior  conduct  breathed  this  sincere  disposition  of  her  soul. 
Though  superior  and  foundress  she  chose  unaffectedly  the  great- 
est humiliations  that  could  be  practised  in  her  order.  If  she 
pronounced  a  word  in  the  divine  office  with  a  false  accent,  she 
prostrated  herself  in  penance  ;  confessed  in  chapter,  and  hum- 
bled herself  for  the  least  faults  of  inadvertence  with  surprising 
humility  and  alacrity,  and  underwent  the  most  humbling 
penances  in  the  refectory  and  elsewhere  with  the  same.  It 
was  her  pleasure  to  steal  secretly  into  the  choir  after  the 
office,  to  fold  up  the  cloaks  of  the  sisters,  to  choose  for  her 
part  of  work  to  sweep  the  most  filthy  places  in  the  yard,  and 
to  perform  the  lowest  offices  in  serving  at  table  or  in  the 
kitchen,  in  which  place  she  was  often  seen  suddenly  absorbed 
in  God,  with  the  utensils  or  instruments  of  her  business  in  her 
hands  ;  for  every  place  was  to  her  a  sanctuary,  and  no  employ- 
ment hindered  her  from  offering  to  God  a  continual  sacrifice  of 
humility  and  of  ardent  love  and  praise. 

Her  spirit  of  penance  was  not  less  edifying  than  her  humilty. 
Who,  without  floods  of  tears  for  his  own  insensibility,  can  call 
to  mind  the  wonderful  compunction  with  which  the  saints  wept 
and  punished  themselves  their  whole  lives  for  the  lightest  trans- 
gressions? St.  Teresa  having  had  the  misfortune  in  her  youth 
to  have  been  betrayed  into  certain  dangerous  amusements  and 
vanities,  though  she  would  not  for  the  world  have  ever  con- 
sented knowingly  to  any  mortal  sin,  had  always  hell  and  her 
sins  before  her  eyes,  penetrated  with  the  compunction  of  a 
Magdalen  or  a  Thais.  Her  love  of  penance,  after  she  was  well 
instructed  in  that  virtue,  made  her  desire  to  set  no  bounds  to 
her  mortifications  by  which  she  chastised  and  subdued  her  flesh 
by  long  watchings  in  prayer,  by  rigorous  disciplines,  hair  cloths, 
and  austere  fasts.  Moved  by  this  spirit  of  penance,  she  restored 
the  original  severity  of  her  rule,  and  notwithstanding  her  bad 
health  observed  its  fasts  of  eight  months  in  the  year,  and  other 
austerities,  unless  some  grievous  fit  of  illness  made  them  abso- 
lutely impossible.  On  such  occasions  it  was  with  great  repug- 
nance that  she  consented  to  use  some  small  dispensations,  but 
said  she  understood  this  repugnance  proceeded  rather  from  self- 
love  than  from  a  spirit  of   penance.      The  modesty  of  the  coun- 


no  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH. 

tenance  of  this  holy  virgin  was  a  silent,  strong  exhortation  to 
the  love  of  purity,  as  Bishop  Yepez  testifies,  who  was  persuaded 
she  never  felt  in  her  whole  life  any  importunate  assaults  against 
that  virtue.  When  one  asked  her  advice  about  impure  tempta- 
tions, she  answered  that  she  knew  not  what  they  meant.  A 
noble  and  generous  disposition  of  soul  inclined  our  saint  to  con- 
ceive the  most  tender  sentiments  of  Q^ratitude  toward  all  men 
from  whom  she  had  ever  received  the  least  service.  The  grati- 
tude she  expressed  to  God  for  his  immense  favors  was  derived 
from  a  higher  source. 

An  eminent  spirit  of  prayer,  founded  In  sincere  humility, 
and  perfect  self-denial,  was  the  great  means  by  which  God 
raised  this  holy  virgin  to  such  an  heroic  degree  of  sanctity. 
If  she  remained  so  long  imperfect  in  virtue,  and  was  slow  in 
completing  the  victory  over  herself,  it  was  because  for  some 
time  she  did  not  apply  herself  with  a  proportioned  assiduity  to 
the  practice  of  devout  prayer,  some  of  her  confessors  having 
diverted  her  from  it  on  account  of  her  ill-health  and  exterior 
employments ;  which  mistaken  advice  was  to  her  of  infinite 
prejudice,  as  she  grievously  laments.  Her  singular  devotion  to 
the  holy  sacrament  of  the  altar  appears  in  her  works.  She  used 
to  say  that  one  communion  Is  enough  to  enrich  a  soul  with  all 
spiritual  treasures  of  grace  and  virtue,  If  she  put  no  obstacles. 
To  unite  ourselves  most  frequently  and  most  ardently  with 
Christ  in  the  holy  eucharist  she  called  our  greatest  means  of 
strength  and  comfort  in  our  state  of  banishment  till  we  shall  be 
united  to  him  In  glory.  Her  ardor  to  approach  the  holy  com- 
munion, and  her  joy  and  comfort  in  presence  of  the  blessed  sac- 
rament are  not  to  be  expressed.  In  her  most  earnest  prayers 
she  conjured  Almighty  God,  for  the  sake  of  his  divine  Son  pres- 
ent on  our  altars,  to  stem  the  torrent  of  vice  on  earth,  and  pre- 
serve the  world  from  those  horrible  profanations  by  which  his 
mercy  is  Insulted. 

St.  Teresa,  burning  with  a  desire  to  promote  with  her  whole 
strength  the  greater  sanctlficatlon  of  her  own  soul  and  that  of 
others,  and  of  laboring  to  secure  by  the  most  perfect  penance 
her  eternal  salvation,  concerted  a  project  of  establishing  a  reform 
In   her  Order.      The  rule  which   had  been  drawn  up  by  Albert. 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE    LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  Ill 

patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  was  very  austere  ;  but  in  process  of  time 
several  relaxations  were  introduced,  and  a  mitigation  of  this 
Order  was  approved  by  a  bull  of  Eugenius  IV.  in  143 1.  In  the 
convent  of  the  Incarnation  at  Avila,  in  which  the  saint  lived, 
other  relaxations  were  tolerated,  especially  that  of  admittincr  too 
frequent  visits  of  secular  friends  at  the  grate  in  the  pfirlor  or 
speak-house.  Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1562,  the  bishop 
prevailed  with  the  provincial  to  send  Teresa  to  the  new  convent, 
she  had  founded,  whither  she  was  followed  by  four  fervent 
nuns  from  the  old  house.  One  of  these  was  chosen  prioress ; 
but  the  bishop  soon  after  obliged  Teresa  to  take  upon  herself 
that  charge,  and  her  incomparable  prudence  in  governing  others 
appeared  henceforward  in  her  whole  conduct.  The  mortifica- 
tion of  the  will  and  senses,  and  the  exercise  of  assiduous  prayer, 
were  made  the  foundation  of  her  rule  :  strict  inclosure  was 
established,  with  almost  perpetual  silence.  The  most  austere 
poverty  was  an  essential  part  of  the  rule,  without  any  settled 
revenues  ;  the  nuns  wore  habits  of  coarse  serge,  and  sandals 
instead  of  shoes,  lay  on  straw,  and  never  ate  flesh.  St.  Teresa 
admitted  to  the  habit  several  fervent  virorins  ;  but  would  not 
have  above  thirteen  nuns  in  this  house,  for  fear  of  dangers  of 
relaxations  and  other  inconveniences  which  are  usually  very 
great  in  numerous  houses.  In  nunneries  which  should  be 
founded  with  revenues,  and  not  to  subsist  solely  on  alms,  she 
afterwards  allowed  twenty  to  be  received.  But  this  regulation 
as  to  the  number  is  not  everywhere  observed  in  this  Order. 
The  fervor  of  these  holy  nuns  was  such  that  the  little  convent  of 
St.  Joseph  seemed  a  paradise  of  angels  on  earth,  every  one  in  it 
studying  to  copy  the  spirit  of  the  great  model  before  them. 
The  General  of  the  Order,  John  Baptist  Rubeo,  of  Ravenna,  who 
usually  resided  at  Rome,  coming  into  Spain  and  to  Avila,  in 
1566,  was  infinitely  charmed  with  the  conversation  and  sanctity 
of  the  foundress,  and  with  the  wise  regulations  of  the  house, 
and  he  gave  St.  Teresa  full  authority  to  found  other  convents 
upon  the  same  plan. 

St.  Teresa  passed  five  years  in  her  convent  of  St.  Joseph,  with 
thirteen  fervent  nuns,  whom  she  discreetly  exercised  in  every 
sort  of  mortification,  obedience,  and  all  religious  exercises,  being 


112 


THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH. 


herself  the  first  and  most  diligent,  not  only  at  prayer,  but  also 
in  spinning,  sweeping  the  house,  or  working  in  the  kitchen. 
Among  these  holy  virgins  many  were  of  high  birth;  but  having 
renounced  the  world,  they  thought  of  no  distinction  but  that  of 
surpassing  each  other  in  humility,  penance,  and  affection  for  one 
another  and  for  their  holy  mother  ;  they  abounded  with  heav- 
enly consolations,  and  their  whole  lives  were  a  continued  course 
of  penitential  exercises  and  contemplation  :  they  never  suffered 
their  prayer  to  be  interrupted  night  or  day  as  far  as  the  weak- 
ness and  frailty  of  our  mortal  state  would  admit.  For  St.  Te- 
resa declared  assiduous  prayer,  silence,  close  retirement,  and 
penance,  to  be  the  four  pillars  of  the  spiritual  edifice  she  had 
raised,  and  the  fundamental  constitutions  of  their  state.  In  Au- 
gust, 1567,  St.  Teresa  went  to  Medina  del  Campo,  and  having 
conquered  many  difficulties,  founded  there  a  second  convent. 
The  Countess  de  la  Cerda,  whom  St.  Teresa  had  visited  at  To- 
ledo, most  earnestly  desiring  to  found  a  convent  of  this  Order 
at  her  town  of  Malagon,  the  saint  and  the  countess  attended 
that  work.  Thence  St.  Teresa  went  to  Valladolid,  and  there 
founded  another  nunnery. 

At  Pastrana  she  also  established  a  convent  for  nuns.  Prince 
Ruy  Gomez  de  Sylva,  a  favorite  courtier  of  Philip  II.,  who  had 
founded  these  convents  at  Pastrana,  dying,  his  princess  in  the 
sudden  excess  of  her  grief  made  her  religious  profession  in  this 
nunnery  ;  but  when  this  passion  abated  claimed  many  exemp- 
tions, and  would  still  maintain  the  dignity  of  princess  ;  so  that 
St.  Teresa,  finding  she  could  not  be  brought  to  the  humilit\  of 
her  profession,  lest  relaxations  should  be  introduced  into  her 
Order,  sgnt  a  precept  to  the  nuns  to  leave  that  house  to  her, 
and  retire  to  people  a  new  convent  in  Segovia.  Afterwards  she 
would  not  easily  admit  ladies  who  had  been  long  accustomed  to 
rule.  ' 

Though  the  wonderful  success  of  this  saint  in  her  enterprises 
undertaken  for  the  divine  honor,  was  owing  to  the  blessing  of 
God,  and  to  the  divine  light  and  assistance  which  she  drev/ 
down  upon  her  actions  by  the  spirit  of  holy  prayer,  the  great 
channel  of  grace,  she  was  certainly  a  person  endowed  with  great 
natural  talents.     The  most  amiable  sweetness  and  meekness  of 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  II3 

her  temper,  the  affectionate  tenderness  of  her  heart,  and  the 
liveHness  of  her  wit  and  imagination,  poised  with  an  uncommon 
maturity  of  judgment,  gained  her  always  in  the  first  part  of  her 
life  the  particular  love  and  esteem  of  all  her  accjuaintance. 
Bishop  Yepez  assures  us  that  her  deportment  in  the  latter  part 
of  her  life  was  not  less  agreeable  than  it  was  edifying ;  and  that 
the  gravity,  modesty,  and  discretion  of  her  words  and  carriage 
had  such  a  dignity  and  gracefulness,  and  such  charms,  that  even 
her  looks  composed  the  hearts  and  regulated  the  manners  of 
those  who  conversed  with  her.  He  adds,  that  her  prudence  and 
address  were  admirable. 

St.  Teresa,  lived  to  see  sixteen  nunneries  of  her  Reformed 
Order  founded,  and  fourteen  convents  of  Carmelite  friars.  St. 
Teresa  was  returning  from  founding  a  convent  at  Burgos  to 
Avila,  where  she  was  prioress,  when  she  was  sent  for  by  the 
Duchess  of  Alva.  She  was  at  that  time  very  ill  of  her  usual 
distemper  of  a  palsy  and  frequent  violent  vomitings.  Yet  when 
she  arrived  at  Alva,  on  the  20th  of  September,  she  conversed 
with  the  Duchess  several  hours  ;  then  went  to  her  convent  in 
the  town,  understandinor  that  our  Lord  called  her  to  himself. 
She  calmly  expired  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  on  the  4th  of 
October,  1582,  the  next  day  (by  the  reformation  of  the  calendar 
made  that  year  by  cutting  off  those  ten  days)  being  reckoned 
the  15th,  the  day  which  was  afterwards  appointed  for  her  festi- 
val. She  lived  sixty-seven  years,  six  months,  and  seven  days, 
of  which  she  passed  forty-seven  in  a  religious  state,  and  the  lat- 
ter twenty  in  the  observance  of  her  reformed  rule. 

SAINT    ROSE     OF    LIMA. 

Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa  had  been  watered  with  the  blood 
of  many  martyrs,  and  adorned,  during  many  ages,  with  the  shin- 
ing example  of  innumerable  saints,  whilst,  by  the  inscrutable 
judgments  of  God,  the  vast  regions  of  America  lay  barren,  and 
as  it  were,  abandoned,  till  the  faith  of  Christ  began  to  enlighten 
them,  and  this  saint  appeared  on  that  hemisphere  like  a  rose 
amidst  thorns,  the  first  fruits  of  its  canonized  saints.  She  was 
of  Spanish  extraction,  born  at  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru,  in 
1586.     She  was  christened  Isabel  ;  but   the  figure   and  color  of 


114  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH. 

her  face  in  the  cradle  seeming,  in  some  measure,  to  resemble  a 
beautiful  rose,  the  name  of  Rose  was  given  her.  From  her  in- 
fancy her  patience  in  suffering,  and  her  love  of  mortification 
were  extraordinary,  and  whilst  yet  a  child,  she  ate  no  fruit,  and 
fasted  three  days  a  week,  allowing  herself  on  them  only  bread 
and  water,  and  on  other  days,  taking  only  unsavory  herbs  and 
pulse.  When  she  was  grown  up,  her  garden  was  planted  only 
with  bitter  herbs,  and  interspersed  with  figures  of  crosses.  In 
her  exercises  she  took  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna  for  her  model. 
Every  incentive  of  pride  and  sensuality  was  to  her  an  object  of 
abhorrence  ;  and,  for  fear  of  taking  any  secret  satisfaction  in 
vanity,  she  studied  to  make  those  things  in  which  it  might  insin- 
uate  its  poison,  painful  to  her.  Hearing  others  frequently  com- 
mend her  beauty,  and  fearing  lest  it  should  be  an  occasion  of 
temptation  to  any  one,  whenever  she  was  to  go  abroad  to  any 
public  place,  she  used,  the  night  before,  to  rub  her  face  and 
hands  with  the  bark  and  powder  of  Indian  pepper,  which  is  a 
violent  corrosive,  in  order  to  disfigure  her  skin  with  little 
blotches  and  swellinors.  Thus  did  she  arm  herself  ao^ainst  her 
external  enemies,  and  against  the  revolt  of  her  senses.  But  she 
was  aware  that  this  victory  would  avail  her  little,  unless  she  died 
to  herself  by  crucifying  in  her  heart  inordinate  self-love,  which  is 
the  source  of  pride,  and  all  the  other  passions.  Rose  triumphed 
over  this  subtle  enemy  by  the  most  profound  humility,  and  the 
most  perfect  obedience  and  denial  of  her  own  will.  She  never 
departed  wilfully  from  the  order  of  her  parents  in  the  least  tittle, 
and  gave  proofs  of  her  scrupulous  obedience,  and  invincible  pa- 
tience under  all  pains,  labor,  and  contradictions,  which  surprised 
all  that  knew  her. 

Her  parents,  by  the  vicissitude  of  worldly  affairs,  fell  from  a 
state  of  opulence  into  great  distress,  and  Rose  was  taken  into 
the  family  of  the  treasurer  Gonsalvo,  by  that  gentleman's  pious 
lady  ;  and  by  working  there  all  day  in  the  garden,  and  late  at 
night  with  her  needle,  she  relieved  them  in  their  necessities. 
The  employments  were  agreeable  to  her  penitential  spirit  and 
humility,  and  afforded  her  an  opportunity  of  never  interrupting 
the  interior  commerce  of  her  soul  with  God.  She  probably 
would  never  have  entertained  any  thoughts  of  another  state,  if 


AS   SEEN    IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  II 5 

she  had  not  found  herelf  importuned  by  her  friends  to  marry. 
To  rid  herself  of  such  troublesome  solicitations,  and  more  easily 
to  comply  with  the  obligation  she  had  taken  upon  herself  by  a 
vow  of  serving  God  in  a  state  of  holy  virginity,  she  enrolled  her- 
sel  in  the  third  Order  of  St.  Dominic.  Her  love  of  solitude 
made  her  choose  for  her  dwelling  a  little  lonely  cell  in  a  garden. 
Extraordinary  fasts,  hair  cloths,  studded  iron  chains  which  she 
wore  about  her  waist,  bitter  herbs  mingled  in  the  sustenance 
which  she  took,  and  other  austerities,  were  the  inventions  of  her 
spirit  of  mortification  and  penance.  She  wore  upon  her  head  a« 
thin  circle  of  silver  (a  metal  very  common  in  Peru),  studded  on 
the  inside  with  little  sharp  pricks  or  nails,  which  wounded  her 
head,  in  imitation  of  a  crown  of  thorns.  This  she  did  to  put  her 
in  mind  of  the  adorable  passion  of  Christ,  which  incomprehensi- 
ble mystery  of  divine  love  and  mercy  she  desired  to  have  always 
in  her  thoughts.  So  ardent  was  her  love  of  God,  that  as  often 
as  she  spoke  of  it,  the  accent  of  her  voice,  and  the  fire  which 
sparkled  in  her  countenance,  discovered  the  flame  which  con- 
sumed her  holy  soul.  This  appeared  most  sensibly  when  she 
was  in  presence  of  the  blessed  sacrament,  and  when  in  receiving 
it  she  united  her  heart  to  her  beloved  in  that  wonderful  fountain 
of  his  love  ;  her  whole  life  was  a  continual  vehement  thirst  after 
that  divine  banquet,  in  which  she  found  her  greatest  comfort 
and  support  during  the  course  of  her  earthly  pilgrimage.  God 
favored  the  fervor  of  her  charity  with  many  extraordinary 
graces  ;  and  Christ  once  in  a  vision  called  her  soul  his  spouse. 
But,  for  her  humiliation,  and  the  exercise  of  her  virtue,  she  suf- 
fered, during  fifteen  years,  grievous  persecutions  from  her 
friends  and  others  ;  and,  what  were  much  more  severe  trials,  in- 
terior desolation,  and  dreadful  agonies  of  spiritual  anguish  in 
her  soul.  But  God  afterwards  recompensed  her  fidelity  and 
constancy  in  this  life  with  extraordinary  caresses.  Under  long 
and  most  painful  sicknesses  it  was  her  prayer,  "  Lord,  increase 
my  sufferings,  and  with  them  increase  thy  love  in  my  heart." 
She  happily  passed  to  eternal  bliss  on  the  24th  of  August,  161  7, 
being  thirty-one  years  old.  The  chapter,  senate,  and  all  the 
most  honorable  companies  of  the  city,  by  turns,  carried  her 
body  to  the  grave  ;  the  archbishop  assisted  at  her  funeral.     Sev- 


I  16  TliE   FRUITS    OF   THE   FAITH, 

eral  miracles  wrought  by  her  means  were  juridically  proved  by 
one  hundred  and  eighty  witnesses  before  the  apostolic  com- 
missaries. She  was  canonized  by  Clement  X.,  in  1671,  and  the 
30th  day  of  August  has  been  appointed  for  her  festival. 

SAINT    AGNES. 
Virgin  Martyr. 

St.  Jerome  says  that  the  tongues  and  pens  of  all  nations  are 
employed  in  the  praises  of  this  saint,  who  overcame  both  the 
cruelty  of  the  tyrant  and  the  tenderness  of  her  age,  and 
crowned  the  glory  of  chastity  with  that  of  martyrdom.  St. 
Augfustine  obseves  that  her  name  sio-nifies  chaste  in  Greek,  and 
a  lamb  in  Latin.  She  has  always  been  looked  upon  in  the 
church  as  a  special  patroness  of  purity,  with  the  Immaculate 
Mother  of  God  and  St.  Thecla.  Rome  was  the  theatre  of  the 
triumph  of  St.  Agnes  ;  and  Prudentius  says  that  her  tomb  was 
shown  within  sight  of  that  city.  She  suffered  not  long  after 
the  beginning  of  the  persecution  of  Diocletian,  whose  bloody 
edicts  appeared  in  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  303.  We 
learn  from  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Augustine  that  she  was  only 
thirteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  glorious  death.  Her 
riches  and  beauty  excited  the  young  noblemen  of  the  first 
families  in  Rome  to  vie  with  one  another  in  their  addresses  who 
should  gain  her  in  marriage.  Agnes  answered  them  all  that 
she  had  consecrated  her  virginity  to  a  heavenly  spouse,  who 
could  not  be  beheld  by  mortal  eyes.  Her  suitors,  finding  her 
resolution  impregnable  to  all  their  arts  and  importunities, 
accused  her  to  the  orovernor  as  a  Christian,  not  doubtinor  but 
threats  and  torments  would  overcome  her  tender  mind,  on 
which  allurements  could  make  no  impression.  The  judge  at 
first  employed  the  mildest  expression  and  most  inviting  prom- 
ises, to  which  Agnes  paid  no  regard,  repeating  always  that 
she  could  have  no  other  spouse  than  Jesus  Christ.  He  then 
made  use  of  threats,  but  found  her  soul  endowed  with  a  mascu- 
line courage,  and  even  desirous  of  racks  and  death.  At  last 
terrible  fires  were  made,  andiron  hooks,  racks,  and  other  instru- 


Ab    bLEN    IX  .THE    LIVES    UE    llUEV    WOMEN.  11/ 

ments  of  torture,  displayed  before  her,  with  threats  of  immediate 
execution.  The  young  virgin  surveyed  them  all  with  an 
undaunted  eye,  and  with  a  cheerful  countenance  beheld  the 
fierce  and  cruel  executioners  surrounding  her,  and  ready  to  dis- 
patch her  at  the  word  of  command.  She  was  so  far  from 
betraying  the  least  symptom  of  fear,  that  she  even  expressed 
her  joy  at  the  sight,  and  offered  herself  to  the  rack.  She  w^as 
then  dragged  before  the  idols,  and  commanded  to  offer  incense, 
"  but  could  by  no  means  be  compelled  to  move  her  hand,  except 
to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,"  says  St.  Ambrose. 

The  governor,  seeing  his  measures  ineffectual,  said  he  would 
send  her  to  a  house  of  prostitution,  where  what  she  prized  so 
highly  should  be  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the  debauchees. 
Agnes  answered  that  Jesus  Christ  was  too  jealous  of  the  purity 
of  his  spouses  to  suffer  it  to  be  violated  in  such  a  manner,  for 
he  was  their  defender  and  protector.  "  You  may,"  said  she,  "  stain 
your  sword  with  my  blood,  but  will  never  be  able  to  profane  my 
body,  consecrated  to  Christ."  The  governor  was  so  incensed  at 
this,  that  he  ordered  her  to  be  immediately  led  to  the  public 
brothel,  with  liberty  to  all  persons  to  abuse  her  person  at  pleas- 
ure. Many  young  profligates  ran  thither,  full  of  the  wicked 
desire  of  gratifying  their  lust,  but  were  seized  with  such  awe  at 
the  sight  of  the  saint,  that  they  durst  not  approach  her — one 
only  excepted,  who,  attempting  to  be  rude  to  her,  was  that  very 
instant,  by  a  flash,  as  it  were,  of  lightning  from  heaven,  struck 
blind,  and  fell  trembling  to  the  ground.  His  companions,  terri- 
fied, took  him  up,  and  carried  him  to  Agnes,  who  was  at  a  dis- 
tance, singing  hymns  of  praise  to  Christ,  her  protector.  The 
virgin  by  prayer  restored  him  to  his  sight  and  health. 

The  chi)sf  persecutor  of  the  saint,  who  at  first  sought  to 
gratify  his  lust  and  avarice,  now  labored  to  satiate  his  revenge, 
by  incensing  the  judge  against  her,  his  passionate  fondness 
beinor  chanofed  into  aneer  and  racfe.  The  orovernor  wanted  not 
others  to  spur  him  on,  for  he  was  highly  exasperated  to  see 
himself  baffled,  and  set  at  defiance  by  one  of  her  tender  age  and 
sex.  Therefore,  resolved  upon  her  death,  he  condemned  her  to 
be  beheaded.     Agnes,  transported  with  joy  on  hearing  this  sen- 


IlS  THE    FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

tence,  and  still  more  at  the  sight  of  the  executioner,  "  went 
to  the  place  of  execution  more  cheerfully,"  says  St.  Ambrose, 
"  than  others  go  to  their  wedding."  The  executioner  had 
secret  instructions  to  use  all'  means  to  induce  her  to  a  compli- 
ance, but  Agnes  always  answered  she  could  never  offer  so  great 
an  injury  to  her  heavenly  spouse,  and  having  made  a  short 
prayer,  bowed  down  her  neck  to  adore  God,  and  received  the 
stroke  of  death.  The  spectators  wept  to  see  so  beautiful  and 
tender  a  virein  loaded  with  fetters,  and  to  behold  her  fearless 
under  the  very  sword  of  the  executioner,  who  with  a  trembling 
hand  cut  off  her  head  at  one  stroke.  Her  body  was  buried  at  a 
small  distance  from  Rome,  near  the  Nomentan  Road.  A 
church  was  built  on  the  spot  in  the  time  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  and  was  repaired  by  Pope  Honorius  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury. It  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Canon-Regulars,  standing  with- 
out the  walls  of  Rome,  and  is  honored  with  her  relics  in  a  very 
rich  silver  shrine,  the  gift  of  Pope  Paul  V.,  in  whose  time  they 
were  found  in  this  church,  together  with  those  of  St.  Emeren- 
tiana.  The  other  beautiful  rich  church  of  St.  Agnes,  within  the 
city,  built  by  Pope  Innocent  X.  (the  right  of  patronage  being 
vested  in  the  family  of  Pamphili),  stands  on  the  place  where  her 
chastity  was  exposed.  The  feast  of  St.  Agnes  is  mentioned  in 
all  Martyrologies,  both  of  the  East  and  West,  though  on  differ- 
ent days.  It  was  formerly  a  holyday  for  the  women  in  Eng- 
land, as  appears  from  the  Council  of  Worcester,  held  in  the 
year  1240.  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Augustine,  and  other  fathers  have 
written  her  panegyric.  St.  Martin  of  Tours  was  singularly 
devout  to  her.  Thomas-a-Kempis  honored  her  as  his  special 
patroness,  as  his  works  declare  in  many  places.  He  relates 
many  miracles  wrought  and  graces  received'  througii  her  inter- 
cession. 

ST.    ELIZABETH    OF    HUNGARY. 
Widow. 

Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Alexander  II.,  the  valiant  and  relig- 
ious King  of   Hungary,    and  his  queen,   Gertrude,   daughter  of 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  II9 

the  Duke  of  Carinthia,  was  born  in  Hungary,  in  1207.  The 
princess,  at  four  years  of  age,  was  betrothed  to  Louis  IV.,  land- 
grave of  Thuringia,  and  sent  to  his  court,  and  there  brought 
up  under  the  care  of  a  virtuous  lady.  Five  years  after,  Her- 
man died,  and  Lewis  became  landgrave.  Elizabeth,  from  her 
cradle,  was  so  happily  pervaded  with  the  love  of  God,  that  no 
room  for  creatures  could  be  found  in  her  heart  ;  and  thouo-h 
surrounded,  and,  as  it  were,  besieged  by  worldly  pleasures  in 
their  most  engaging  shapes,  she  had  no  relish  for  them,  prayed 
with  an  astonishing  recollection,  and  seemed  scarce  to  know 
any  other  use  of  money  than  to  give  it-  to  the  poor  ;  for  her 
father  allowed  her,  till  her  marriage  was  solemnized,  a  compe- 
tent yearly  revenue  for  maintaining  a  court  suitable  to  her  rank. 
This  child  of  heaven,  in  her  very  recreations,  studied  to  prac- 
tice frequent  humiliations  and  self-denials ;  and  stole  often  to 
the  chapel,  and  there  knelt  down  and  said  a  short  prayer  before 
every  altar,  bowing  her  body  reverently,  or,  if  nobody  was  there, 
prostrating  herself  upon  the  ground.  She  was  educated  with 
Agnes,  sister  to  the  young  landgrave,  and  upon  their  first  ap- 
pearing at  church  they  were  dressed  alike,  and  wore  coronets 
set  with  jewels.  At  their  entering  the  house  of  God,  Sophia, 
the  landgrave's  mother,  observing  our  saint  take  off  her  coro- 
net, asked  why  she  did  so  :  to  which  the  princess  replied  that 
she  could  not  bear  to  appear  with  jewels  on  her  head  where  she 
saw  that  of  Jesus  Christ  crowned  with  thorns.  Agnes  and  her 
mother,  who  were  strangers  to  such  kind  of  sentiment,  and  fond 
of  what  Elizabeth  trampled  upon,  conceived  an  aversion  for  the 
young  princess,  and  said,  that  since  she  seemed  to  have  so  lit- 
tle relish  for  the  court,  a  convent  would  be  the  proper  place  for 
her.  The  courtiers  carried  their  reflections  much  further,  and 
did  all  in  their  power  to  bring  the  saint  into  contempt  ;  saying 
that  neither  her  fortune  nor  her  person  was  such  as  the  land- 
grave had  a  right  to  expect,  that  he  had  no  inclination  for  her, 
and  that  she  would  either  be  sent  back  to  Hungary,  or  married 
to  some  nobleman  in  the  country.  These  taunts  and  trials  were 
more  severe  and  continual,  as  the  landgrave,  Herman,  dying 
when  Elizabeth  was  only  nine  years  old,  the  government  fell 


120  THE    FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

into  the  hands  of  his  widow,  in  the  name  of  her  son,  till  he 
should  be  of  age.  These  persecutions  and  injuries  were,  to  the 
saint,  occasions  of  the  greatest  spirituul  advantages  ;  for  by 
them  she  da*ily  learned  a  more  perfect  contempt  of  all  earthly 
things,  to  which  the  heavenly  lover  exhorts  his  spouse,  saying : 
"  Hearken,  daughter,  forget  thy  people."  She  learned  also  the 
evangelical  hatred  of  herself,  and  crucifixion  of  self-love ;  by 
which  she  was  enabled  to  say,  with  the  Apostles,  "  Behold  we 
have  left  all  things."  In  this  entire  disengagement  of  her  heart, 
she  learned  to  take  up  her  cross  and  follow  Christ,  by  the  exer- 
cise of  meekness,  humility,  patience,  and  charity  toward  unjust 
persecutors  ;  and  to  cleave  to  God  by  the  closest  union  of  her 
soul  to  him,  by  resignation,  love,  and  prayer,  contemning  her- 
self, and  esteeming  the  vanity  of  the  world  as  filth  and  dung. 

The  saint  was  in  her  fourteenth  year  when  Lewis,  the  young 
landgrave,  returned  home,  after  a  long  absence,  on  account  of 
his  education.  Address  in  martial  exercises  and  other  great 
accomplishments  introduced  the  young  prince  into  the  world 
with  a  mighty  reputation  :  but  nothing  was  so  remarkable  in 
him  as  a  sincere  love  of  piety.  The  eminent  virtue  of  Elizabeth 
eave  him  the  highest  esteem  for  her  person.  She  was  married 
at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  with  her  pious  husband's  consent, 
often  rose  in  the  night  to  pray,  and  consecrated  great  part  of 
her  time  to  her  devotions,  insomuch  that  on  Sundays  and  holi- 
days she  never  allowed  herself  much  leisure  to  dress  herself. 
The  rest  of  her  time,  which  was  not  spent  in  prayer  or  reading, 
she  devoted  to  acts  of  charity,  and  to  spinning  or  carding  wool, 
in  which  she  would  only  work  very  coarse  wool  for  the  use  of 
the  poor,  or  of  the  Franciscian  friars.  The  mysteries  of  the 
life  and  sufferings  of  our  Saviour  were  the  subject  of  her  most 
tender  and  daily  meditation.  In  attending  the  poor  and  the 
sick,  she  cheerfully  washed  and  cleansed  the  most  filthy  sores, 
and  waited  on  those  that  were  infected  with  the  most  loathsome 
diseases. 

Her  alms  seemed  at  all  times  to  have  no  bounds  ;  in  which 
the  good  landgrave  rejoiced  exceedingly,  and  gave  her  full  lib- 
erty.     Her  husband,  edified  and  charmed  with  her  extraordinary 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE    LIVES   OF    HOLY    WOMEN.  121 

piety,  not  only  approved  of  all  she  did,  but  was  himself  an  imi- 
tator of  her  charity,  devotion,  and  other  virtues  :  insomuch  that 
he  is  deservedly  styled  by  historians  the  Pious  Landgrave.  He 
had  by  her  three  children — Herman,  Sophia,  who  was  after- 
wards married  to  the  duke  of  Brabant,  and  Gertrude,  who 
became  a  nun,  and  died  Abbess  of  Aldemburg. 

On  the  death  of  her  husband  in  1227,  Elizabeth  was  deprived 
of  the  regency  by  his  brother  Henry,  on  the  pretext  that  she 
was  wasting  the  estates  by  her  alms,  and  with  her  three  children 
she  was  driven  from  her  home  without  being  allowed  to  carry 
with  her  the  barest  necessities  of  life  :  and  all  persons  in  the 
town  were  for  bidden  to  let  her  any  lodgings.  The  princess  bore 
this  unjust  treatment  with  a  patience  far  transcending  the  power 
of  nature,  showing  nothing  in  her  gestures  which  was  not  as 
composed  as  if  she  had  been  in  the  greatest  tranquility  possible. 

The  Abbess  of  Kitzingen,  in  the  Diocese  of  Wurtzburg,  our 
saint's  aunt,  sister  to  her  mother,  hearing  of  her  misfortunes, 
invited  her  to  her  monastery,  and,  being  extremely  moved  at  the 
sight  of  her  desolate  condition  and  poverty,  advised  her  to  re- 
pair to  her  uncle,  the  Bishop  of  Bamberg,  a  man  of  great  power, 
charity,  and  prudence.  The  bishop  received  her  with  many 
tears,  which  compassion  drew  from  his  eyes,  and  from  those  of 
all  the  clergy  that  were  with  him,  and  provided  for  her  a  com- 
modious house  near  his  palace.  His  first  views  were,  as  she 
was  young  and  beautiful,  to  endeavor  to  look  out  for  a  suitable 
party,  that,  marrying  some  powerful  prince,  she  might  strengthen 
her  interest,  and  that  of  her  family,  by  a  new  alliance,  which 
might  enable  her  to  recover  her  right  ;  but  such  projects  she  en- 
tirely put  a  stop  to,  declaring  it  was  her  fixed  resolution  to  de- 
vote herself  to  the  divine  service  in  a  state  of  perpetual  chastity. 

Through  the  intercession  of  some  of  the  principal  barons, 
the  regency  was  again  offered  her,  and  her  son  Herman  was 
declared  heir  to  the  throne  ;  but,  renouncing  all  power,  and 
making  use  of  her  wealth  only  for  charitable  purposes,  she  pre- 
ferred to  live  in  seclusion  at  Marburg  under  the  direction  of  her 
confessor,  Conrad. 

The  saint,  by  spinning  coarse  wool,  earned  her  own  mainte* 


122  THE   FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

nance,  and  with  her  maids,  dressed  her  own  victuals,  which  were 
chiefly  herbs,  bread  and  water.  Whilst  her  hands  were  busy,  in 
her  heart  she  conversed  with  God.  The  King  of  Hungary, 
her  father,  earnestly  invited  her  to  his  court ;  but  she  preferred 
a  state  of  humiliation  and  suffering.  She  chose,  by  preference, 
to  do  every  kind  of  service  in  attending  the  most  loathsome 
lepers  among  the  poor.  Spiritual  and  corporal-  works  of  mercy 
occupied  her  even  to  her  last  moments,  and  by  her  moving  ex- 
hortations many  obstinate  sinners  were  converted  to  God.  It 
seemed,  indeed,  impossible  for  anything  to  resist  the  eminent 
spirit  of  prayer  with  which  she  was  endowed.  In  prayer  she 
found  her  comfort  and  her  strength  in  her  mortal  pilgrimage, 
and  was  favored  in  it  with  frequent  raptures  and  heavenly  com- 
munications. Her  confessor,  Conrad,  assures  us  that  when  she 
returned  from  secret  prayer  her  countenance  often  seemed  to 
dart  forth  rays  of  light  from  the  divine  conversation.  Being 
forewarned  by  God  of  her  approaching  passage  to  eternity, 
which  she  mentioned  to  her  confessor  four  days  before  she  fell  ill, 
as  he  assures  us,  she  redoubled  her  fervor  ;  by  her  last  will  made 
Christ  her  heir  in  his  poor,  made  a  general  confession  of  her 
whole  life  on  the  twelfth  day,  survived  yet  four  days,  received  the 
last  sacraments,  and,  to  her  last  breath,  ceased  not  to  pray,  or 
to  discourse  in  the  most  pathetic  manner  on  the  mysteries  of 
the  sacred  life  and  sufferings  of  our  Redeemer,  and  on  his  com- 
ing to  judge  us.  The  day  of  her  happy  death  was  the  19th 
of  November,  in  1231,  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  her  age. 
Her  venerated  body  was  deposited  in  a  chapel  near  the  hospital 
which  she  had  founded.  Many  sick  persons  were  restored  to 
health  at  her  tomb ;  an  account  of  which  miracles  Siffrid,  Arch- 
bishop of  Mentz,  sent  to  Rome,  having  first  caused  them  to  be 
authenticated  by  a  juridical  examination  before  himself  and 
others.  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  after  a  long  and  mature  discussion, 
performed  the  ceremony  of  her  canonization  on  Whit-Sunday, 
in  1235,  four  years  after  her  death.  Siffrid,  upon  news  hereof, 
appointed  a  day  for  the  translation  of  her  relics,  which  he  per- 
formed at  Marpurg,  in  1236.  The  Emperor  Frederic  II.  would 
be  present,  took  up  the  first  stone  of  the  saint's  grave,  and  gave 


AS   SEEN   IN   THE    LIVES   OF    HOLY    WOMEN.  123 

and  placed  on  the  shrine,  with  his  own  hands,  a  rich  crown  of 
gold.  St.  Elizabeth's  son,  Herman,  then  landgrave,  and  his 
two  sisters,  Sophia  and  Gertrude,  assisted  at  this  august  cere- 
mony ;  also  the  archbishops  of  Cologne  and  Bremen,  and  an  in- 
credible number  of  other  princes,  prelates,  and  people,  so  that 
the  number  is  said  to  have  amounted  to  above  two  hundred 
thousand  persons.  The  relics  were  enshrined  in  a  rich  ver- 
milion case,  and  placed  upon  the  altar  in  the  church  of  the 
hospital.  Some  persons,  of  the  third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  hav- 
ing raised  that  institute  into  a  religious  Order  long  after  the 
death  of  our  saint  (without  prejudice  to  the  secular  state  of  this 
Order,  which  is  still  embraced  by  many  who  live  in  the  world), 
the  religious  women  of  this  Order  chose  her  for  their  patroness, 
Qnd  are  sometimes  called  the  nuns  of  St.  Elizabeth. 


SAINT    BRIDGET. 

Vz'rgm,  Abbess,  atid  Patroness  of  Ireland. 

St.  Patrick  not  only  planted  the  faith  in  Ireland,  but  he 
also  confirmed  it  by  his  miracles  and  preachings,  and  by  estab- 
lishing monasteries  and  churches  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land  ;  thus  laying  the  foundations  of  those  great 
religious  establishments  which,  in  after  ages,  sent  missionaries 
and  saints  to  spread  the  Gospel  throughout  Europe.  St. 
Bridget  shares  with  St.  Patrick  the  glory  and  sanctity  of  being 
the  first  to  combine  the  pious  young  virgins  of  Ireland  into  con- 
ventual communities.  Her  success  in  this  holy  task  was  miracu- 
lous, for  religious  establishments  of  this  kind  soon  extended 
over  the  land,  and  Bridget  encouraged  them  by  her  visits,  her 
teachings  and  example.  We  all  know  how  great  the  influence 
of  woman  is  in  softening  and  refining  society,  and  particularly 
for  moulding  the  minds  of  youth  for  good  or  evil  ;  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  the  holy  and  virtuous  fire  infused  by 
Bridget  into  the  hearts  of  the  women  of  Erin  powerfully  aided 
the  labors  of  St.  Patrick  in  christianizing  the  inhabitants. 

'  She  was  born  at  Pochard,  in    Ulster,  soon   after   Ireland   had 
been  blessed  with  the  light  of  faith.     She  received  the  religious 


124  THE    FRUITS   OF   THE   FAITH, 

veM  in  her  youth,  from  the  hands  of  St.  Mel,  nephew  and  disci- 
ple of  St.  Patrick.  She  built  herself  a  cell  under  a  large  oak, 
thence  called  Kill-dara,  or  cell  of  the  oak,  living,  as  her  name 
implies,  the  bright  shining  light  of  that  country  by  her  virtues. 
Being  joined  soon  after  by  several  of  her  own  sex,  they  formed 
themselves  into  a  religious  community,  which  branched  out  into 
several  other  nunneries  throughout  Ireland,  all  which  acknowl- 
edged her  for  their  mother  and  foundress,  as  in  effect  she  was 
of  all  in  that  kingdom.  She  flourished  in  the  beginning  of  the 
sixth  century,  and  is  named  in  the  Martyrology  of  Bede,  and  in 
all  others  since  that  age. 

Like  St.  Patrick,  St.  Bridget  spent  much  of  her  time  in  trav- 
eling through  the  country,  establishing  communities  of  nuns, 
and  converting  and  instructing  the  people  ;  like  him,  also,  she 
was  accompanied  by  several  companions,  or  disciples,  one  of 
whom  she  always  left  to  preside  over  her  newly-established  com- 
munity, and,  finally,  having  fulfilled  her  mission,  like  St.  Patrick, 
she  established  a  permanent  house,  where  she  spent  the  remain- 
der of  her  life  as  head  of  the  great  and  numerous  order  of  Brid- 
getine  nuns  which  she  had  established.  The  fame  of  her 
miracles,  her  virtues  and  piety  had  spread  over  the  land,  and 
young  virgins — even  the  daughters  of  kings  and  princes — were 
inspired  with  similar  religious  zeal,  and  desired  to  follow  in  her 
footsteps,  and  to  become  worthy  to  establish  religious  communi- 
ties. 

The  shrine  of  St.  Bridget  was  to  Ireland  what  Loretto  has 
been  to  Italy,  and  was  enriched  from  time  to  time  by  the  offer- 
ings of  the  faithful  until  it  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  in  Ire* 
land.  In  that  early  age  of  the  primitive  church  the  conventual 
life  was  only  just  beginning  to  assume  shape  and  form.  St. 
Bridget  was,  perhaps,  the  very  first  among  the  saints  of  Europe 
who  gathered  into  communities  governed  by  certain  rules  a  con- 
gregation of  holy  virgins.  She  was  anterior  to  St.  Scholastica, 
the  sister  of  St.  Benedict,  who  was  the  oreat  founder  of  Monas- 
ticism  in  the  West.  These  communities  were  primitive  in  their 
manner  of  living,  as  also  in  the  severity  of  their  rules  and  disci- 
pline, which  were  of  the   most  austere  nature.      They  dwelt  in 


AS    SEEN   IN   THE   LIVES   OF   HOLY   WOMEN.  125 

cells  of  the  rudest  and  simplest  construction,  and  spent  their 
time  in  prayer,  mortification  and  acts  of  charity.  They  freely 
clothed  the  naked  and  fed  the  hungry  ;  and  the  convents  and 
monasteries  were  not  only  the  asylums  of  the  learned  and  pious, 
but  also  of  the  poor,  the  afflicted  and  the  distressed.  At  a  time 
when  the  licentiousness  of  paganism  struggled  against  the 
purity  of  Christianity  in  men's  hearts,  the  pure  sacrificing  lives 
of  those  holy  virgins  who  despised  the  pleasures  and  allurements 
of  the  world  to  give  themselves  up,  soul  and  body,  to  Jesus 
Christ,  must  have  had  great  influence  upon  the  sterner  and 
ruder  nature  of  man.  Innumerable  are  the  traditions  handed 
down  of  St.  Bridget's  charity  and  generosity.  The  poor  never 
left  her  empty  handed,  and  her  convent  was,  indeed,  a  house  of 
refuge  for  them.  The  miracles  said  to  have  been  performed  by 
the  Saint  are  innumerable.  She  was  visited  by  several  of  the 
holy  bishops  and  nuns  of  her  time,  and  a  warm  friendship 
existed  between  herself  and  most  of  them.  She  was  also  fre- 
quently visited  by  other  holy  men,  and  by  the  kings  and  princes 
of  the  land. 

St.  Bridget's  life  was  one  series  of  acts  of  mercy,  love  and 
charity.  She  labored  in  peace  and  for  the  good  of  mankind  and 
the  glory  of  God.  She  sacrificed  all  worldly  pleasures  for  the 
beatitude  of  heaven.  The  only  attainment  she  sought  on  earth 
was  to  do  the  will  of  her  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  His  grace 
was  her  staff  through  life,  and  supported  her  in  her  trials  and 
afflictions.  His  love  was  the  pure  flame  that  warmed  her  heart 
and  that  rewarded  her  for  all  her  labors  and  sacrifices.  The 
love  of  her  Saviour  alone  filled  her  heart  ;  for  Him  she  lived  on 
earth,  and  with  Him  she  reigns  in  heaven. 

She  died  Feb.  i,  525,  in  the  seventy-second  year  of  her  age. 
Her  body  was  found  with  those  of  SS.  Patrick  and  Columba. 
in  a  triple  vault  in  Downpatrick,  in  1185,  as  Giraldus  Cambren- 
sif.  informs  us.  They  were  all  three  translated  to  the  cathedral 
of  the  same  city  ;  but  their  monument  was  destroyed  in  the 
reign  of  King  Henry  VHI.  The  head  of  St.  Bride  is  now  kept 
in  the  church  of  the  Jesuits  at  Lisbon.  See  Bollandus,  Feb.  t.  i. 
p.  99. 


PICTORIAL   LES50N5 


FOR    MEMBERS   OF   THE 


Confrai^erniHes  and  SodaliHes 


A  Youth's  Vision  of  Jesus.  In  conception  and  execution  this 
picture  is  one  of  rare  beauty.  The  youth  who  has  chosen 
to  follow  Jesus  faithfully,  has  already  accepted  His  crown 
of  thorns,  that  is,  the  trials  and  troubles  of  life.  The  other 
group,  neglectful  of  God,  are  intent  only  on  the  things  of  the 
world ;  and  the  Saviour,  still  solicitous  for  their  salvation,  points 
to  them  in  a  spirit  of  benignity  and  love,  which  never  ceases  to 
bless. 

Oh,  Blessed  Mother.  This  beautiful  engraving  represents 
the  Blessed  Virgin  as  the  mother  and  protectress  of  all  the 
followers  of  Christ,  according  to  the  words  of  Jesus  on  the  cross 
to  St.  John:  "Son,  behold  thy  mother."  But  Mary  is  regarded 
as  the  special  protectress  of  those  who  are  members  of  confra- 
ternities and  sodalities  instituted  to  honor  her  through  special 
practices  of  devotion. 

Blessed  Faith  of  the  Dying  Christian.  Here  we  see  depicted 
the  grand  and  consoling  truth  of  the  Catholic  faith,  namely,  that 
it  not  only  renders  us  happy  while  on  earth,  but  gives  solace  in 
our  dying  hours,  and  leads  to  perfect  happiness  in  heaven. 

Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  This  exquisite  engraving  represents 
the  vision  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  as  He  appeared  to  a 
French  nun  at  Paray-le-Monial,  about  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  has  smce  spread  all 
over  the  world,  and  numbers  its  adherents  by  millions.  This 
beautiful  devotion  has  been  recommended  to  Catholics  by  several 
Popes,  who  have  attached  many  indulgences  to  it. 


A  Youth's  Vision  of  Jesus. 


Uh,  Blessed  Mother,  Guard  and  Guide  Me. 


The  Blesskd  Faith  of  thk  Dvinc;  Christian. 


The  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus. 


THE 


Confraternities  and  Sodalities 


OF   THE 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH, 

The  Origin,  Diffusion  and  Benefits  of  eack 


Among  the  many  efficacious  means  favored  by  the  Church  for 
the  cultivation  of  piety  among  the  faithful,  and  the  forming  of  the 
character  of  practical  and  zealous  Christians  that  of  reHgious 
confraternities  and  sodaHties  holds  a  foremost  place.  And  no 
more  striking  evidence  can  be  found  of  the  rapid  growth  and 
progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States  than  the 
increase  in  numbers  and  in  members  of  these  pious  associations. 

Confraternities  are  everywhere  recognized  by  the  rever- 
end clergy  as  most  important  factors  in  the  preservation  of  the 
faith  and  the  upbuilding  of  Catholic  character.  This  is 
especially  true  in  regard  to  our  young  women,  who  constitute  so 
large  a  portion  of  the  membership  of  these  confraternities.  The 
gathering  of  women  and  girls  within  the  sanctifying  influences 
of  these  pious  societies  are  the  surest  guarantee  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  Catholic  faith,  morals  and  piety  within  the  home  circle, 
and  for  the  Catholic  training  of  the  youth,  who  will  constitute 
the  Church  of  the  future.  It  requires  no  argument  to  show  that 
home  influences  not  only,  for  the  most  part,  determine  the  after 
career  of  men,  but  that  they  are  also  more  lasting  in  their  efTects 
than  all  others.  And  who  can  contribute  so  much  to  the  influ- 
ences of  the  home  and  family,  during  the  formative  j^eriod  of 
youthful  character  than  the  mothers  of  to-day,  and  those  who 
are  destined  to  be  the  mothers  of  the  future  generation  of  Cath- 
olics. 


70  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF  THE   CHURCH. 

That  large  body  of  Catholic  young  women  who,  by  the 
nature  of  their  employment,  are  removed  from  the  beneficent  in- 
fluences of  a  good  Catholic  home  find  in  these  pious  societies  the 
surest  shelter  and  the  strongest  safeguard  against  the  perilous 
nature  of  their  environments  to  Catholic  faith  and  practice.  Nor 
are  these  societies  less  beneficial  in  the  influence  they  must  neces- 
sarily exercise  on  the  young  men,  who  are  enrolled  among  their 
members,  and  who  in  the  near  future  will  constitute  the  chief  bul- 
wark of  the  Church's  strength.  So  also  do  the  children  of  tender 
years  who  require  the  constant  vigilance  of  the  Church  to  form 
them  for  a  pure  and  noble  Christian  life  find  in  the  sodalities  of 
the  Child  Jesus,  and  that  of  the  Holy  Angels,  associations 
specially  instituted  for  their  welfare,  while  those  wearied  with  the 
burdens  of  age  and  care  find  in  the  practices  of  piety  recom- 
mended by  these  societies  their  true  consolation  and  solace. 

These  holy  associations,  in  which  a  number  of  persons  unite 
for  God's  glory  and  their  own  spiritual  benefit,  fit  men  for  all 
the  great  undertakings  inspired  by  charity  and  zeal,  and  tend  to 
produce  men  who  In  every  department  of  life  will  always  be  an 
honor  to  society  and  to  the  Church.  But  it  is  in  protecting  and 
forming  the  mind  and  heart  of  youth  the  beneficent  results  of 
these  sodalities  and  confraternities  are  especially  marked. 

Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  his  decree  Exponendtiin  inii}e7',  said  on  this 
subject :  **  Nothing  is  more  pleasing  to  us  than  to  see  the  faith- 
ful, and  most  especially  the  young  men,  whom  impiety  seeks  to 
ensnare,  enrolling  themselves  In  those  confraternities  whose 
principal  aim  Is  to  sustain  and  animate  devotion  to  the  Immacu- 
late Mother  of  God."  And  His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII.,  has  like- 
wise  taken  a  lively  Interest  in  the  sodalities  for  the  young. 

And  that  devout  servant  of  Mary,  St.  Alphonsus  Ligourl,  thus 
expresses  himself  on  the  subject :  "  As  associates,  by  enrolling 
themselves  in  the  book  of  the  sons  of  Mary,  show  their  desire 
to  become  her  children  and  eminent  servants,  this  good  mother 
treats  them  In  return  with  distinction,  and  protects  them  in  life 
and  In  death.  Thus  they  can  truly  say,  on  entering  the  sodal- 
ity, that  they  have  received  every  blessing. 

"Some  persons  disapprove  of  confraterrltles,  saying  they  give 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  7 1 

rise,  to  contention,  and  that  many  join  them  for  human  ends. 
But  as  the  Church  and  the  sacraments  are  not  condemned 
because  there  are  many  who  abuse  them,  neither  should  we  con- 
demn the  confraternities.  The  sovereign  pontiffs,  instead  of 
condemning  them,  have  approved  and  highly  commended  them, 
and  enriched  them  with  indulgences.  St.  Francis  of  Sales, 
earnestly  exhorts  laymen  to  enter  into  the  confraternities. 
What  did  not  St.  Charles  Borromeo  do  to  establish  and  multi- 
ply these  sodalities?  And  in  his  synods  he  distinctly  intimates 
to  confessors  that  they  should  endeavor  to  induce  their  penitents 
to  join  them.  And  with  reason,  for  these  confraternities, 
especially  those  of  our  Lady,  are  like  so  many  arks  of  Noe,  in 
which  the  poor  people  of  the  world  may  find  refuge  from  the 
deluge  of  temptations  and  sins  which  inundate  them  in  it.  We 
well  learn,  in  the  course  of  our  missions,  the  utility  of  these  con- 
fraternities. Speaking  exactly,  there  are  found  more  sins  in 
a  man  who  does  not  belong  to  the  confraternities,  than  in 
twenty  who  frequent  them." 

Hence,  St.  Francis  of  Sales  urges  all  to  join  them,  and  par- 
ticipate in  their  benefits.  "  Enter,  then,  willingly,"  he  says, 
"  into  the  confraternities  of  the  place  in  which  you  reside,  and 
especially  those  whose  exercises  are  the  most  productive  of  fruit 
and  edification,  as  in  so  doing  you  practice  a  sort  of  obedience 
acceptable  to  God  ;  for  although  these  confraternities  are  not 
commanded,  they  are  nevertheless  recommended  by  the  Church, 
which  to  testify  her  approbation  of  them,  grants  indulgences 
and  other  privileges  to  such  as  enter  them.  Besides  it  is  very 
laudable  to  concur  and  cooperate  with  many  in  their  good 
designs,  for  although  we  might  perform  as  good  exercises  alone, 
as  in  the  company  of  a  confraternity,  and  perhaps  take  more 
pleasure  In  performing  them  in  private,  yet  God  is  more  glorified 
by  the  union  and  contribution  we  make  of  our  good  works  with 
those  of  our  brethren  and  neighbors." 

CONFRATERNITY    OF   THE    ROSARY     OF     THE    BLESSED    VIRC;iX    MARY. 

Among  the  many  pious  and  excellent  forms  of  prayer  prac- 
ticed by  Catholics   and  favored  by  the   Church,  there    is    none 


72  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

better  adapted  to  learned  and  unlearned  alike  than  the  Rosary 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  It  has  been  truly  styled,  ''  An 
abridgement  of  the  Gospel,  a  history  of  the  life,  sufferings  and 
triumphant  victory  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  an  exposition  of  all  our 
Redeemer  did  in  the  flesh,  which  He  assumed  for  our  salvation." 
All  who  recite  it  will  find  in  it  a  most  inexhausted  fund  of  the 
highest  acts  of  faith,  hope,  divine  love,  praise  and  thanksgiving, 
with  a  supplication  for  succor  in  all  spiritual  and  corporal  neces- 
sities, which  they  always  repeat  with  fresh  ardor.  The  intro- 
duction of  this  celebrated  devotion  by  St.  Dominic,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Thirteenth  Century,  will  be  found  described  at 
length  in  the  life  of  that  Saint. 

It  consists  of  fifteen  Our  Fathers,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Hail  Marys,  and  fifteen  Glorias,  to  commemorate  the  fifteen 
principal  Mysteries  of  our  Redeemer's  Sacred  life,  and  also  to 
honor  his  blessed  Mother,  who  had  so  great  a  share  in  all  that 
concerned  her  Divine  Son.  Furthermore,  we  always  begin  in 
reciting  the  rosary,  with  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  three  Hail  Marys  and  Glory  be  to  the  Father. 

It  is  a  most  sublime  form  of  prayer,  because  it  is  composed 
of  the  most  holy  and  excellent  prayers  that  were  ever  conceived 
or  pronounced ;  and  it  is  also  most  profitable,  inasmuch  as  these 
prayers  from  their  divine  origin  are  more  pleasing  and  accept, 
able  to  God  than  all  other  prayers  combined. 

The  first  is  the  Lords  Praye^',  that  heavenly  form  of  prayer 
left  us  by  our  Redeemer,  drawn  up  not  by  angels  or  saints,  but 
by  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  in  which  He  deigned  to  teach  us  how 
we  ought  to  pray.  In  this  one  prayer  which  is  so  short  and  so 
easy,  is  contained  not  only  all  that  we  should  ask  for,  but  also 
all  the  sublime  acts  of  adoration,  praise,  thanksgiving,  love  and 
confidence,  comprised  in  all  other  books  of  devotion  which  were 
ever  written,  all  other  prayers  being  only  a  paraphrase  or  expla- 
nation of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

The  second  is  the  Hail  Mary,  the  first  part  of  which  was 
composed  in  heaven,  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  delivered 
to  the  faithful  by  the  Angel  Gabriel  ;  the  second  part  was  com- 
posed by  St.  Elizabeth  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the 


CUNFRATERNITIES    AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE    CHURCH.  Jl 

third  part  was  added  by  the  Church  at  the  General  Council  of 
Ephesus. 

The  third  is  the  Glory  be  to  the  Father  a  sacred  verse,  which 
contains  an  act  of  supreme  adoration  to  the  ever-blessed  Trinity, 
and  presents  to  the  majesty  of  God,  not  the  glory  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  weak  praises  of  His  creatures,  not  even  the 
glory  that  [results  to  God  from  all  the  labors  and  great  actions 
of  the  Saints,  but  that  eternal  glory,  which  the  Almighty,  as 
God,  possesses  in  and  by  Himself,  which  He  has  enjoyed  from 
the  beginning,  and  will  enjoy  for  eternity,  and  which  depends  so 
little  on  his  creatures  that  it  would  not  be  diminished  if  all  man- 
kind were  destroyed. 

When  we  reflect  on  the  sublime  excellence  of  these  prayers, 
which  are  the  first  we  learn  ;  and  sometimes  the  last  we  under- 
stand, we  perceive  not  only  the  sanctity  of  the  rosary,  which  is 
composed  of  such  prayers,  but  also  the  respect,  humility,  confi- 
dence and  devotion,  with  which  it  should  be  said. 

It  is  a  most  powerful  means  of  obtaining  favors  from  God, 
when  said  with  proper  dispositions.  What  motives  can  incline 
Him  more  to  mercy  than  those  drawn  from  the  great  mysteries 
of  our  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom,  and  for  whose  sake 
alone,  we  can  receive  any  favor  from  God?  How  many  public 
favors,  attested  by  the  Church  in  her  public  ofifices,  have  been 
obtained  by  this  means  !  How  many  private  graces  are  recorded 
to  have  been  received  from  the  same  source  !  St.  Francis  of 
Sales,  ii?  attestation  of  its  efficacy,  says  : — "  The  Beads  are  a 
most  profitable  way  of  praying,  if  you  know  how  to  say  them 
properly."  And  we  find  it  daily  practised,  highly  praised,  and 
recommended  by  the  most  eminent  Saints  in  the  Church  of 
Christ.  It  has  been  strongly  recommended  to  the  faithful  by 
many  popes,  who,  to  encourage  us  to  practise  it,  have  granted 
great  indulgences  to  those  who  do  so.  It  is  divided  into  fifteen 
decades,  or  tens,  corresponding  with  the  fifteen  mysteries  of  our 
Redemption  :  each  decade  consists  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  ten 
Hail  Marys,  and  Glory  be  to  the  Father.  These  fifteen  are 
divided  into  three  parts,  viz.,  the  five  joyful,  the  five  sorrowful, 
And  the  five  glorious  mysteries,  as  follows  : 


74  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

The  Five  Joyful  Mysteries,  viz.,  The  Annunciation,  the  Vis- 
itation, the  Nativity,  the  Presentation,  the  Finding  in  the  Tem- 
ple are  to  be  said  on  Mondays  and  Thursdays  throughout  the 
year  ;  and  daily  from  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent  until  the  feast 
of  the  Purification.  The  Five  Sorrowful  Mysteries,  viz.,  The 
Bloody  Sweat,  the  Scourging  at  the  Pillar,  the  Crowning  with 
Thorns,  the  Carriage  of  the  Cross,  and  the  Crucifixion  are  to 
be  said  on  Tuesdays  and  Fridays  throughout  the  year ;  and 
daily  from  Ash-Wednesday  until  Easter  Sunday.  The  Five 
Glorious  Mysteries,  viz.,  the  Resurrection,  the  Ascension,  the 
Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Assumption  of  our  Blessed 
Lady,  the  Coronation  of  our  Blessed  Lady  are  to  be  said  on  the 
ordinary  Sundays,  and  the  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  through- 
out the  year  ;  and  daily  from  Easter  Sunday  to  Trinity  Sunday. 
Those  who  say  the  rosary  on  the  Beads  without  a  book  should 
commit  the  Mysteries  to  memory. 

This  division  was  simple,  easily  grasped,  full  of  pious  thought 
and  kept  before  the  people  the  chief  events  in  the  history  of  our 
redemption.  It  is  no  wonder  that  in  a  time  when  books  were 
few  a  devotion  that  embraced  so  much  spread  rapidly.  It  be- 
came  the  general  devotion  in  all  countries  of  Europe,  and  the 
rosary  was  said  by  them  all,  from  the  King  on  his  throne  to  the 
leper  and  beggar  by  the  wayside  ;  from  the  learned  philosopher 
to  the  unlettered  peasant,  from  the  brave  and  gallant  ofBcers  on 
land  and  sea  to  the  men  who  served  under  them. 

The  full  fifteen  decades  form  a  rosary  ;  that  in  general  use, 
called  a  chaplet  or  pair  of  beads,  consists  of  five  decades,  each 
of  a  large  bead  for  the  Our  Father  and  ten  smaller  ones  for  the 
Hail  Marys  ;  where  the  ends  join  the  chain  is  continued  by  three 
small  beads  and  two  larger,  a  crucifix  or  medal  being  attached  to 
the  end.  These  are  for  introductory  prayers,  the  Creed,  Our 
Father  and  three  Hail  Marys,  with  a  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  etc. 
These  form  no  part  of  the  rosary  properly  so  called. 

When  the  rosary  is  said  with  others,  the  leader  or  person  say- 
ing it,  who  need  not  even  be  a  cleric,  recites  half  of  each  prayer, 
and  the  rest  recite  the  other  half.  After  the  five  decades  are  said, 
it  is  usual  to  sing  or  recite  the  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 


CONFRATERNITIES  AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  75 

From  its  institution  to  the  present  day  the  devotion  of  the 
rosary  has  never  lost  its  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  faithful. 
It  became  the  prayer  in  which  they  were  gathered  together  for 
general  or  particular  wants.  When  Europe  was  menaced  by 
the  Turks  the  rosary  was  recited  with  fervor,  and  while  the 
Sodality  of  the  Rosary  were  walking  in  solemn  procession 
through  the  streets  of  Rome  praying  for  victory  to  the  Christian 
army,  the  battle  was  raging  at  Lepanto,  Oct.  7,  1571,  and  the 
Turkish  power  on  the  seas  was  broken  forever.  It  was  not  the 
band  of  men  that  broke  the  power  which  had  so  long  threatened 
Europe ;  it  was  the  hand  of  God  put  forth  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Rosary. 

The  reigning  Pontiff,  St.  Pious  V.,  in  gratitude  for  so  signal  a 
favor,  ordered  the  first  Sunday  of  October  to  be  observed  as  an 
annual  commemoration  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  of  V^ictory. 
Gregory  XIII.,  his  successor,  established  the  Festival  of  the 
Rosary,  to  be  celebrated  on  the  same  day  in  all  the  churches 
which  contain  a  chapel  or  an  altar  dedicated  under  the  invoca- 
tion of  the  Blessed  Virgin  of  the  Rosary.  Clement  XL,  after 
another  great  victory,  granted  the  celebration  of  the  Festival  of 
the  Rosary  to  the  Universal  Church. 

The  Confraternity  of  the  Rosary  united  the  faithful  in  the 
practice  of  this  devotion,  and  the  numerous  spiritual  favors 
granted  to  it  encouraged  thousands  to  join  it.  When  that  ter- 
rible deluge  of  iniquity  in  the  last  century  swept  over  Europe, 
destroying  so  many  monuments  of  Catholic  zeal,  so  many 
churches,  monuments,  convents,  colleges,  schools  and  pilgrim- 
ages, the  piety  of  the  nations  was  chilled,  indifference  began  to 
prevail  ;  even  in  those  parts  where  the  faith  was  maintained,  the 
growing  indifference  seemed  to  show  its  deadly  influence. 
Then,  in  our  time,  a  new  devotion  arose  to  make  the  Rosary 
more  generally  said,  and  to  bind  the  faithful  more  closely  to- 
gether. This  was  the  Confraternity  of  the  Living  Rosary,  in- 
stituted in  France,  and  approved  by  His  Holiness,  Pope  Gregory 
XVI.,  who  granted  it  the  indulgences  of  the  Confraternity  of 
the  Rosary. 

In  the  Living   Rosary  the  members  of  the  Confraternity  are 


y6  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

divided  into  bands  of  fifteen,  each  of  whom  recites  daily  one 
Our  Father  and  ten  Hail  Marys,  with  one  Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
each  meditating  on  a  different  mystery,  assigned  to  the  member 
at  the  monthly  meeting.  In  this  way  the  whole  rosary  is 
offered  daily  by  each  band,  united  in  spirit  by  this  mystical 
bond,  and, forming  in  heart  a  rosary  indeed. 

All  should  endeavor  to  conceive  a  due  esteem  for  this  holy 
exercise  of  the  rosary,  and  to  impress  upon  their  minds  that 
though  so  easy,  so  simple,  and  hence  adapted  to  the  lowest 
capacity,  it  is  the  most  sublime  and  the  most  profitable  form  of 
prayer,  uniting  vocal  prayer  with  meditation,  and  the  highest 
contemplation.  The  prayers  that  compose  it  are  the  most  holy 
and  excellent  that  were  ever  conceived  or  uttered  ;  the  subject 
of  the  meditation  is  the  life,  the  sufferings,  and  the  triumph  of 
our  Divine  Redeemer,  and  the  merits  and  glory  of  his  Blessed 
Mother. 

What  is  so  perfectly  admirable  in  the  devotion  to  the  Living 
Rosary  is  that  combining  as  it  does  a  number  of  souls  in  the 
exercise  of  piety,  and  the  fervent  practice  of  virtue,  it  requires 
very  little  of  the  members  individually,  whilst  it  secures  to  each 
a  full  participation  in  all  the  advantages  and  merits  of  the 
sodality  which  they  form. 

INDULGENCES    GRANTED    TO    MEMBERS    OF    THE    CONFRATERNITY    OF 

THE    ROSARY. 

If  those  who  are  admitted  into  the  Confraternity  of  the 
Rosary  say,  at  least  once  a  week,  the  whole  rosary,  meditating 
at  the  same  time  on  the  mysteries  of  the  life,  passion,  and  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  may  gain  a  plenary  in- 
dulgence : 

1.  On  the  day  of  their  reception  ; 

2.  On  the  first  Sunday  of  every  month  ; 

3.  On  the  principal  feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary ;  pro- 
vided they  visit,  if  possible,  the  Church  or  Chapel  of  the  Rosary. 

4.  At  the  hour  of  death  ; 

5.  An  indulgence  of  one  hundred  days  for  each  Our  Father 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  "J J 

and  each  Hail  Mary,  every  time  they  recite  the  whole  rosary,  or 
a  third  part  of  it. 

For  gaining  these  indulgences,  it  is  necessary  that  they  should 
devoutly  approach  the  sacraments  of  Penance  and  the  Blessed 
Eucharist,  and  offer  up  some  prayers  to  God,  on  the  day  of 
each  communion,  for  the  usual  intentions.  Those  who  are  not 
capable  of  meditating  may  gain  the  above  indulgences  by  recit- 
ing the  rosary  with  devotion. 

Those  who  belong  to  a  Society  of  the  Living  Rosary,  and 
recite  the  part  of  the  rosary  assigned  to  them,  may  gain  a 
Plenary  Indulgence: 

1.  On  the  first  festival  after  their  admission ; 

2.  On  the  third  Sunday  of  each  month  ; 

3.  On  the  solemn  feasts  of  Christmas,  the  Epiphany,  the  Cir- 
cumcision, Easter,  the  Ascension,  Corpus  Christi,  Pentecost, 
and  Trinity  Sunday ;  also,  upon  all  the  festivals  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  provided  on  those  days  they  approach  devoutly  the  sac- 
raments of  Penance  and  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  offer  up  some 
prayers  in  a  church. 

4.  An  indulgence  of  a  hundred  days  every  time  they  recite 
their  part  of  the  rosary  during  the  week  ;  and  an  indulgence  of 
seven  years  and  seven  times  forty  days,  every  time  they  recite 
it  on  Sundays  and  festivals.  These  indulgences  may  be  gained 
by  those  who  are  lawfully  prevented  from  going  to  church,  pro- 
vided they  perform  some  other  works  of  piety  substituted  by 
their  confessor.  The  above  plenary  indulgences  are  appli- 
cable to  the  souls  in  purgatory.  The  indulgences  attached 
to  the  recital  of  the  rosary  are  also  attached  to  the  Living 
Rosary. 

In  considering  the  number  and  extent  of  these  indulgences, 
the  faithful  are  furnished  with  the  strongest  inducement  to  join 
in  the  practice  of  a  devotion,  whereby  they  may  expiate  the 
temporal  punishment  which  ordinarily  remains  due  to  sin  after 
the  eternal  punishment  which  it  deserved  is  remitted  in  the  sac- 
rament of  Penance. 


;8  CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

THE    THIRD    ORDER    OF    ST.    FRANCIS. 

The  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  was  established  by  the  Saint 
in  1 221,  at  Poggi  Bonzi,  in  Tuscany,  and  at  Carnieso  in  the 
valley  of  Spoletto,  for  persons  of  both  sexes,  married  or  single, 
living  in  the  world,  united  by  certain  rules  and  exercises  of 
piety  compatible  with  a  secular  state,  none  of  which  oblige  under 
sin,  but  are  laid  down  as  rules  for  direction  not  binding  by  vow 
or  precept.  The  rule  for  the  Third  Order  was  written  by  the 
Saint  himself,  though  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  made  some  additions 
to  it.  St.  Francis  left  it  only  a  congregation  or  confraternity, 
not  a  reliofious  order.  In  the  course  of  time  the  men  and  women 
of  this  Order  associated  themselves  into  communities,  keeping 
inclosure,  each  sex  separated,  and  binding  themselves  by  the 
solemn  vows  of  poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience  ;  and  in  order 
that  those  who  did  not  join  these  communities,  and  remained  in 
the  world,  might  not  be  deprived  of  the  great  benefits  of  the 
Cord  of  St.  Francis,  Pope  Sixtus  V.,  in  the  year  1585,  instituted 
the  Arch-Confraternity  of  the  Cord  of  St.  Francis  in  the  city  of 
Assisium,  in  Italy.  And  in  1587  he  granted  absolute  faculty 
and  power  to  the  most  Rev.  Father  Francis  of  Toulouse,  general 
of  the  Friars  Minor,  and  to  his  commissary-general,  and  to  all 
other  generals  and  commissary-generals  of  the  same  Order,  for 
the  future  to  erect  the  said  confraternity  of  each  of  his,  or  their 
convents  over  the  whole  world,  provided  the  Friars  Minors  Con- 
ventuals, at  the  same  time,  have  no  confraternity  or  convent  in 
the  same  place. 

The  Third  Order  rapidly  extended  itself  to  other  parts  of 
Italy,  to  France,  England,  Ireland,  Germany,  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal ;  and  later  to  the  New  World.  A  chronicler  relates  that,  in 
the  year  1686,  there  were  no  less  than  180,000  Tertians  in  India 
In  1689,  upward  of  eighty  grandees,  wearing  the  habit  of  the 
Third  Order,  and  over  it  the  collar  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  walked 
in  a  procession  at  Madrid. 

Nor  need  we  be  astonished  at  the  wonderful  progress  of  the 
Order,  when  we  consider  the  great  sanctity  of  its  founder,  the 
wisdom  portrayed  in   the   rule   itself,  and  the   protection,  favors 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  79 

and  indulgences  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs  have  continually 
bestowed  upon  it,  from  Honorius  III.,  who  approved  the  rule 
by  word  of  mouth  in  the  lifetime  of  the  Saint  to  his  present 
Holiness  Leo  XIII. 

None  can  be  admitted  into  this  order  but  such  as  hold  true 
Catholic  doctrine,  and  are  faithful  children  of  the  Church. 
They  must  have  no  public  stain  on  their  character,  and  must  be 
of  irreproachable  morals  ;  free  from  animosity,  and  not  of  a 
querulous  disposition.  The  members  of  the  Order  are  expected 
to  live  in  peace  and  charity  with  all  men.  They  must  be  very 
compassionate  toward  their  sick  members,  assist  at  the  burial  of 
the  dead,  and  pray  for  them.  The  observances  required  of 
those  who  enter  this  Order  may  be  modified  or  commuted ;  and 
in  any  case  but  little  is  exacted  beyond  what  every  good  Catho- 
lic is  in  the  habit  of  practising  ;  whilst  almost  incalculable  spirit- 
ual favors  and  privileges  are  offered  in  return. 

While  dispensations  are  readily  granted  to  such  members  as  are 
unable  to  observe  the  letter  of  the  rule,  we  must  also  remember 
that  none  should  seek  admission  into  the  Order  but  such  as  have 
a  fair  prospect  of  being  able  to  fulfil  its  ordinances,  and  are  de- 
sirous to  do  so. 

Speaking  of  the  spiritual  advantages  of  the  Order,  Father 
Brunei  says  :  Although  we  are  all  commanded  to  aspire  to  a 
high  degree  of  perfection,  still  we  are  not  all  called  upon  to  ob- 
serve the  same  practices.  Amongst  the  various  means  pointed 
out,  some  are  of  precept, — such  as  prayers,  penitence,  watchful- 
ness, and  the  like  ;  whilst  others  are  of  counsel,  such  as  to  sell 
all  we  have  and  give  the  price  to  the  poor,  and  so  forth.  Those 
who  follow  these  counsels  deserve  special  praise,  and  will  receive 
special  rewards  ;  yet  those  who  do  not  follow  theni  merit  neither 
blame  nor  punishment.  The  difference  of  our  organization  is 
such,  that  the  same  route  does  not  suit  all.  Thus,  some  aspire 
to  the  difficult  way,  whilst  others  seek  the  more  easy,  though 
both  lead  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  Holy  Ghost  distributes 
His  eifts  according  to  His  will  :  it  is  for  each  one  of  us  to  en- 
deavor  to  4earn  what  it  is  God  requires  of  us,  and  to  follow  faith- 
fully the  light  of  grace.     Let  him  who  cannot  soar  like  the  eagle 


80  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF  THE    CHURCH. 

fly  like  the  sparrow  ;  and  if  he  remain  in   the   turmoil  of  the 
world,  let  him  at  least  avoid  its  corruption. 

We  need  not  think  there  is  no  other  asylum  for  virtue  and 
perfection  than  the  solitude  of  the  cloister.  Our  legislator  and 
model,  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  only  remained  forty  days  in  the 
wilderness,  whilst  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  mortal  life  in  the 
world.  St.  Jerome  was  consulted  by  certain  pious  persons, 
alarmed  at  the  thought  of  living  amidst  the  turmoil  and  dangers 
of  the  world,  and  he  replied  :  "  No  matter  where  your  body 
dwells,  provided  your  soul  is  not  of  the  world."  And  thus  it  is 
that  without  requiring  us  to  withdraw  from  the  world,  the  Third 
Order  offers  us  the  consolations  of  a  religious  life.  This  holy 
rule  helps  us  to  observe  the  commandments  of  God  and  the 
Church  ;  it  is  full  of  good  precepts  and  wise  counsels  ;  and  the 
example  of  the  many  holy  persons  who  have  sanctified  themselv^es 
in  the  Order,  cannot  fail  to  stimulate  us  in  the  practice  of  virtue. 

It  must  be  remembered  too  that  by  uniting  himself  with  their 
intention,  the  Tertian  participates  in  the  prayers  and  good 
works  of  all  the  various  branches  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  ex- 
tending, as  it  does,  over  the  whole  of  Christendom.  Nor  are 
the  advantages  confined  to  this  life  ;  for,  when  he  shall  have  been 
called  hence,  prayers,  masses,  and  good  works  will  still  be  of- 
fered up  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  And  there  is  yet  another 
privilege  which  we  will  give  in  the  words  of  St.  Francis  himself: 
"  Finding  myself  on  the  side  of  Mount  Alverno,  absorbed  in 
the  thought  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  the  Son 
of  God,  after  having  imprinted  on  me  the  marks  of  His  crucified 
body,  said  to  me :  Knowest  thou  what  I  have  done  to  thee  ?  I 
have  marked  thee  with  My  stigmata,  so  that  thou  hast  become 
My  veritable  cross-bearer ;  and  as  on  the  day  of  thy  death  I  de- 
scended into  Limbo,  and  drew  forth,  by  the  merits  of  thy  wounds, 
all  the  souls  that  were  there,  thus  then,  also,  that  thou  mayst  be 
conformable  to  Me  in  thy  death,  as  thou  hast  been  in  thy  life, 
thou  wilt  descend  into  Purgatory  each  day  of  thy  anniversary 
(4  Oct.),  and,  by  the  merits  of  My  stigmata,  deliver  all  the  souls 
of  thy  three  orders  that  are  there  ;  and  the  next  day  thou  wilt 
lead  them  Into  eternal  joy." 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  8l 

Before  concluding  this  brief  notice,  we  cannot  help  referring 
to  the  multitude  of  holy  persons,  illustrious  by  birth  and  sanc- 
tity, who  were  members  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  In 
the  fourteenth  century,  out  of  eleven  saints  canonized  by  the 
Church,  eight  were  of  the  Third  Order,  namely,  St.  Clare  of 
Monte  Falcone,  St.  Elzear  and  St.  Delphine,  Count  and  Coun- 
tess of  Arrian,  St.  Louis,  King  of  France,  St.  Elizabeth,  Queen 
of  Portugal,  St.  Roch,  St.  Bridget,  Queen  of  Sweden,  and  St. 
Catherine  her  daughter  ;  and  later  the  Church  has  placed  in  the 
ranks  of  the  saints  upward  of  thirty  Tertians  ;  she  has  beatified 
forty-five  martyrs,  and  about  three  hundred  confessors,  virgins, 
and  widows,  also  members  of  the  Third  Order. 

Besides  these  canonized  and  beatified  Saints,  the  Third  Order 
of  St.  Francis  has  given  to  the  world  no  less  than  six  Popes  ; 
these  are  Gregory  IX.,  Nicholas  III.,  Martin,  VII.,  Alexander 
VIII.,  Pius  IX.,  and  his  present  Holiness  Leo  XIII.  The 
Order  has  produced  a  number  of  founders  and  foundresses  of 
religious  orders  grafted  on  the  Third  Order,  such  as  the  Blessed 
Isabella  of  France,  who  founded  the  Urbainists,  St.  Bridget,  who 
established  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Saviour,  St.  Colom- 
ban,  the  Jesuats,  the  Blessed  Charles  of  Mount  Carmel,  the 
Hieronymites,  the  Blessed  Angelina  de  Cobare,  the  community 
of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Elizabeth,  St.  Frances,  the  Oblates, 
St.  Francis  of  Paul,  the  Minimes,  the  Blessed  Jane  of  France, 
the  Annonciades,  the  Blessed  Angela  of  Brescia,  the  Ursulines, 
the  Blessed  Maria  Longa,  the  Capucinesses,  St.  Ignatius,  the 
Jesuits,  St.  Colette,  a  reform  of  the  Clares,  the  Duke  Am- 
edeus  of  Savoy,  who  founded  the  Knights  of  St.  Maurice,  Car- 
dinal Berulle,  the  founder  of  the  Oratory  of  Jesus  in  France, 
and  M.  Olier,  who  established  the  celebrated  House  of  St.  Sul- 
pice  in  Paris,  and  settled  Montreal,  Canada. 

Besides  these  there  have  been  cardinals,  archbishops,  bishops, 
canons,  and  priests,  almost  without  number ;  a  hundred  and 
thirty-four  crowned  heads;  emperors,  empresses,  kings,  and 
queens  are  enumerated,  besides  princes,  princesses,  nobles,  mag- 
istrates and  learned  men.  To  this  list  of  the  great  ones  of  the 
earth  we  may  add  multitudes  of  the  poor  and    middle   classes, 


82  CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

who,  though  less  distinguished  on  earth,  will  be  found  equally 
o-lorious  in  heaven.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Third  Order 
of  St.  Francis  has  flourished  in  all  climes,  from  the  icy  regions 
of  the  north  to  the  burning  sun  of  the  east.  Nor  has  it  been 
confined  to  any  particular  rank  ;  its  holy  rule  has  been  as  well 
received  and  as  faithfully  observed  in  the  emperor's  palace  as  in 
the  peasant's  cot. 

All  faithful  Christians,  men  and  women,  as  already  stated, 
who  are  come  to  the  years  of  discretion,  may  be  admitted  into 
this  confraternity.  Let  us,  then,  not  be  ashamed  to  do  what  so 
many  crowned  heads  and  nobles  of  the  highest  degree  have  done, 
with  such  spiritual  advantage  and  perpetual  memory  of  their 
name. 

The  cord  may  ordinarily  be  given  by  any  superior  or  prelate 
of  the  Order,  or  by  a  priest  delegated  or  empowered  to  do  so, 
on  any  Sunday,  holiday  or  feast  of  the  Seraphical  Order  accord- 
ing to  the  local  superior's  pleasure.  The  cordis  made  of  hemp, 
flax,  wool,  or  cotton,  but  not  of  silk  ;  and  as  to  the  color,  it  may 
be  white,  light  gray  or  dark  gray.  It  is  commonly  made  up  and 
woven  of  three  small  cords,  and  generally  has  three  knots  on  that 
part  which  hangs  down  to  the  knee,  besides  another  large  knot 
which  keeps  the  cord  girt.  It  is  to  be  worn  over  the  undermost 
garment,  about  the  middle,  hanging  down  at  the  right  side.  It 
must  be  blessed  by  a  prelate  or  superior  of  the  Order.  And  if 
the  blessed  cord  you  have  received  happens  to  be  lost,  broken, 
or  worn  out,  take  another,  even  not  blessed,  and  wear  it  as  the 
former,  but  use  your  endeavors  to  get  it  blessed,  or  to  procure 
one  that  has  been  blessed. 

The  Archconfraternity  of  the  Cord  of  St.  Francis,  however, 
is  quite  distinct  from  the  Third  Order,  the  latter  being  a  real 
religious  order  like  any  other  recognized  by  the  Church,  while 
the  former  is  simply  a  sodality  or  confraternity,  like  that  of  the 
Scapular,  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary,  etc. 

The  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  is,  as  explained,  principally 
intended  and  adapted  for  persons  of  both  sexes,  single  and 
married,  living  in  the  world  ;  and  though  communities  have 
been  formed  of  brothers  or  of   sisters   of  the  Third  Order,  that 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF    THE   CHURCH.  S^ 

have  made  solemn  vows  and  become  cloistered,  this  did  not  alter 
the  nature  and  object  of  the  Third  Order  itself  as  founded  by 
St.  Francis,  and  approved  by  many  Sovereign  Pontiffs,  and  as  it 
still  subsists. 

The  only  obligation  on  the  members  of  the  confraternity  is  to 
wear  the  cord  but  it  is  the  pious  custom,  and  it  is  recommended 
that  each  one  should  daily  recite  five  Our  Fathers,  five  Hail 
Marys  and  five  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  in  honor  of  the  five 
stigmas  of  St.  Francis  ;  and  that  all  the  members  should  likewise 
conform,  as  far  as  they  can,  to  the  spirit  and  practices  of  the 
rules  of  the  Third  Order  associated  with  the  Holy  religious  whom 
they  revered.  Hence  sprang  up  forms  of  affiliation  to  satisfy 
the  piety  of  the  faithful.  The  Franciscans,  as  elsewhere  des- 
cribed, have  a  third  order  instituted  by  their  seraphic  founder 
himself,  for  persons  living  in  the  world,  who  receive  a  habit,  and 
follow  the  rule  modified  to  suit  their  conditions  in  life.  Then 
too,  as  shown,  they  instituted  the  Confraternity  of  the  Cord  of 
St.  Francis,  not  an  order  but  a  simple  association,  without  the 
obliofations  attached  to  the  Third  Order.  The  Dominicans  also 
have  their  third  order,  and  similar  confraternities  ;  but  while  the 
affiliation  of  these  two  orders,  sharing  in  the  prayers,  masses, 
labors  and  austerities  of  the  sons  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic 
have  numbered  thousands,  the  confraternity  connected  with  the 
order  of  Friars  of  our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  numbers  its  asso- 
ciates among  the  faithful  by  millions,  and  has  them  in  all  lands  ; 
so  that  it  has  become,  we  may  say,  less  a  confraternity  than  a 
general  devotion. 

CONFRATERNITY     OF     THE     SCAPULAR     OF     OUR     LADY     OF     MOUNT 

CARMEL. 

There  has  been  no  confraternity,  or  practice  of  devotion 
more  approved  of,  or  more  generally  spread  throughout  the 
Christian  world  than  that  of  the  holy  scapular  of  Mount  Carmel. 
Its  origin  and  meaning  need  some  explanation  :  As  religious 
orders  spread  in  the  Church,  and  gathered  into  cloisters  and 
convents,  many  who  were  called  by  God  to  the  way  of  perfec- 


84  COxXFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

tion,  by  the  practice  of  the  evangehcal  counsels,  exerted  in  turn 
an  influence  on  the  pious  among  the  laity  many  of  whom  were 
by  marriage,  or  the  duties  of  their  state  of  life  unable  to  devote 
their  lives  to  God's  service  in  religious  orders,  and  who  had,  in 
fact,  not  been  called  by  Providence  to  that  state.  Still,  piety 
led  them  to  desire  to  be. 

ORDER    OF    OUR    LADY    OF    MOUNT    CARMEL. 

The  Order  of  Mount  Carmel  claiming  in  a  manner  descent 
from  the  Prophets  and  Eliseus  and  their  disciples  received 
a  rule  from  the  Blessed  Albert,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  in 
1209;  and,  after  its  approbation  by  the  Holy  See,  the  order 
spread  over  western  Europe.  One  of  the  most  illustrious 
generals  of  this  order  was  St.  Simon  Stock,  a  native  of  Kent, 
England,  noted  for  his  tender  piety,  and  his  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  His  piety  was  rewarded  by  a  vision,  in  which 
she  appeared  to  him,  and  handed  to  him  the  brown  scapular, 
similar  in  color  and  material  to  that  worn  by  his  order,  promising- 
special  graces  to  those  who  should  wear  it  devoutly.  The  new 
devotion  was  not  adopted  without  examination  ;  the  facts  were 
submitted  to  learned  theologians  and  evidence  thit  woi^id  con'*'>nce 
any  jury  of  reasonable  men  convi^^ced  .nose  pious  C7\d  le»*"ned 
men  that  the  vision  was  ^  athentic.  The  Sovereign  Pontiffs 
authorized  the  use  of  ^^iis  new  devotion.  The  fruits  of  salvation 
that  attended  it  proved  that  the  finger  of  God  was  really  there, 
and  it  was  encouraged,  not  only  by  grants  of  indulgences,  but 
by  the  establishment  of  a  festival  in  honor  of  Our  Lady,  under 
this  title.  Besides  many  Popes  of  former  days,  says  a  pious 
author,  we  know  that  several  nearer  to  our  own  times,  as  Clemenl; 
X.,  Clement  XI.,  Clement  XH.,  Benedict  XHI.,  and  XIV.  wore 
the  holy  scapular  with  great  veneration.  Among  princes  wr 
find  that  Edward  I.  and  Edward  II.,  Kings  of  England,  thf 
Emperors  Ferdinand  II.  and  III.,  the  Empress  Eleanora,  th*" 
Kings  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  almost  all  the  princes  anc 
princesses  of  their  courts,  were  enrolled  in  the  confraternity  of 
the   scapular.     Among  the    Kings   of   France,  St.  Louis,  Louis 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  8$ 

XIII.,  Louis  XIV,  Louis  XV.,  and  his  devout  consort  Mary 
Leczinska  of  Poland,  as  likewise  the  Dauphin,  father  of  Louis 
XVI.,  all  considered  it  an  honor  to  wear  the  livery  of  the  Queen 
of  Heaven. 

The  advantages  possessed  by  the  Confraternity  of  the  Holy 
Scapular  are  as  follows  :  First,  it  is  not  of  human  invention  ; 
secondly,  it  is  favored  with  the  special  protection  of  the  Queen  of 
Heaven  ;  thirdly,  it  has  the  promise  of  eternal  salvation  ;  fourthly, 
it  makes  us  participants  in  all  the  good  works  of  the  Carmelite 
Order  ;  fifthly,  it  has  been  favored  by  God  with  many  graces  and 
miracles,  ever  since  its  first  institution  ;  sixthly,  it  avails  much  to 
shorten  the  sufferings  of  Purgatory  ;  seventhly,  it  places  within 
our  reach  numerous  indulgences. 

Pope  Clement  VII.  further  extended  these  privileges  by 
making  all  members  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Scapular  partici- 
pants of  all  pious  actio7iSy  which  are  performed  throughout  the 
whole  Church  of  God.  And  Sixtus  IV.  granted  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Scapular  all  the  privileges,  indulgences,  graces,  and 
favors  which  are  granted  to  the  Cord  of  St.  Francis,  to  the 
Rosary  of  Our  Blessed  Lady,  or  to  any  confraternity  whatsoever, 
so  that  they  do  enjoy  them  as  much  as  if  they  were  really  mem- 
bers of  these  sodalities,  by  reason  of  their  communication  in 
privileges  with  the  order  of  Carmelites.  What  more  is  wanting 
to  give  a  high  idea  of  this  association,  and  to  prove  its  beneficial 
effect  s  ? 

"The  members  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Holy  Scapular," 
writes  the  famous  Father  Colombiere,  S.  J.,  "  have  a  great 
advantage  over  all  the  other  clients  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  for, 
as  they  openly  profess  their  allegiance  to  their  divine  Mistress, 
by  wearing  her  habit,  she  is  on  that  account  obliged,  as  it  were,  to 
assist  a7id  favor  them  on  all  the  occasions  in  ivhich  they  stand  in 
need  of  her  protection!' 

To  participate  in  the  benefit  of  the  confraternity,  it  is  necess- 
ary to  be  received  into  it  by  a  priest  duly  empowered.  lie 
delivers  to  the  new  member  a  scapular,  consisting  of  two  pieces 
of  brown,  woolen  cloth,  connected  by  bands,  which  he  blesses. 
This  must  be  worn  so  that  the  ends  arc  on  the  breast  and  back. 


86  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

and  must  be  worn  constantly.  If  the  first  one  is  worn  out  or 
lost,  another  can  be  obtained,  when  needed,  and  will  not  require 
to  be  blessed. 

To  be  a  member  of  the  Confraternity  of  the  Scapular,  that  is 
to  be  entitled  to  share  in  the  merits  and  cjood  works  of  the 
whole  order  of  Mount  Carmel,  to  have  a  right  to  the  personal 
indulgences  of  the  confraternity  no  special  prayer,  fast,  or 
abstinence  has  been  prescribed  by  the  Church,  so  the  devout 
client  is  at  liberty  to  offer  to  the  blessed  Patroness  of  Mount 
Carmel,  any  tribute  of  prayer  and  praise  which  his  devotion  may 
suggest,  which,  as  it  is  voluntary,  will  be  the  more  meritorious. 
It  is,  therefore,  an  erroneous  idea,  that  the  members  should  daily 
recite  seven  Our  Fathers  and  seven  Hail  Marys,  in  order  to  be 
entitled  to  the  privileges  and  indulgences  of  the  confraternity. 
It  is  true  the  members  (and  they  only)  gain  an  indulgence  of 
forty  days  by  reciting  those  prayers  ;  but  they  are  not  bound  to 
do  so,  nor  do  they  lose  anything  but  that  partial  indulgence,  by 
not  saying  them. 

Some  persons  are  deterred  from  embracing  the  devotion  of  the 
Scapular,  by  the  idea  that  they  would  thereby  be  obliged  either 
to  recite  the  office  of  our  Blessed  Lady,  or  to  abstain  from  meat 
twice  a  week ;  whereas  they  may  be  good  members  of  the  con- 
fraternity, and  enjoy  most  of  the  advantages  of  it,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  by  simply  wearing  the  Scapular. 

OTHER    SCAPULARS. 

There  are  four  other  scapulars  to  which  likewise  many  graces 
and  indulgences  are  attached.     These  are  as  follows: 

I.    THE    SCAPULAR    OF    THE    SEVEN    DOLORS. 

This  scapular,  of  the  order  of  Servites,  or  servants  of  Mary, 
was  founded  in  the  year   1133  by  seven  noblemen  of  Florence, 
viz.,  Bonfilius  Monaldius,  Bonajuncta  Manetti,  Manettus  Antel-| 
lensis,  Amideus   de  Amideis,    Uguccio     Uguccionis,    Sosteneus 
de  Sosteneis,  Aleaius  de  Falconeriis,  to  whom  the  Blessed  Vir- 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  8/ 

gin    appeared,  commanding    them    to  wear    a    black    habit    in 
memory  of  her  Seven  Dolors. 

II.       THE    SCAPULAR    OF    THE    IMMACULATE    CONCEPTION. 

Of  the  order  of  the  Theatines,  or  Regular  Clerks,  which  was 
founded  by  St.  Cajetan  of  Vicenza,  and  Peter  John  Caraffa, 
who  afterward  became  Pope  Paul  IV.,  and  died  in  1559. 

III.       THE    SCAPULAR    OF    THE    MOST    HOLY    TRINITY. 

Of  the  order  of  Trinitarians  for  the  Redemption  of  Captives, 
was  established  in  the  twelfth  century  by  St.  John  de  Matha, 
and  St.  Felix  de  Valois.  These  religious  wear  a  white  habit, 
with  a  cross  of  red  and  blue  on  the  breast,  as  shown  by  an 
angel  to  St.  John  de  Matha,  and  in  which  the  Blessed  Virgin 
appeared  to  St.  Felix  de  Valois. 

These  three  scapulars,  like  that  of  our  Lady  of  Mount  Car- 
mel  are  each  made  of  two  small  pieces  of  woolen  cloth.  When 
worn  together  with  the  Scapular  of  Mount  Carmel,  all  four 
pieces  square,  or  nearly  so,  are  sewed  together  like  the  leaves 
of  a  book,  and  four  more  pieces  precisely  similar  are  sewed 
in  like  manner.  These  two  parts — four  pieces  in  each — are 
joined  by  two  bands  of  tape,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  so  that 
one  part  falls  on  the  breast,  the  other  on  the  back. 

The  largest  piece  usually  is  the  Scapular  of  Mount  Carmel ; 
the  second,  which  is  somewhat  smaller,  is  that  of  the  Seven 
Dolors,  and  is  of  a  black  color;  the  third  is  that  of  the  Im- 
maculate Conception,  and  is  still  smaller  and  of  a  blue  color — a 
color  the  emblem  of  resignation  to  Mary,  and  also  the  color  of 
her  mantle. 

The  Scapular  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  is  white,  and  the 
smallest  of  the  four.  In  the  middle  of  it  there  must  be  a  cross, 
also  of  wool,  one  arm  of  which  must  be  red,  the  other  blue. 
All  these  colors,  as  well  as  the  cross,  must  be  visible.  The  Re- 
demptorist  Fathers  have  also  the  power  to  give  these  three  scap- 
ulars. The  only  requirement  for  obtaining  all  the  indulgences 
and  graces  attached  to  these  three  scapulars  is  to  receive  them 


88  CONFRATERMITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

from  a  priest  empowered  to  grant  them,  and  to  wear  them  always. 
If  one  should  lose  or  wear  out  the  scapular,  he  can  take  another 
in  its  stead.  Those  who  either  through  carelessness,  or  even 
through  malice,  may  neglect  to  wear  it,  or  have  laid  it  aside,  can 
again  resume  it  and  gain  all  the  indulgences  and  privileges  as 
formerly.  The  Scapular  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  only  is  ex- 
cepted ;  for,  according  to  the  declaration  of  Innocent  III.,  it 
must  be  blessed  as  often  as  it  is  renewed. 


IV.       THE    RED     SCAPULAR     OF    THE     PASSION     AND    OF    THE     SACRED 
HEARTS    OF    JESUS    AND    MARY. 

This  scapular  has,  on  one  side,  the  figure  of  our  Lord  on  the 
Cross,  surrounded  by  the  instruments  of  His  Passion,  and,  on 
the  other  side,  the  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  This  scapular 
originated  in  a  revelation  to  a  Sister  of  Charity,  July  26,  1846, 
the  eve  of  the  Octave  of  the  Feast  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  while 
she  was  praying  in  the  chapel,  before  the  hour  of  benediction. 
This  scapular,  which  the  Lord  held  in  His  Hand  in  the  vision 
was  red  in  color.  Around  the  crucifix  were  the  words  :  ''Sacred 
Passion  0/  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  save  tcs/'' 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  scapular,  around  the  two  hearts, 
were  written  the  words  :  "  Sacred  Hearts  of  Jesus  a7id  Mary  pro- 
tect us  /  " 

This  apparition  of  our  Lord,  holding  in  His  hand  the  Scapu- 
lar of  the  Passion,  was  repeated  several  times.  On  the  festival 
of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy  Cross,  1846,  it  appeared  to  her 
again,  when  our  Divine  Lord  said  to  her:  ''  All  those  who  wear 
this  scapular  shall  receive,  on  every  Friday,  a  great  increase  of 
Faith.  Hope  and  Charity. 

In  June,  1847,  ^^^  Superior-General  of  the  Congregation  of 
the  Mission  submitted  to  the  Holy  See  the  particulars  of  all 
these  visions.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff,  by  a  Rescript  of  the  25th 
of  June,  approved  of  the  object  of  these  extraordinary  favors, 
and  authorized  the  Superior-General  to  institute  the  new  scapu- 
lar to  which  he  was  pleased  to  attach  many  indulgences. 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  89 

CONFRATERNITY    OF    THE    SACRED    HEART    OF    JESUS. 

The  devotion  of  all  devotions,  says  St.  Ligouri,  is  to  love 
Jesus  Christ  by  thinking  frequently  on  the  love  which  that 
amiable  Redeemer  has  borne  and  bears  to  us.  A  devout 
author  weeps,  and  has  just  reason  to  weep,  at  the  sight  of  the 
great  number  of  Christians,  who  attend  to  the  practice  of  vari- 
ous devotions,  but  neglect  this  great  devotion  ;  and  of  the  mul- 
titude of  preachers  and  confessors  who  inculcate  many  pious 
practices,  but  do  not  speak  on  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  although, 
in  truth,  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  should  be  the  principal,  and 
even  the  only  devotion  of  a  Christian.  Hence  the  sole  care  of 
preachers  and  confessors  should  be  to  recommend  continually  to 
their  hearers  and  penitents  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  in- 
flame them  with  it.  The  love  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  golden  chain 
that  unites  and  binds  souls  to  God. 

It  was  for  the  sole  purpose  of  gaining  our  love  that  the  Eternal 
Word  came  into  the  world.  "  /  am  come  to  cast  fire  on  the 
Earth  ;  and  what  will  /,  but  that  it  be  kindled^ — Luke  xii.  49. 
And  the  Eternal  Father  has  sent  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world 
that  he  might  manifest  to  us  his  love,  and  thus  gain  our  love  ; 
for  the  Father  has  declared  that  he  loves  us,  inasmuch  as  we 
love  Jesus  Christ.  "  The  Father  Himself  loveth  yon  because  you 
have  loved  me." — John  xvi.  23.  And  he  admits  us  to  bliss  in 
proportion  to  our  conformity  to  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  Who?n 
he  foreknezv,  he  predestined  to  be  conformable  to  the  image  of  his 
Son'' — Rom.  viii.  19.  But  this  conformity  we  shall  never  obtain, 
nor  even  desire,  unless  we  attentively  meditate  on  the  love  which 
Jesus  Christ  has  borne  us.  And  the  devotion  to  the  heart  of 
Jesus  is  nothing  else  than  an  exercise  of  love  to  so  amiable  a 
Lord.  The  spiritual  object  of  this  devotion  is  the  love  with 
which  the  heart  of  Jesus  burns  towards  men  ;  for,  as  we  read  in 
so  many  passages  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  love  is  commonly  attrib- 
uted to  the  heart.  "  My  son,  grive  me  thy  hearty — Prov.  xxiii. 
26.  ''My  heart  and  my  flesh  have  rejoiced  in  the  living  God, — 
Ps.  Ixxxiii.  3.  "  The  God  of  my  heart,  and  the  God  that  is  my 
portion  forever.'' — Ps.  Ixxii.  26.      "  The  charity  of  God  is  poured 


90  CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

forth  into  oicr  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  giveyi  to  us."' 
Rom.   V.   5. 

The  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  Christ  made  man  is  the  material 
or  sensible  object  of  this  devotion.  The  heart  being  the  seat 
of  all  affections,  the  Most  Sacred  Heart  of  our  Lord  is  proposed 
to  our  devotion,  as  being  the  seat  and  sanctuary  of  that  love 
wherewith  He  loved  us  and  gave  Himself  for  us.  Thus  in 
addressing  ourselves  to  that  Sacred  Heart  as  it  is  united  to  the 
blessed  Humanity,  and  therefore  to  the  Divine  Person  of  the 
Word,  we  in  an  especial  and  peculiar  manner,  honor  the  love 
which  burned  therein  for  man. 

This  devotion  is  specially  intended  to  make  reparation  for  the 
outrages  committed  against  the  Heart  of  Jesus  during  His  mor- 
tal life  ;  outracres  which  continue  to  be  committed  ag-ainst  Him 
in  the  adorable  Eucharist,  which  is  the  Sacrament  of  His 
love. 

It  was  for  this  purpose  that  our  Lord  revealed  to  Blessed 
Sister  Margaret  Mary  Alacoque,  a  French  Visitation  nun,  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeeth  century,  that  he  wished  the  fes- 
tival and  devotion  of  the  Sacred  Heart  to  be  instituted  in  the 
Church.  Her  biographers  relate  that  being  one  day  in  prayer 
before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  Jesus  showed  her  His  Heart  sur- 
rounded with  thorns,  surmounted  by  a  cross,  and  placed  upon  a 
throne  of  fire  ;  and  that  he  said  to  her  : 

"  Behold  the  Heart  that  has  so  loved  men,  a7id  has  spared  noth- 
in^  to  testify  its  love  for  them,  even  to  the  consuming  of  itself  for 
their  sake  ;  b?ct,  in  retiirn,  receives  from  the  generality  of  ma7i' 
kind  nothing  bttt  disho7ior  and  ingratitude.  What  afflicts  me 
most  is,  that  hearts  which  treat  me  thus  have  been  consecrated 
to  me.'' 

Thereupon  our  Saviour  bade  her  seek  to  procure  the  celebration 
of  a  particular  festival  in  honor  of  His  Divine  Heart  on  the  first 
Friday  after  the  Octave  of  Corpus  Christi ;  and  this  for  these 
principal  intentions  : — 

1.  That  Christians  might  return  Him  thanks  for  the  ineffable 
^ift  bestowed  upon  them  in  the  Blessed  Eucharist. 

2.  That  they  might  repair,  by  their  homage  and  adoration,  the 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  9 1 

irreverence  and  contempt  with  which  He  has  been  treated  by 
sinners  in  this  most  Holy  Sacrament. 

3.  That  they  might  give  Him  the  honor  due  unto  Him,  but 
withheld  from  Him  in  many  churches,  where  He  is  so  little 
loved,  revered  and  adored. 

And  He  promised  to  abundantly  pour  out  the  riches  of  His 
'^^.eart  on  all  who  should  practice  this  devotion,  not  only  on  the 
feast  itself,  but  on  other  days  when  they  visited  the  Blessed 
Sacrament. 

Confraternities  of  the  Sacred  Heart  have  been  established  in 
every  part  of  the  Church  to  which  numerous  indulgences  have 
been  attached.  Clement  XHI.,  Feb.  6,  1765,  permitted  several 
churches  to  celebrate  the  feast,  which,  in  1856,  was  extended  to 
the  whole  Church. 

The  only  thing  required  of  the  members  in  order  to  obtaini 
the  privileges  attached  to  the  Confraternity,  after  having  been 
admitted  by  a  duly  authorized  priest,  is  to  say  every  day  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Hail  Mary,  and  the  Apostle's  Creed  once, 
with  the  following  aspirations  : 

O  sweetest  Heart  of  Jesus,  I  implore 
That  I  may  ever  love  Thee  more  and  more. 

ARCII-CONFRATERNITY     OF      THE      MOST       HOLY     AND      IMMACULATE 
HEART    OF    MARY    FOR    THE    CONVERSION    OF    SINNERS. 

The  Arch-confraternity  under  this  title  was  established  at 
Paris  by  the  saintly  Abbe  Desgenettes,  cure  of  Notre  Dame 
des  Victoires,  December  16,  1836.  It  received  the  Pope's 
approval,  April  24,  1838,  with  the  privilege  of  aggregating  to 
itself  other  similar  associations.  The  principles  on  which  the 
devotion  is  founded  are  {imUatis  imdandis)  similar  to  those  on 
which  are  based  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  As 
in  the  one  case  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  is  worshiped  because 
of  its  union  with  the  Person  of  the  Word,  so  in  the  other  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  is  venerated  (with  Hypcrdulia), 
because  of  its  union  with  the  person  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  In 
both  cases  the  physical  heart  is  accepted  as  the  natural  symbol 


92  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

of  the  virtues  and  compassion  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  though  of 
course  the  difference  of  perfection  between  them  is  infinite. 
The  primary  object  of  this  confraternity  is  to  pray  for  the  con- 
version of  sinners  and  of  persons  in  error ;  and  it  has  pleased 
God  to  answer  its  prayers  in  a  most  remarkable  manner. 

The  devotion  to  the  Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary  originated 
with  John  Eudes  who  died  in  1680,  and  was  the  founder  of  a 
congregation  of  priests.  Pius  VI.,  in  1799,  permitted  a  local 
celebration  of  the  feast,  but  without  proper  Mass  and  oflfice,  and 
Pius  IX.,  in  1855  extended  the  feast  to  the  whole  Church.  The 
feast,  with  special  Mass  and  office,  is  kept  on  the  Sunday  follow- 
ing the  Octave  of  the  Assumption,  or  on  the  third  Sunday  after 
Pentecost. 

The  only  thing  required  of  the  members,  after  their  names 
are  registered,  is  to  recite  every  day  the  Hail  Mary  for  the 
intentions  of  the  Association. 

CONFRATERNITY    OF    THE    BLESSED    SACRAMENT. 

The  object  of  this  confraternity  is  the  adoration  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  altar.  For,  as  His 
Sacred  Body  is  substantially  and  really  present  under  the  appear- 
ances of  bread  and  wine,  and  has  its  residence  on  our  altars,  not 
only  occasionally  but  continually  that  it  may  never  cease  from 
bestowing  blessings  on  mankind,  and  administering  consolations 
to  them  in  all  their  necessities,  it  Jias  a  claim  on  our  perpetual 
gratitude,  and  demands  without  interruption  our  thanks,  our 
love,  and  our  homage. 

For  the  fulfillment  of  this  duty  the  members  of  this  confrater- 
nity "  enter  into  a  holy  partnership  and  agreement  to  discharge  by 
their  united  endeavors,  that  debt  of  perpetual  adoration,  which 
no  one  singly  can  perform,  on  account  of  his  unavoidable 
occupations  and  the  cares  of  life.  In  corjsequence  of  such  an 
association,  the  worship  and  honor  rendered  to  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  by  each  member  of  it,  is  made  the 
act  of  all,  and  continually  recommends  all  to  the  divine  favor  and 
protection.      They    contract  a  close    union    with   Jesus    Christ ; 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  93 

they  enter  into  a  more  special  society  with  the  angels  and  saints, 
and  into  a  communication  in  all  good  works  with  many  holy 
persons,  members  of  the  association  throughout  the  world." 

It  is  also  an  object  of  this  association  to  make,  as  far  as  they 
are  able,  reparation  to  Jesus  Christ  for  the  many  profanations 
of  and  acts  of  disrespect  toward  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament  by 
unbelievers,  sinners,  irreligious  Catholics,  and,  perhaps,  even  by 
themselves. 

Each  member  is  allotted  one  hour  in  the  course  of  every 
year,  or  much  oftener,  according  to  the  number  and  devotion 
of  the  associates,  to  be  devoted  to  acts  of  worship  and  adora- 
tion in  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 

Should  a  member  be  prevented  by  any  unexpected  cause 
from  performing  his  religious  engagement  on  the  day  or  hour 
appointed,  he  may  choose  some  other  day,  or  appoint  a  substi- 
tute in  his  stead. 

Those  who  are  prevented  on  account  of  distance  or  other 
sufficient  reasons  from  performing  their  act  of  adoration  in  a 
church,  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  may  do  so  at  home,  or 
while  traveling,  or  while  at  their  work,  provided  that,  while  so 
doing,  they  entertain  the  desire  of  fulfilling  the  purposes  of  the 
association,  that  they  direct  their  thoughts  to  the  nearest  church 
or  chapel  where  the  Blessed  Sacrament  reposes,  and  adore  Jesus 
residing  therein  for  the  love  of  men. 

INDULGENCES   GRANTED    TO    MEMBERS. 

Members  of  the  confraternity  may  obtain  a  plenary  indul- 
gence, on  condition  of  confessing  their  sins,  and  receiving  the 
Holy  Sacrament  worthily,  on  the  day  of  enrollment ;  on  the  day 
when  they  spend  an  hour  in  adoring  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
under  the  same  condition  of  confession  and  communion  ;  and 
once  each  month,  provided  they  pray  devoutly  one  hour  before 
the  most  Holy  Sacrament.  They  are  granted,  also,  on  the  same 
conditions,  a  plenary  indulgence  on  any  of  the  following  days  : 
the  Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  the  Feast  of  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament;  the  Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  All-Saints;  the  first 


94  CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Sunday  of  Advent  ;  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany  ;  the  first  Sun- 
day in  Lent  ;  Maun  day-Thursday  ;  the  first  Sunday  of  May ;  on 
the  Feast  of  the  Ascension  of  our  Lord,  on  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, the  Feast  of  St.  Lambert.  These  indulgences  may  be 
applied  to  the  souls  in  Purgatory.  A  plenary  indulgence  is 
also  granted  to  all  members  when  dangerously  ill. 

SOCIETY    OF    ST.    VINCENT    DE  PAUL. 

The  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  is  an  arch-confraternity, 
and  the  "  Conferences  "  which  constitute  it  are  confraternities. 
The  object  of  this  society  is  to  render  assistance  to  the  poor.  It 
was  established  in  Paris  in  the  year  1833.  ^^  that  period  many 
Catholic  students,  while  attending  lectures  in  Paris,  were  brought 
into  contact  with  other  students  of  various  ways  of  thinking — 
Materialists,  Deists,  St.  Simonians,  Fourierists,  etc. — and  debated 
with  them  frequently  in  a  historial  society  subjects  of  general  in- 
terest. Among  these  Catholic  students  was  Frederic  Ozanam, 
the  celebrated  writer.  In  regard  to  Christianity,  the  freethinkers 
admitted  that  "  it  /lad  certainly  accomplished  great  things,"  but, 
they  contended,  "  its  ancient  spirit  had  fled,  and  that  great  prac- 
tical enterprises  could  no  longer  owe  to  it  either  their  inspira- 
tion or  their  vitality."  "  What  do  you  do"  f  they  asked  of  the 
Catholics.  "  You  are  full  of  talk  and  theory,  but  there  it  ends." 
This  taunt  made  a  deep  impression  on  Ozanam  and  his  associ- 
ates ;  and  at  a  meeting  attended  by  five  or  six  of  them,  after 
some  discussion,  one  of  them  cried  out  :  "  Let  us  found  a  Con- 
ference of  Charity."  The  suggestion,  or  inspiration,  was  at  once 
acted  on.  They  determined  to  go  to  Sister  Rosalie,  then 
Superioress  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  obtain 
from  her  the  names  of  persons  or  families  in  distress  ;  whom  the 
members  of  the  new  conference  could  visit.  M.  Bailly,  a  worthy 
layman,  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  the  Paris 
clergy,  was  made  president.  Rooms  were  secured,  and  the  first 
Conference,  attended  by  eight  young  students — Ozanam,  Let- 
aillandier,  Devaux,  Lamache.  Lallier,  Clave,  and  two  others — 
was   held  in   May,  1833.     They  chose   St.   Vincent  de  Paul  as 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND   SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  95 

their  patron.  M.  Faudet,  the  cure  of  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  of 
whom  M.  Bailly  was  a  parishioner,  favored  the  new  work  among 
the  poor  of  his  parish. 

In  due  time  a  set  of  rules  for  the  conduct  of  meetings  and  the 
administration  of  reHef  were  drawn  up  by  M.  Bailly  and 
adopted.  The  objects  of  the  new  society  were  stated  to  be — {i) 
"  to  encourage  its  members,  by  example  and  counsel,  in  the  prac- 
tice of  a  Christian  life ;  (2)  to  visit  the  poor  and  to  assist  them 
when  in  distress,  as  far  as  our  means  will  permit,  affordino-  them 
also  religious  consolations  ;  (3)  to  apply  ourselves,  according  to 
our  abilities  and  the  time  which  we  can  spare,  to  the  elementary 
and  Christian  instruction  of  poor  children,  whether  free  or 
imprisoned  ;  (4)  to  distribute  moral  and  religious  books  ;  (5)  to 
be  willing  to  undertake  any  other  sort  of  charitable  work  to 
which  our  resources  may  be  adequate,  and  which  will  not  op- 
pose the  chief  end  of  the  society." 

In  1835,  the  conference  having  grown  by  the  accession  of 
many  new  members,  it  was  decided  to  divide  it  into  sections, 
which  should  serve  as  new  centres,  in  order  the  more  effectually 
to  carry  on  the  work  of  charity  in  the  crowded  quarters  of 
Paris.  This  step  foreshadowed,  and  made  possible  the  exten- 
sion of  the  society  to  other  cities  and  countries. 

The  new  sections  formed  were  called  "  Conferences,"  and  the 
aggregate  of  the  conferences,  was  called  the  "  Society  of  St. 
Vincent  of  Paul." 

The  administration  of  the  society  has  since  remained  in  the 
hands  of  laymen,  in  union  with,  and  subordinate  to,  the  clergy. 
Its  lay  character,  we  are  told,  greatly  favored  its  extension  at  the 
time  of  its  formation,  as  it  was  enough  for  a  society  or  enter- 
prise of  any  kind  at  that  period  to  have  an  ecclesiastic  at  its 
head,  to  be  denounced  in  the  press  and  the  sa/ojis  as  an  ''  a^iivrc 
/csnitique.'^ 

As  the  object  of  the  society  consists  in  visiting  and  relieving 
the  poor,  many  special  works  of  charity  have  been  organized  in 
connection  with  it.  Among  these  special  works  may  be  men- 
tioned clothing  depots,  creches,  boarding  out  with  farmers, 
visits  to  prisons  and  hospitals,  and  securing  work  for  laborers 


96  CONFRATERNITIES  AND  SODALITIES   OF  THE   CHURCH. 

and  women  out  of  employ.  On  urgent  occasions  also  the 
society  will  give  extraordinary  assistance ;  as,  for  instance, 
when  it  sent  money  for  the  terrible  Irish  distress  in  1847  and 
1848. 

In  1853,  the  Paris  Conferences  numbered  over  2000  members 
and  had  over  5000  families  on  their  visiting  lists.  The  society 
had  already  spread  to  England,  Ireland,  Spain,  Belgium,  Amer- 
ica and  Palestine. 

Popes  Gregory  XVI.  and  Pius  IX.  granted  it  ample  indul- 
gences ;  and  the  latter,  in  1853,  gave  the  Society  Cardinal 
Fornari  as  its  Cardinal  Protector.  In  1876,  the  number  of  con- 
ferences in  all  parts  of  the  world,  had  increased  to  6000  ;  and  in 
the  following  year  more  than  seven  millions  of  francs  were 
expended  by  the  society  in  relieving  distress. 

\RCH-CONFRATERNITY    OF    THE    GUARD    OF     HONOR   OF    THE    SACRED 

HEART    OF   JESUS. 

This  beautiful  devotion  of  the  Guard  of  Honor  of  the  Sacred 
Heart  of  Jesus  originated  in  the  monastery  of  the  Visitation  of 
Holy  Mary  of  Bourg  (Ain)  France,  on  the  13th  of  March,  1863. 
Its  diffusion  has  been  rapid  ;  it  counts  to-day  numerous  confra- 
ternities canonically  erected,  and  several  millions  of  members. 
His  Holiness  Pope  Pius  IX.,  of  happy  memory,  was  a  member 
of  the  Guard  of  Honor,  and  His  Holiness  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  with 
many  other  prelates,  is  also  a  member  of  the  Guard  of  Honor. 

The  patrons  of  the  Guard  of  Honor  are  ;  Our  Lady  of  the 
Sacred  Heart  ;  St.  Joseph  ;  St.  Francis  of  Assisi ;  St.  Francis 
of  Sales  ;  and  Blessed  Margaret  Mary. 

The  object  of  the  Guard  of  Honor  is  to  respond  to  this  sor- 
rowful complaint  of  our  Lord  :  "  My  Heart  has  expected 
reproach  and  misery.  And  I  looked  for  one  that  would  grieve 
with  me,  but  there  was  none  ;  and  for  one  that  would  comfort 
me,  and  found  none."     (Ps.  68.) 

The  object  which  this  Archconfraternity  proposes  to  its  mem- 
bers is  to  render  a  truly  perpetual,  and  uninterrupted  worship 
of  glory,  love,   and  reparation  to  the    most    Sacred    Heart    of 


CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  97 

Jesus,  which  visibly  ivonnded  once  with  the  lance  on  the  tree  of 
the  Cross  is  invisibly  wounded,  every  day,  by  the  forgetfulness, 
ingratitude,  and  sins  of  men. 

In  order  to  accompHsh  this  object  the  associates  accept  one 
hour  in  the  day,  called  the  Hour  of  Guard,  which  is  marked  by 
their  name  upon  a  dial,  and  during  which,  witJiotU  being  obliged 
to  change  anything  in  their  oi^dinary  occnpations,  they  endeavor 
every  day  to  glorify,  to  love  and  to  console  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus,  in  suggesting  to  themselves,  according  to  their  prefer- 
ences, or  their  dispositions  the  admirable  sentiments  of  the 
three  first  Guards  of  Hono7^ :  Mary,  John  and  Magdalen,  when 
at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  they  assisted  at  the  immolation  of  the 
great  Victim  of  Calvary,  and  at  the  mysterious  opening  of  His 
Heart  by  the  lance. 

The  members  may  select  the  hour  that  best  suits  them  ;  and 
they  terminate  with  a  prayer  according  to  the  intentions  of  the 
Sovereiorn  Pontiff 

One  of  the  practices  especially  recommended  to  the  associ- 
ates is  to  offer  to  the  Eternal  Father  particularly  duri^ig  the 
hour  of  Guard^  the  most  precious  Blood  and  Water  which 
flowed  from  the  wound  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus.  With  Mary,  the 
immolated  love!  they  unite  themselves,  as  vohmtary  victims, 
to  Our  Lord,  perpetually  immolated  on  altars,  and  co-operate 
with  Him,  by  their  own  sacrifices  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 

As  has  already  been  said,  the  associates  are  not  in  any  way 
obliged  to  change  anything  in  their  ordinary  occupations,  but  at 
the  appointed  moment  they  station  themselves  in  spirit  at  the 
Post  of  Love  THE  Tabernacle,  and  there  after  having  excited 
in  their  heart  some  sentiment  of  grief  and  contrition,  at  the 
remembrance  of  so  many  sins  that  are  daily  committed,  they 
offer  to  Jesus  their  thoughts,  words,  actions,  sufferings,  and  also 
the  desire  they  have  to  console  His  Adorable  Heart  by  their  love. 

They  try  then  to  keep  themselves  united  to  our  Lord  as 
much  as  possible,  until  the  Hour  of  Guard  is  over,  to  produce 
some  acts  of  love,  and  even,  if  they  can,  to  make  a  slight  sacrifice, 
but  every  one  may  follow  freely  in  this  the  impulse  of  his  piety 
and  of  his  heart. 


98  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

Promises  of  Our  Lord  to  Blessed  Margaret  Mary  in  favor  of 
those  devoted  to  His  Sacred  Heart. 

1.  I  will  give  them  all  the  graces  necessary  for  their  state  of 
life. 

2.  I  will  establish  peace  in  their  families. 

3.  I  will  console  them  in  all  their  difficulties. 

4.  I  will  be  their  assured  refuge  in  life,  and  more  especially 
at  death. 

5.  I  will  pour  out  abundant  benedictions  on  ail  their  under- 
takings. 

6.  Sinners  will  find  in  my  Heart  the  source  and  infinite  ocean 
of  mercy. 

7.  Tepid  souls  shall  become  fervent. 

8.  .Fervent  souls  shall  advance  rapidly  to  great  perfection. 

9.  I  will  bless  the  house  in  which  the  image  of  My  Sacred 
Heart  will  be  exposed  and  honored. 

10.  I  will  give  to  priests  the  power  of  moving  the  most 
hardened  hearts. 

11.  Persons  who  propagate  this  devotion  shall  have  their 
names  inscribed  on  My  Heart,  and  shall  never  be  effaced  from  it. 

12.  I  promise  thee,  in  the  excess  of  the  mercy  of  My  Heart 
that  its  all  powerful  love  will  grant  to  all  those  who  receive 
Communion  on  the  first  Friday  of  every  month  for  nine  con- 
secutive months,  the  grace  of  final  repentance,  and  that  they 
shall  not  die  under  My  displeasure  nor  without  receiving  the 
Sacraments,  and  My  Heart  will  be  their  secure  refuge  at  that 
last  hour. 

SODALITY    OF    THE    CHILD    JESUS. 

The  object  of  this  sodality  which  is  principally  intended  for 
children  who  have  not  as  yet  made  their  first  Communion  is  "  to 
keep  up  amongst  its  youthful  members  the  spirit  of  innocence 
and  piety,  by  honoring  in  a  special  manner,  the  Holy  Child 
Jesus,  and  by  placing  them  under  the  protection  of  His  Blessed 
Mother,  and  of  St.  Joseph  His  F^oster  Father," 

The  children  who  belong  to  this  sodality  must  attend  Mass 


CONFRATERxMTIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF  THE   CHURCH.  99 

on  Sundays  and  holy  days  of  obligation,  must  go  to  confession 
at  least  every  two  months,  study  their  catechism  diligently,  and 
avoid  all  evil  habits. 

The  members  shall  each  on  admission  receive  a  medal  of  the 
Child  Jesus,  and  a  badge  bearing  the  title  of  the  sodality.  This 
sodality  is  to  be  commended,  as  it  forms  the  youthful  heart  to 
virtue  and  piety. 

SODALITY    OF    THE    HOLY    ANGELS. 

This  sodality  is  intended  to  honor  in  a  special  manner  the 
Holy  Angels  under  the  protection  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
Queen  of  Angels.  It  was  instituted  for  persons  who  have  made 
their  first  Communion,  but  who  are  too  young  to  join  the 
Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  The  members  are  required  to 
attend  Mass  with  devotion  on  Sundays  and  holidays  of  obliga- 
tion, and  to  recite  the  office  on  Sundays.  They  should,  also, 
receive  Holy  Communion  once  a  month,  and  on  the  principal 
festivals  of  the  year  ;  and  conform  to  the  rules  that  their  spiritual 
director  may  establish  for  their  guidance. 

THE    SODALITY    OF    THE    BLESSED    VIRGIN    MARY. 

The  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  established  in 
the  Roman  College  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  Dec.  8,  1563;  and 
on  Dec.  5,  1584,  it  received  the  approbation  of  Pope  Gregory 
XHL,  who  attached  to  it  many  rights  and  privileges.  In  a 
short  time,  branch  sodalities  were  founded,  and  extended  to 
most  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  and  to  America.  "  Princes  and 
statesmen,  warriors  ana  scholars,"  says  a  writer  on  the  subject, 
**  hastened  to  enroll  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  Immacu- 
late Virgin,  and  soon  the  sodality  could  point  with  pride  to  a 
Canisius,  an  Aloysius  of  Gonzaga,  a  Stanislas  Kotska,  a  Charles 
Borromeo,  a  Francis  of  Sales,  a  John  Prancis  Regis,  and  a 
John  Berchmans,  whose  holiness  had  put  forth  its  first  blossoms 
at  the  foot  of  its  altars.  The  brief  of  Gregory  XIII.,  approving 
of  the  sodality,  was  confirmed  by  Sixtus  V.,  Benedict  XIV.,  Leo 
XII.  and   Leo    XIII.,  who    enriched    it  with  further   privileges. 


lOO  CONFRATERNITIES   AND    SODALITIES   OF   THE   CHURCH. 

In  order  to  share  in  the  privileges  and  indulgences  attached  to 
the  parent  sodality,  all  branches  should  be  affiliated  or  aggre- 
gated to  it.  This  may  be  effected  by  writing  to  the  general  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  Rome,  and  following  the  rules  pre- 
scribed in  such  cases. 

Of  this  sodality,  our  Holy  Father  Leo  XIII.,  in  his  brief  on 
the  occasion  of  the  tercentenary  jubilee  celebrated  by  the  sodal- 
ities in  1884,  said  : 

"Among  the  prosperous  sodalities  which  have  been  instituted 
in  different  parts  of  the  world  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
Mother  of  God,  the  place  of  honor  belongs  without  dispute  to 
the  one  called  the  Prima  Primarza,  whose  name,  even,  shows 
the  preeminence  it  has  gained  over  all  others." 

All  sodalities  affiliated  to  the  Prima  Prima^^ia  are  granted 
the  following  indulgences  by  Benedict  XIV.  ;  A  plenary  indul- 
gence to  all  the  faithful  who  shall  receive  Holy  Communion  on 
the  principal  festival,  on  the  Titular  Feast  of  the  Sodality,  and 
shall  visit  a  chapel  of  the  Sodality,  or  any  other  church,  and 
pray  according  to  the  intention  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff. 

A  plenary  indulgence  is  i^ranted  to  sodalists  only  : 

1.  On  the  day  of  their  reception. 

2.  At  the  hour  of  death. 

3.  On  the  Festivals  of  the  Nativity  and  Ascension  of  our 
Lord,  and  on  the  festivals  of  the  Annunciation,  Assumption, 
Immaculate  Conception,  and  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary. 

4.  Once  a  week  on  the  appointed  day  of  meeting. 

5.  When  they  shall  make  a  general  confession  of  their  past 
life. 

6.  On  receiving  Holy  Communion  in  time  of  sickness,  and 
reciting  three  times  the  Ojir  Father  2iX\<\  three  times  the  Hail 
Mary  before  a  Crucifix.  Many  other  plenary  and  partial  indul- 
gences may  also  be  gained  by  members  of  this  sodality. 


•  •"•inn  I 


-^  -  3^^a^ 


.^^r^.!^^-^^:. 


■d>'OS*T-,. 


U       UUU   ^DO   ^JD        / 


;^::^^ 


